The Medical University of South Carolina has hired Dr. David Zaas, president of Duke Raleigh Hospital, as chief executive officer of MUSC Health’s Charleston division.
MUSC announced the hire Monday. Zaas will also be chief clinical officer for MUSC Health, and he is scheduled to start in July, according to the university.
The Post and Courier called the move a sign of MUSC’s growing statewide reach. Dr. Pat Cawley remains CEO of the full MUSC Health system, and Zaas will report directly to him, MUSC said.
As Charleston CEO, Zaas will lead the MUSC Hospital Authority in Charleston, including the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion, and will oversee the division’s executive team, according to the announcement. The Post and Courier reported that his responsibilities include MUSC Health’s 728-bed flagship medical center and the new children’s hospital, all in downtown Charleston.
“He has a history of leading and promoting successful collaboration among a university, practice plan and health system,” Cawley said in MUSC’s announcement.
Zaas was recommended after a national search by a committee led by Dr. Prabhakar Baliga, chair of MUSC’s Department of Surgery, and Lisa Montgomery, MUSC’s executive vice president for finance and operations, the university said.
He has been president of Duke Raleigh Hospital since 2014. His earlier jobs at Duke include medical director of Duke University Hospital, vice chair of Duke’s Department of Medicine and medical director for lung and heart-lung transplantation, according to MUSC.
Zaas holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University, a medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and an MBA from Duke University. He completed his internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at Duke.
