CHRISTUS Health CEO to give seventh annual William E. Petersen Symposium on Physician Leadership Sept. 14
Dr. Thomas C. Royer, president and CEO of Dallas-based CHRISTUS Health, will deliver the seventh annual William E. Petersen Symposium on Physician Leadership at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in Schulze Hall auditorium on St. Thomas ’ Minneapolis campus.
This year’s symposium is an invitation-only event. For further information, call the College of Business, (651) 962-4281.
Royer, whose symposium address is titled “Keepers of the Profession Through Clouds and Sunshine: Healthcare Challenges and Opportunities,” was named to Modern Healthcare magazine’s annual “top 50” list of the most powerful physician executives in healthcare this year.
Before joining CHRISTUS Health – one of the largest Catholic health systems in the country – in 1999, Royer was senior vice president of medical affairs and chairman of the board of governors of Detroit-based Henry Ford Medical Group. He also served two years at Johns Hopkins Medical Services Corp. and Wyman Park Medical Associates in Baltimore in a variety of positions, including as CEO, president and chief operating officer, as well as vice president of clinical operations. He spent 18 years at Geisinger Medical Center and Clinic in Danville, Pa., as senior vice president and medical director, after founding the center’s department of emergency medicine, emergency medicine residency program and the Susquehanna Poison Control Program.
Board-certified in surgery, Royer received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania after earning an undergraduate degree in science, chemistry and physics from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his postdoctoral training at Geisinger Medical Center and Clinic.
The William E. Petersen Symposium on Physician Leadership is sponsored by Abbott Northwestern Hospital and St. Thomas' Center for Health and Medical Affairs. It is presented in cooperation with the National Institute of Health Policy, a collaborative effort between St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota.
The symposium is named in honor of Dr. William E. Petersen, a pioneer medical leader and one of the region's first physicians to assume executive roles in health-care management. A 1945 graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Petersen taught and practiced internal medicine and later served as vice president for medical affairs at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Life Span and Health Span, and was chief medical officer at Allina Health System. As program director for St. Thomas' Center for Health and Medical Affairs from 1995 to 1998, he created the Physician Leadership College and other programs designed to help physicians become effective leaders in the health-care industry.
