Patty Wright, MD, professor of Medicine and associate division director for Clinical Affairs in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been named as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Chief of Staff for Adult Ambulatory Services for Davidson County. She will begin serving in this role on July 1.
Wright will report to Thomas Nantais, MBA, Executive Vice President for Ambulatory Services and to David Raiford, MD, Chief of Clinical Staff for VUMC.
As Chief of Staff for Adult Ambulatory Services, Wright’s responsibility will be providing leadership in the development and practice of day-to-day operations in support of VUMC’s ambulatory mission and vision. She will assist in developing and implementing clinical operating policies and procedures, practice and productivity standards, quality and safety initiatives, and the overall operations of VUMC’s adult ambulatory medical practice in Davidson County.
“Consistent with the growth occurring throughout Davidson County and surrounding areas, our clinics continue to experience increasing volumes. Recent additions within the Metro area, such as the expansion of Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks and the addition of Vanderbilt Health Belle Meade, signal our ongoing commitment to meet the needs of our patients in a manner as convenient as possible,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “Dr. Wright is an outstanding addition to our Adult Ambulatory team. She brings a wealth of experience as a talented physician-leader, having served in important roles in a range of clinical areas and involving some of our most important patient care initiatives. I want to welcome her to this new role.”
Wright will also be responsible for collaborating with VUMC and Vanderbilt Medical Group leadership for optimizing access to care for patients in the ambulatory adult practices at the Medical Center’s main campus, One Hundred Oaks and for VUMC’s other locations within Davidson County.
She will also serve as a physician collaborative leader in developing bundled care offerings for an array of complex medical conditions.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Wright join our Adult Ambulatory team. Patty’s previous significant roles in the adult ambulatory milieu are pivotable to her future success in her new COS role. Her ability to navigate through change, and help others accept and succeed through these changing times, is outstanding. We are excited to work more closely with Dr. Wright,” said Nantais.
Wright has excelled in a broad range of clinical and administrative roles during nearly 20 years of service to Vanderbilt, including as medical director of the International Travel Clinic, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic, and executive medical director of the Medicine Patient Care Center. As an infectious diseases specialist, Wright played an integral role in VUMC’s COVID-19 response, leading numerous initiatives including the creation of the COVID-19 Infusion Clinic and chairing the Clinical Recommendations for Treatment of COVID-19 in Adult Patients Working Group.
She has served on numerous committees and work groups and currently serves as executive medical director for the Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy, and as a safety officer for Quality, Safety and Risk Prevention. She also lectures medical students, residents and fellows on complex infectious diseases topics and is a frequently invited speaker at professional gatherings.
“Through her outstanding service in numerous leadership roles, Dr. Wright has earned the trust and respect of colleagues across VUMC. We are delighted that Patty has accepted this important appointment and are confident that she will extend her impressive track record of leadership success,” said Raiford.
In 2020, Wright was a member of VUMC’s COVIDRX Team, winning a VUMC Elevate Team Award and the President’s Award from the Tennessee Hospital Association for the team’s efforts to develop protocols and a distribution process to provide the State of Tennessee’s supply of remdesivir to COVID-19 patients who needed the drug the most at hospitals across Tennessee.
Wright earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University and her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship training in Infectious Diseases.
She is married to Chris Wright, who teaches physics at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet School. They have two children, Natalie (18) and Andrew (16).
