Seattle Business honored Dr. Carlos Pellegrini and Dr. Tim Dellit as Leaders in Health Care at its annual awards dinner on March 1. Winners of these prestigious awards are selected by a panel of judges for their expertise and dedication to improving healthcare across the state.
“Congratulations to Dr. Pellegrini and Dr. Dellit on their well-deserved honors,” said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO, UW Medicine. “As members of the executive team, they are the perfect leaders to deal with the challenges of today’s healthcare environment and to chart a bright future for our mission to improve the health of the public. I also want to congratulate Drs. Marc Stewart, Philip Greenberg and Mike Jensen, our colleagues at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Children’s, on their awards.”
Dr. Pellegrini received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of surgery and leadership at UW Medicine. He is internationally known for pioneering the use of minimally invasive surgery for the treatment for esophageal diseases, and he has been a national leader in training the next generation of physicians by exploring what tools work best, including the use of simulation to advance patient safety.
After serving as Chair of the Department of Surgery for more than 23 years, Dr. Pellegrini became UW Medicine’s first Chief Medical Officer in 2015. In this role, he provides executive leadership and strategic guidance for the integration of clinical practice with education and research activities across all UW Medicine sites of practice. His priorities include building support for care transformation as a way to achieve the Triple Aim goals for healthcare reform: provide a high quality patient experience, improve the health of populations and decrease healthcare costs. He is also a passionate advocate for establishing UW Medicine as a national model for advancing healthcare equity, diversity and inclusion.
In his acceptance remarks, Dr. Pellegrini shared two insights on what has given his life and work tremendous meaning. One is the privilege of being a mentor to train faculty, staff and students. The other is the importance of nurturing relationships to bring people together as the best way to advance the profession and achieve our mission of improving the health of the public.
Dr. Dellit won the Gold Award for Outstanding Medical Group Executive for his growing and evolving leadership role at UW Medicine. An infectious disease specialist, he has served as Harborview’s Associate Medical Director since 2006 and as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs since 2014 before becoming President of UW Physicians in 2016.
At UW Physicians, the region’s largest physician practice plan, Dr. Dellit is advancing initiatives to support the clinical practice of its members while improving efficiencies and quality of care. UW Physicians was ranked fourth among academic faculty practice plans in the most recent 2016 Vizient and Association of American Medical Colleges annual survey.
Dr. Dellit is highly respected for his consensus building and communication skills, his professional and personal integrity, and his ability to make the workplace enjoyable. This could be seen in his acceptance remarks when he thanked his mentors at UW Medicine and stated that his primary goal as a leader is to allow clinicians to do what they do best: provide outstanding clinical care.
Awards to faculty at partner organizations:
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- Dr. F. Marc Stewart, UW professor of medical oncology, won the Silver Award for Outstanding Medical Director. He is medical director at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
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- Dr. Philip Greenberg, UW professor of immunology and oncology, won the Gold Award for Achievement in Medical Research. He is member and head of the program in immunology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
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- Dr. Michael Jensen, UW professor of hematology-oncology, won the Silver Award for Achievement in Medical Research. He is director of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute.
For profiles of the award winners, see the March 2018 print edition of Seattle Business or visit Seattle Business Leaders in Health Care (coming soon).
