Pamela Sutton-Wallace, a Duke University Health System employee since 1997, was appointed chief of staff to the chancellor for health affairs, officials announced Monday.
Pamela Sutton-Wallace, a Duke University Health System employee since 1997, was appointed chief of staff to the chancellor for health affairs, officials announced Monday. She has held the position since October.
Sutton-Wallace’s promotion marks the fourth major appointment Dr. Victor Dzau has made since he took charge of DUHS July 1; all four administrators have been women. The hiring trend indicates a shift in focus for the Health System, which for years was regarded as an exclusive club of white men within the organization.
Dzau said he was conscious of the change and had made an effort to diversify his senior administration. “Its not only the quality of people, but the message you’re giving people in what you are looking for,” Dzau told The Chronicle earlier this month.
Previous appointees are: Molly O’Neill as chief strategic planning officer, vice president for business development and vice chancellor for Medical Center integrated planning; Dr. Catherine Gilliss as dean of the School of Nursing; and Karen Frush as chief patient safety officer for DUHS.
Dzau said in a release that he looks forward to the opportunity to work closely with Sutton-Wallace. “I am thrilled to be working with someone as knowledgeable and capable as Pam,” Dzau said in the statement. “Her education, commitment and working knowledge of the Medical Center and Health System make her the ideal person for the job.”
Sutton-Wallace will work Dzau and senior Health System administrators in shaping the future of DUHS. According to a Duke University Medical Center news release, she will focus on developing and implementing systemwide projects such as coordinating the various aspects of DUHS, improving technology and pioneering a vision for Duke’s role in global health.
Sutton-Wallace said Dzau’s passion for community and global health care drew her to accept the position overseeing his agenda. “I really felt called to do this work, hoping that I could contribute to Dr. Dzau’s work and represent those who feel like their voices have not been heard,” she said in a statement.
At a time when much of the Health System is focusing on improving patient safety and care, Sutton-Wallace’s experience in the area will be an asset.
In recent years she led patient safety efforts and program growth within DUMC as assistant operating officer for Medical/Surgical/Critical Care and Digestive Clinical Service Units. She has also served as administrative director of the Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program.
Lisa Wright, administrative coordinator of the adult bone marrow transplant center and employee who worked with Sutton-Wallace, noted Sutton-Wallace would make an excellent chief of staff as she is a good role model and supervisor.
“I only have good things to say about her,” Wright said. “I knew her when she first started at Duke, and she has excelled since she has been here.”
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