After a national search, Tom Yackel, M.D., has been appointed president of MCV Physicians, the faculty practice plan of VCU Health. He also will serve as senior associate dean for clinical affairs in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Most recently, Yackel served as vice president and chief clinical integration officer for Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, as well as associate dean for the clinical practice in the School of Medicine.

“Dr. Yackel’s recruitment is the result of a highly competitive national search,” said Marsha Rappley, M.D., CEO of VCU Health System and vice president of health sciences. “He is the first-ever external recruitment to this position, and he follows in the steps of physicians who have come up through the ranks and done exceptional jobs leading MCVP.”

“Dr. Yackel’s long tenure at Oregon and the breadth of his experience in several leadership positions contributed to an exceptionally well-run health system and have well-equipped him for this role,” said Deborah Davis, CEO of VCU Hospitals and Clinics, VCU Health System, and vice president for clinical services at VCU.

Yackel received both a medical degree and a Master of Public Health focusing on health care administration and management in 1996 from George Washington University. He continued his training as a primary care internal medicine resident at GW and served as chief resident. In 2002, he completed a fellowship and Master of Science in medical informatics at OHSU. He is a practicing primary care internist and is board certified in internal medicine and clinical informatics. In June, he will graduate from the OHSU Healthcare MBA program.

Yackel succeeds John Ward, M.D., who served as president of MCVP for two four-year terms. Ward will remain a clinical faculty member and will maintain an active practice in neurosurgery.

About VCU and VCU Health

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 217 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Thirty-eight of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic programs, the VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, MCV Physicians and Virginia Premier Health Plan. For more, please visit www.vcu.edu and vcuhealth.org.