Photo by: Carle Illinois College of Medicine

Jarrod Almaroad

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URBANA The new Carle Illinois College of Medicine is rounding out its executive team, appointing two physicians to direct the clinical side of the operation.

The college announced Thursday that Dr. Blair Rowitz will be associate dean for clinical affairs, after serving in the job on an interim basis since November.

Dr. Jarrod Almaroad, a Carle anesthesiologist and associate medical director of perioperative services, will be the first permanent director of clinical science for the engineering-based college of medicine.

Rowitz will oversee clinical partnerships to allow the integration of the college's research and academic activities into the patient-care side of the operation. The role is crucial to the college's goal of transforming regional health care delivery and innovation, officials said in announcing the news.

Almaroad will be the principal administrative officer for clinical science, guiding it into an academic department within the college. He will manage the clinical side of the engineering-based M.D. degree curriculum, including students' experiences working with physicians and patients in clinical settings and the involvement of physician-educators.

"Dr. Rowitz and Dr. Almaroad have the right expertise to oversee these crucial areas for the Carle Illinois College of Medicine," said Dr. Matthew Gibb, chief medical officer for the Carle health system.

Gibb called Rowitz "a skilled clinician, a valued administrator and trusted mentor to many." And Almaroad has a unique perspective as a physician and provider directly involved with many disciplines of care, he said.

Rowitz, a Carle surgeon, researcher and UI faculty member, holds faculty appointments in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the UI College of Medicine's regional campus in Champaign-Urbana. He is also medical director of surgical services at Carle.

King Li, dean for the new medical school, said their leadership will be "critical to training the first generation of physician-innovators who will re-engineer the delivery of health care."

Link:
UI med school appoints 2 Carle doctors as clinical directors - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette