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The Triad’s largest hospital has a new leader.
Dr. David Zaas, a leader in academic medicine, has been appointed president of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, which is also the largest employer in the Triad.
As president, Zaas will oversee AHWFB’s clinical enterprise, including all patient care services, operations, strategy and growth.
Most recently, he served as the CEO for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health’s Charleston Division and the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, as well as the chief clinical officer for MUSC Health and as a faculty-appointed professor of medicine at the MUSC College of Medicine.
He succeeds Dr. Kevin High, who is transitioning to a new role as vice chief academic officer at Advocate Health, the parent company of AHWFB.
Wake Forest Baptist and Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine serve as the academic core of Advocate, which was the result of December’s merger between Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health.
High has been with the system for 30 years and served as president of AHWFB for the past eight years. He will continue to see AHWFB patients in internal medicine and infectious diseases as well as continuing his research activities with WFUSOM’s Sticht Center for Healthy Aging.
Zaas will work closely with High and Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag – CEO of AHWFB, chief academic officer at Advocate Health and executive vice president of health affairs for Wake Forest University – to integrate clinical, research, education and innovation goals across the Advocate system. Zaas will also hold a faculty appointment as a professor of internal medicine at WFUSOM.
“[Dr. Zaas] is an accomplished leader in academic medicine as a physician, scientist and educator,” Freischlag said. “He will help guide us, as the academic core of Advocate Health, as we work together to improve the lives of those in our communities, our nation and the world.”
Background in pulmonary and critical care medicine
A pulmonary and critical care medicine physician by trade, Zaas’ research interests are in advanced lung diseases and lung transplantation with a particular focus on improving the outcomes of lung transplantation. He is also active in the education of students and graduate trainees.
“I am so privileged to join the outstanding team at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist at such a pivotal time,” Zaas said. “With its rich, 100-year legacy of excellence, Wake Forest Baptist is one of the top academic health systems in the country. I am excited to build on its strong foundation to prepare us for the next 100 years and help us make an even greater impact on the health of our communities throughout the state and beyond.”
Prior to his time at MUSC, Zaas served as the president of Duke Raleigh Hospital and vice chair of the department of medicine at Duke University’s medical school, among other leadership roles.
Zaas earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, his medical degree from Northwestern University and his MBA from Duke University. He completed an internal medicine residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Duke.
Zaas and his wife, Aimee, have two teenage sons. Also a physician, Aimee is a professor of infectious diseases at Duke’s medical school and the program director for the internal medicine residency program.
Licensed beds
| Rank | Prior Rank | Business name/Prior rank |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center |
2 | 2 | Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center |
3 | 3 | The Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital |
No. of Triad employees
| Rank | Prior Rank | Business name |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist |
2 | 2 | Cone Health |
3 | 3 | Walmart Inc. |