New Arizona General Hospital Emergency Department Leadership
The Emergency Center is pleased to announce that it has appointed Paul McHale, MD and Jason Linder, MD as Hospital Emergency Department Medical Directors at Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital Laveen and Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital Mesa, respectively. It has also appointed Dr. Joel Betz as Regional Medical Officer overseeing Arizona General Hospital's satellite EDs. In these new roles, Drs. McHale, Linder, and Betz will provide leadership and direction to the emergency departments of the Arizona General Hospitals and will serve on the executive team for The Emergency Center.
PHOENIX, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Dr. Joel Betz brings over 15 years of clinical and leadership experience to this position. He graduated from Arizona State University in 2002 and then attended University of Arizona School of Medicine graduating in 2006. After medical school he completed residency in Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Betz is board certified in Emergency Medicine by the American College of Emergency Physicians. After residency Dr. Betz joined the group covering Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Centers. Three years later he joined Banner Gateway Emergency Dept. as Assistant Medical Director. Subsequently, Banner Health acquired Banner Payson Medical Center, and Dr Betz served as Medical Director during the transition and for 2 years following, after which he returned to the Phoenix metro area joining the Adeptus and Dignity family. Currently he serves as Regional Medical Officer East Valley, based at the AGH Mesa Hospital location.
His current interests and focus include increasing physician and staff communication, with a special focus on culture improvement. He is also passionate about patient satisfaction as well as physician satisfaction, and strongly believes the two are closely intertwined. Dr. Betz has organized and attended several medical mission trips to Guatemala and has provided care to the under-served communities in the Guatemalan highlands. In his off time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children, and training for triathlons, recently completing his second IronMan in Houston.
Dr. Joel Betz, MD shares "I am truly blessed to be working with all these great people, both with Dignity and TEC. I am excited to implement these improvements to further excellent patient care through this health care model."
Dr. Jason Linder is a graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri (1996). In 2000, he completed his residency at Maricopa Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ and is board certified in Emergency Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He is also trained in Hyperbaric Medicine.
Dr. Linder has an extensive clinical, teaching, and leadership background. He brings with him over 25 years of experience. Previously Dr. Linder served as Associate Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Indiana University (2000-2003). He also was a former partner in Chandler Emergency Medical Group where he served as Medical Director of the Emergency Department (2006-2009) and Medical Executive Committee Member at Large (2009-2012) at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, and Department Chair of Emergency Medicine (2013-2015) at Chandler Regional Medical Center. Most recently Dr. Linder has served at CRMC and MGMC as Vice Chief of Staff (2017, 2018) and Medical Staff President (2019, 2020). His other roles include: Member of the Ethics Committee (2004-2013) CRMC and MGMC; CRMC (2008-2012), and Track and Mass Gathering Physician, Phoenix International Raceway (1998-Present).
When he is not working, JJ enjoys spending time hiking, biking, man caving, and camping in the family RV. As a 30-year veteran of Type 1 diabetes, he passionately donates his time volunteering for Diabetes Training Camp (DTC) each year to help support and teach people with insulin dependent diabetes learn how to live a whole active life.
Dr. Jason (JJ) Linder, MD shares "I am humbled and excited to join the team at Arizona General Mesa. It is a facility on a great growth curve in a great location and I believe will ultimately bring a modern twist on the idea of a community hospital. It will also bring the highly specialized network of physicians throughout Dignity Arizona to the East Valley in the form of care close to home with a network of specialists to fit your individual needs. I hope to be part of building a healthcare facility that serves the community in the way I would want for my own family."
Dr. Paul McHale, MD is a graduate of Univ. of San Diego (1991), Univ of Minnesota Medical School (1996) and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ in 2000. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and trained in Hyperbaric Medicine.
Dr. McHale was a founding partner of Chandler Emergency Medical Group, PLC (PEMS), formed in 2002. PEMS provided clinical physicians & support for the Emergency Departments at Chandler Regional Medical Center & Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. During the last 18 years Dr. McHale has helped lead ER Redesign teams in 2005 & 2014, helped implement a scribe program, served as EMS Director (03-05), Medical Director at CRMC ED (05-09, 14-15), Chairman of ED at CRMC (09-13). He also served on the East Valley Community Board (08-19) including serving as Vice Chair (14-16) and Chairman (16-18).
Dr. McHale is also employed by Air Methods Corporation as a Medical Director for several bases in the Arizona service region, from 2009 - Present. He has also served as a Clinician for Gallus Detox (15-17) & interim Medical Director for BCBS AZ (18-19). Currently, he also serves as Medical Director, and is a minority owner in Trinity Air Medical, a logistics healthcare company based in Tempe, AZ (13-Present).
Dr. McHale believes in creating an environment that is trusting, professional, supportive, and most importantly, he realizes we should enjoy our workplace.
Paul Loves to work, but his most important role is family. He has been married to his wife of 25 years and has 3 children still at home. Paul loves to make food of all kinds, especially anything on the grill or smoker. He enjoys chasing Tarpon/Permit/Bonefish/Trout & other gamefish with a flyrod and some longtime friends.
Dr. Paul McHale, MD shares "I am extremely excited to join The Emergency Center, re-uniting with past colleagues from Maricopa Medical Center & Premier Emergency Medical Specialists. I am proud to have joined the Arizona General team and look forward to bringing our energy, thoughts, and teamwork mentality to our hospitals & freestanding ER's."
The Emergency Center is thrilled to welcome these three outstanding physicians to its already robust team. The future of freestanding ED care in Arizona is bright with the addition of these three leaders to the partnership between The Emergency Center and Arizona General Hospitals.
Dr. Keith Butler, MD, CEO of The Emergency Center announces "TEC is pleased to partner with AGH Dignity and Drs. McHale, Linder, and Betz to extend our vision of the highest quality emergency care across the largest and most renown satellite facility organization in the state of Arizona. We are thrilled that we can now positively impact the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of patients."
SOURCE The Emergency Center
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