Jefferson Health Names Rohinton J. Morris, MD, FACS, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Announcement marks first cross-campus appointment at the division level following Jefferson, Abington merger. Jefferson Health has announced the appointment of Rohinton J. Morris, MD, FACS, as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Professor of Surgery in the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. In May, Jefferson and Abington Health completed a “hub and hub” merger – creating a new organization known as Jefferson Health, which includes 19,000 employees, 3,923 physicians, 3,081 (full-time) nurses and 1,751 inpatient beds. Such mergers are sparking a new era in urban/suburban access to some of the nation’s finest clinicians, scientists, academicians and healthcare professionals. Dr. Morris – Jefferson Health’s first cross-campus appointment at the division level – and his team are beginning to deliver on the promise of better, more convenient access. Joined by John W. Entwistle, PhD, and Mauricio J. Garrido, MD, Dr. Morris is now seeing patients and guiding clinical operations on both the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Abington Hospital campuses. “We are the first division that is clinically integrating, which is very exciting,” says Dr. Morris, who had served as Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Medical Director of the Heart and Vascular Institute at Abington Hospital since 2010. “We will serve as the model for other divisions as we all work toward the goal of being able to deploy surgeons, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other clinicians dynamically based on when and where demand is greatest.” Indeed, Dr. Morris says that one of the most exciting aspects of the Abington-Jefferson merger is the potential to “export” expertise to more sites: “It allows truly patientcentric care. Patients can choose the time and location of their surgeries, as well as the most convenient location for their follow-up care. “I can envision a future where Jefferson Health will have seven or eight cardiothoracic sites with surgery performed at two sites,” he continues. “For example, in the future a surgeon may see patients at a site in Lansdale one weekend morning and at a South Philly location one evening each week.” He believes that greater flexibility and less centralized care appeal not only to patients but also to physicians and health systems. “The greater the number of physicians, the greater the diversity in methodology that you can learn,” Dr. Morris explains. “By pooling our surgical resources, we can create more growth and learning opportunities. It offers the critical mass we need for more formal programs, such as a training program for cardiothoracic surgery.” Dr. Morris – who has authored or co-authored more than 40 research articles in peer-reviewed publications – serves as a medical reviewer for Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Journal of Heart & Lung Transplantation and Circulation. He has been named as a “Top Doc” several times in Philadelphia magazine’s “Top Doctors” issues, and recognized by Castle-Connolly as one of “America’s Top Surgeons.