Shauna Lorenzo-Rivero, MD, has been installed as the 2022 president of the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga. Dr. Lorenzo-Rivero is a colorectal surgeon with University Surgical Associates. She succeeds Immediate Past President Collen Schmitt, MD, Galen Digestive Health. Other officers are James Haynes, MD, vice president, UT Family Practice, and J. Eugene Huffstutter, MD, secretary-treasurer, Arthritis Associates.
The Foundation was created in 1986 to serve as the charitable arm of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society. Today the foundation is the administrative base for several key programs, including:
– Project Access – The physician-led partnership to provide access to health care for low-income uninsured residents will continue to grow reaching audiences before not served.
– Physician Burnout Resources – Focusing on the needs of physicians as they continue to experience growing stress and challenges in practicing medicine.
– Community Health – serving our community through the continued work of Project Access and other efforts to increase access to care, as well as new ventures to decrease health disparities and address hunger.
“The Medical Foundation’s work is growing in importance every year,” Dr. Lorenzo-Rivero said. “The last two years put a spotlight on health care disparities that may not have been revealed before. The work of Project Access continues to serve our uninsured neighbors who need specialized health care. This service will continue as we look to expand the program into neighboring Tennessee counties of Hamilton.”
New members of the 2022 Medical Foundation board are Christie Kizer Burbank, Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell; Vanessa McNeil, Unum; and David Shamblin, Pinnacle. They are joining returning board members Mark Anderson MD, CHI Memorial Infectious Disease Associates; Carlos Baleeiro, MD, CHI Memorial Lung Care Associates; Melanie Blake, MD, Galen Lifestyle Medicine; Justin Calvert, MD, Tennessee Interventional & Imaging Associates; Anita Headrick, Medical Alliance; Tracie LeSar, Vascular Institute of Chattanooga; Richard Moody, MD, Chattanooga Family Practice Associates; Glenn Newman, MD, Beacon Ridgeside Internal Medicine; and Nita Shumaker, MD, Galen North Pediatric
