Immediate

Parkland vice president readies for new challenges

DALLAS- Brad Simmons has been named Senior Vice President of Surgical Services at Parkland Health & Hospital System. The appointment becomes effective Jan. 19. He replaces Jason Farhlander who resigned in November to accept a position as chief operating officer at Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs. Simmons comes to Parkland from the Methodist Health System in Dallas. He has held numerous administrative positions over the past six years and most recently served as Vice President of Operations at Methodist Charlton Medical Center. His operational responsibilities included surgical services, physical medicine, radiology, cardiology, pathology, respiratory therapy, community relations and the hospitalist program. In addition, Simmons designed surgical services performance improvement plans, authored organizational service line plans focused on competitive growth strategies and implemented hospital-wide throughput initiatives. "Brad is well known as a servant leader who is highly patient and staff focused," said John Haupert, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Parkland. "His commitment to health care and the Dallas community will further Parkland's mission of acheiving excellence in all that we do." Simmons will oversee Parkland's surgical services division, which includes inpatient and outpatient surgical care, anesthesiology, the emergency department, the North Texas Poison Control Center, BioTel Medical Control Agency, operative suite, day surgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Simmons received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources Management from Baylor University and his Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. "Parkland's long-standing mission of caring for the underserved is something I want to be a part of," said Simmons. "The organization excels beyond its mandate and sets the standards for other health care facilities. I'm excited to help shape Parkland's future."

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For Further Information Contact: Charise Thomason 214.590.8054