Pegasus Comes to New Mexico
Pegasus Emergency Group (PEG) is pleased to announce its newest contractual relationship with Carlsbad Medical Center (CMC) in Carlsbad, NM. CMC is one of three New Mexico hospitals to contract with Pegasus at the end of 2011 for provision of emergency department physicians Lea Regional Medical Center in Hobbs and Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell also contract with PEG.
"It is exciting to start the new year by supporting three New Mexico hospitals in our continued expansion westward," said Dr. Jeff Ruzich, Pegasus VP. "I would like to thank and congratulate all those involved in this successful roll out. We look forward to working with these hospitals and delivering the Pegasus standard of quality which we have experienced throughout the nation." Beginning November 21 at Carlsbad Medical Center and December 21 at both Lea Regional and Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, Pegasus began staffing all three Emergency Departments with experienced Emergency Medicine physicians from across the region and the country.
Patrick Connor, MD, joined the CMC team as Emergency Department medical director. Dr. Connor is a nationally-recognized EM specialist and consultant to The Joint Commission, the accreditation and certification authority in health care. He practiced clinical medicine and served as an associate professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr. Connor is also clinical assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. "I am thrilled to be a part of the Carlsbad Medical Center ED team," said Connor. "Pegasus and CMC are truly partnering to improve care and we have only great things to look forward to in the future."
Jeffrey Ruzich, MD, joined Eastern New Mexico Medical Center as Emergency Department medical director. Dr. Ruzich is a residency-trained, board-certified Emergency Medicine physician with more than 25 years of experience. He joined Pegasus in 2002 as Assistant Director at the Putnam Hospital Center Emergency Department in Carmel, New York, and served as Medical Director at Seton Health/St. Mary's in Troy, New York, from 2004 until making the move to ENNMC at the end of 2011. Dr. Ruzich is certified as a Diplomate by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is a member and Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He trained in Emergency Medicine while serving as chief resident at Albert Einstein/Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, New York, after serving in the United States Air Force as a Major. He subsequently joined the teaching staff at Montefiore Medical Center and became Assistant Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Dr. Ruzich earned his Doctorate of Medicine from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia.
Lea Regional Medical Center's medical director is Elias Said, MD. Dr. Said completed his PhD in Biochemistry and Neurophysiology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1984 and his MD from the University of East Carolina in 1988. His residency in Emergency Medicine was conducted at Emory University and Grady Hospital Systems in Atlanta in 1993 and he became a Diplomate in the American Board of Emergency Medicine in 1994. Dr. Said is also a fellow in the American College of Emergency Medicine (ACEP) and is a board-certified Diplomate of the ABEM.
Dr. Said served as assistant medical director at Walton Medical Center in Monroe, GA, until 2003 when he was recruited to Hobbs, NM, to be the Medical Director of Lea Regional Medical Center. Recently, he accepted the position of Medical Director of Hobbs Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Dr. Said's wife is an active staff member at LRMC as a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and their two children attend Hobbs High School.
With strong medical directorship at the helm of each Emergency Department- as with all Pegasus EDs-the chief goals will be to further enhance quality care, patient satisfaction and safety, and continue to make process improvements in collaboration with the ED team. Each of the hospitals has strong service, quality and satisfaction programs in place, and Pegasus ED physicians will participate in the initiatives, including 30-minute rounding in reception areas, callbacks to discharged patients , and process improvements to help ensure that a provider initially sees every patient in 30 minutes or less.
CMC, ENMMC and Lea Regional enjoy robust relationships within the community and have rich menus of community education, health fairs, speakers' bureaus and affinity groups such as Senior Circle and Healthy designed to promote healthy lifestyles.
Physicians participate and often speak on health topics for these groups. It was a priority for Pegasus to place top physicians in each Emergency Department who share this same dedication to the hospital's patients and neighbors.
"Pegasus Emergency Group is founded on a concept of excellence in the clinical practice of our physicians, the satisfaction of our patients, and strong alliances with the hospitals we serve and their communities," said chief executive officer Dr. Elliot Justin. "We look forward to putting down roots in New Mexico with superior physicians who will generate a trust from and positive outcomes for their patients."