Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital committee looks over medical staff applicants

ALBANY — The Professional Affairs Committee at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital took an overview Monday of some of the health care providers currently looking to gain privileges at the hospital, reappointments and other changes regarding its hospital staff.

There are five physicians looking to come on board, the most recent credentials report available from the hospital shows. Drs. Reginald Hall, Walisa Maynard, Brendan Miner, Michael Pruitt and Sabena Ramsetty are listed as among those looking to join the staff.

Hall, a neurologist, and Ramsetty, an infectious disease specialist, are coming in temporarily to fill in for someone else. Maynard is a palliative care specialist, Miner is a radiologist and Pruitt is an emergency medicine physician, the report said.

The report also showed two affiliate staff members — also known as midlevel providers — looking to come on board with the required physician sponsorship in their respective fields. Charles Mullican is going into the Adult Critical Care Department under Dr. Pooja Patil, while Cassandra Stewart is being sponsored by urologist Dr. Peter Hinds.

Under the credentialing reappointment listings, a process a medical staff member has to undergo every two years, on the report were Dr. Sig-Linda Jacobson in obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrician Dr. Stacy Evans. Jacobson is temporarily filling in while covering for Dr. Michael Edwards, the report said.

Also, the report showed that surgeon Dr. Mark Herndon is taking a year-long leave of absence effective March 1. Several doctors and midlevel providers have put in resignations, including radiologist Dr. Marcus Parker, effective March 6, and critical care specialists Drs. Cheryl Clark, effective Feb. 17, and Richard Rothfleisch, effective Feb. 10. The affiliate staff members, Jason Allen, in anesthesiology, and John Botero, in emergency medicine, both resigned on Feb. 27 and Feb. 12, respectively.

The report presented on Monday went through the Credentials and Bylaws Committee on Feb. 23 and the Medical Executive Committee on March 3.

The Professional Affairs Committee serves as liaison between the medical staff and the hospital’s full board and handles matters relating to applications for medical staff membership. The committee is also meant to watch over and report to the board on matters of quality and safety within the hospital. The medical staff at Phoebe primarily takes on the role of looking into a physician applicants’ qualifications, in turn making a recommendation to the committee before the hospital’s full board makes a final decision.