Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute has named Joseph T. McGinn, Jr., M.D., chief of Cardiac Surgery. Dr. McGinn specializes in the assessment and surgical treatment of patients with coronary artery, aortic and vascular disease. A pioneer in the field of cardiothoracic surgery, he developed the minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting method known internationally as the “McGinn Technique.”

Dr. McGinn comes to Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute from Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, part of Atrium HealthCare in Charlotte, NC, where he served as endowed chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. Prior to that appointment, he was a leading cardiac surgeon in New York City and served as medical director of the Heart Institute at Staten Island University Hospital for 16 years.
 
Dr. McGinn earned his medical degree at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in general surgery at SUNY Downstate, serving as chief resident. He also served as chief resident during a cardiothoracic surgery residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery, Surgical Critical Care.


Perry Ann Reed has joined Nicklaus Children’s Health System as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the health system, and president of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.

Reed brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership. Most recently, she served as executive director of WakeMed Children’s Hospital & Women’s Services in Raleigh, NC, managing development and execution of strategic plans, and overseeing operational and financial performance, patient safety, patient satisfaction and quality improvement. Previously, Reed served as director of ethics and palliative care at Texas Children’s and as a consultant at Quinn Reed Associates, directing efforts around social investments, primarily in the nonprofit sector.
 
Reed is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, holds a master’s degree in healthcare management from the University of Texas, a master’s in bioethics from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University. She has an executive education certificate in board management from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and post-master’s healthcare management certificate from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. She publishes nationally on pediatric ethics.


VITAS Healthcare has named Peter Frenchak, an experienced healthcare administrator and former helicopter paramedic and U.S. Air Force veteran, as general manager of its hospice services throughout Palm Beach County.

Frenchak comes to VITAS from Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale, where he served as director of operations for physician services since late 2018. The Pennsylvania native also was senior practice manager at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Community Medicine, urgent care practice manager for UPMC Physicians Services, and emergency medical services coordinator for UPMC Presbyterian. He was a flight paramedic for UPMC’s Center for Emergency medicine, and he served five years in the U.S. Air Force.
 
Frenchak earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Point Park University in Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in health services administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA. 


Lisa Wagamon has joined Lee Health as vice president for business development and contracting.

Wagamon previously held positions with managed care organizations for 22 years, negotiating contracts for commercial, Medicare and Medicaid lines of business. She most recently served as system vice president of Managed Care for SSM Health’s ministries in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.
 
Before SSM, Wagamon was with Gateway Health Plan, a Medicaid managed care organization in Pittsburgh, where she led a team of contract negotiators and physician representatives introducing value-based contracting to physicians and facilities. She also worked for Anthem Healthcare and United Health Group in multiple states, negotiating complex health system contracts for multiple lines of business representing physical, behavioral and long-term health services for millions of members.


John M. Rivas, M.D., who is triple board certified in transplant hepatology, gastroenterology and internal medicine, has joined the South Florida Transplant Center at Broward Health Medical Center. Rivas specializes in liver transplantation, hereditary and auto-immune liver diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver tumors/cancers.

Rivas received his medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Florida. Rivas continued his training with a transplant hepatology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Ohio. He has participated as an active researcher and primary investigator for several large, multi-center, multi-nationals research studies.