Dr. Aaron Kugelmass has been named executive vice president and chief medical officer of Deborah Heart and Lung Center, it was announced this week.
Kugelmass, who earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School, joins Deborah from Baystate Health in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he served as medical director of the Heart and Vascular Program and chief of cardiology services.
Prior to his tenure at Baystate Health, Kugelmass was an associate chief of cardiology and director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Henry Ford Hospital and Health System in Detroit and associate chief of cardiology and director of interventional cardiology at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.
Kugelmass is board certified in cardiology and internal medicine. His expertise is widely sought, and he frequently presents at national and international meetings, as well as publishing widely in JACC, Circulation, American Journal of Cardiology and Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Deborah CEO Joseph Chirichella welcomed Kugelmass.
“We are delighted that Dr. Kugelmass is joining Deborah,” he said. “He has extensive experience integrating and balancing the clinical needs of cardiovascular physicians with the business needs of successfully running a hospital.
“Throughout his leadership career, he has consistently heightened patient safety benchmarks and quality initiatives, both of which are critical mission cornerstones at Deborah. We are confident that Dr. Kugelmass’ progressive thinking supports the future vision of cardiac, pulmonary and vascular care delivery, and will allow Deborah to continue to implement programs and processes that will benefit our patients, providers and support teams, all of whom play key roles in growing a nationally recognized cardiac program.”
Kugelmass did his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and his cardiology and interventional cardiology fellowships at Beth Israel Hospital-Harvard Medical School.
