Category: General

ECFMG President and CEO William W. Pinsky, M.D., on October 24 joined Bennet Omalu, M.D., the Nigerian-born forensic pathologist who was the subject of the 2015 film Concussion, for a television and radio tour of cities nationwide to talk about the importance of international medical graduates (IMGs) to health care in the United States.

From a studio in New York City, Drs. Pinsky and Omalu did 24 interviews via satellite with television and radio stations in 19 cities in 17 different states, including such large-market cities as Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, St. Louis, and Tampa.

During the interviews, Dr. Omalu talked about his path from medical school in Nigeria to being one of the eminent forensic pathologists in the United States. Dr. Pinsky discussed the important contributions that physicians, such as Dr. Omalu, make to health care in the nation.

Dr. Omalu identified and named the disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which results from repeated concussions suffered by athletes, including football players. He is the President and Medical Director of Bennet Omalu Pathology and author of the memoir Truth Doesn’t Have a Side, which was published in 2017 by Zondervan, HarperCollins.

The television and radio tour was part of Strategic Initiative 9 of the ECFMG/FAIMER strategic plan to be a thought leader and to serve as an active advocate for IMGs. In recent months, the Communications Department paired Dr. Pinsky with several IMGs to talk about the important contributions they make to U.S. health care, especially amidst a growing national physician shortage.

Dr. Pinsky did a video interview and opinion pieces in cardiology trade publications with Mandeep R. Mehra, M.D., a renowned cardiologist and medical director of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Vascular Center; a widely published press release with Archana Chatterjee, M.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist in South Dakota; and a radio media tour with Beatriz Wills, M.D. of Colombia, an internist at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.

The television and radio tour with Dr. Omalu included interviews with the following media outlets (links to available interviews are included below):

• KCTU, Wichita-Hutchinson, KS
• KETV, Omaha, NE
• KRMG-AM/FM, Tulsa, OK
• WYRQ-FM, Minneapolis, MN
• Daybreak USA, IRN/USA Radio
• Health Professional Radio
• WXGM-FM, Norfolk-Portsmouth, VA
• KTXA, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
• WALA, Mobile-Pensacola, FL
• WTWO, Terre Haute, IN
• WHIG, Raleigh, NC
• Spectrum News 13, Orlando, FL
• KPLR, St. Louis, MO
• KFKA-AM, Denver, CO (interview begins at 8:18)
• WISR-AM, Pittsburgh, PA
• News Around America
• SNN 6, Tampa, FL
• WKUL-FM, Birmingham, AL
• Park City TV, Salt Lake City, UT
• CONN TV
• WFIF-AM, Hartford-New Haven, CT
• Mississippi Hometown, Jackson, MS
• Louisiana Hometown, New Orleans, LA
• Sports Byline USA

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) announced today that Steven D. Kirkpatrick, CPA, has been selected as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Kirkpatrick will join ECFMG/FAIMER on September 30, 2019, succeeding Dennis M. Donohue, CPA, MBA, MS. Mr. Kirkpatrick will serve as a member of the ECFMG/FAIMER Executive Leadership Team.

“Steve has an extraordinary talent for balancing strategic expansion with continued smooth operation of existing services in the health care space,” said William W. Pinsky, MD, ECFMG President & CEO and FAIMER Board Chair. “He is an invaluable addition to our Executive Leadership Team as we seek continued development of our services to promote quality medical education and health care around the world.”

Mr. Kirkpatrick’s extensive experience includes strategic development, operations, and financial management of hospital systems, physician networks, and life care. Before joining ECFMG/FAIMER, Mr. Kirkpatrick was Director of Finance for the Main Line HealthCare Physician Network, a multi-specialty network of 400 physicians and more than 100 Advanced Practitioners serving suburban Philadelphia. Prior to this, he held a number of executive leadership roles with Fornance Physician Services and the Montgomery Healthcare System supported by Fornance, including Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Fornance, President of Fornance, and Senior Vice President of the Montgomery Healthcare System. As Senior Vice President of Einstein Physicians, Mr. Kirkpatrick led the integration of Fornance Physician Services into the Einstein Healthcare Network. Mr. Kirkpatrick’s experience also includes fourteen years as a Senior Audit Manager for Ernst & Young, where he served health care, non-profit, and other clients. As part of his responsibilities at Ernst & Young, Mr. Kirkpatrick provided strategic financial consultation on debt and equity financing transactions, business combinations, and start-up organizations.

For the past 20 years, Mr. Kirkpatrick has volunteered for Waverly Heights, Ltd., a senior living community serving the Main Line Philadelphia suburbs, where his roles have included Director; Chair of the Audit Committee; and member of the Finance, Risk Management, and Foundation Committees. Since 2006, he has volunteered as a Trustee of The Walden School, an independent, Montessori-based preschool and elementary school in Media, Pennsylvania, where his past roles also include Vice President and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. He also has served on the ECFMG/FAIMER Board of Trustees.

Mr. Kirkpatrick is a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Medical Group Management Association. Mr. Kirkpatrick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware.