Philanthropy fuels Master Clinician impact

Assembling a significant cohort of top medical clinicians would be impossible for most healthcare systems. They wouldn’t be able to afford the cost of such a team, or assure the accomplished medical professionals would be surrounded by colleagues of similar abilities and vision.

That’s where the support of generous donors can make all the difference, a fact made clear by the IU Health Foundation’s Master Clinician program. Described by IU Health Foundation President Crystal Miller in her 2024 Q1 Report, the program supports the recruitment of highly sought-after professionals, giving Hoosiers access to the clinicians’ valuable expertise while also driving healthcare innovation.

The ways the program achieves these goals was underscored during a recent Master Clinician panel discussion before the Foundation board.

One key to the success of the program, noted its director, Mitesh Shah, MD, is the commitment to collaboration at IU Health and Indiana University School of Medicine. “I’ve watched the evolution of what works and what doesn’t work in terms of various models of trying to recruit clinicians,” said Shah, a 30-year IU Health veteran who chairs the IU department of neurological surgery and co-directs the Indiana University/IU Health Neuroscience Institute. “Since the model of having greater integration between the health system and the school of medicine – and that’s thanks to Jay Hess and Dennis Murphy – we have seen a cultural change in terms of programmatic building.”

That approach is complemented by a commitment to truly affecting Hoosiers’ health, and that’s part of what attracted neurologist Na Tosha Gatson, PhD, MD, FAAN, to the school of medicine in March. “The job of a neurologist is a humanitarian imperative,” said Gatson, who also serves as the senior medical director of neuro-oncology and IU Health Neuroscience director of the Center for Neuro-oncology in the school of medicine. “The potential to stop tumors that threaten the ability to be human, that move into thinking, speech, psychiatry, etc. Neuro-oncology now says, ‘How do we stop brain tumors and spine tumors from moving in on that humanity?’”

“It’s really about the programs we’re building to improve quality and safety for all our patients across Indiana,” added Anthony D Yang, MD, MS, who champions efforts to implement evidence-based best practices, improve healthcare quality measurement and train frontline providers to improve care. “Master Clinician funds free up the time for me to be able to do that. It allows me to affect things on a larger scale than I could by myself.”

David A. Purger, MD, PhD, was drawn to IU Health in September by an atmosphere of innovation. “What I felt was an energy and drive to build, grow and innovate,” said Purger, whose clinical practice focuses on brain disorders and the impact brain stimulation can have for psychiatric disorders. “Nowhere else I interviewed gave me that opportunity.”

For Jason M. Schwalb, MD, FAANS, FCNS, FACS, FAES, part of the attraction to IU Health was the size of the team he would be working with and the opportunity size presents in terms of developing a nationally significant program. “With five functional neurosurgeons – including the two pediatric functional neurosurgeons – we’re one of the largest groups in the U.S. So it’s a huge opportunity.”

But it wasn’t just the number of people he could count as partners that attracted Schwalb, who was recruited to Indiana University School of Medicine in September 2024 as the director of functional neurosurgery. The quality of the professionals on the team drew him, as well “Just like any job, you go because of the people you have the opportunity to work with,” he said.

Like Schwalb, Samantha Hendren, MD, MPH, looks forward to creating a team that is recognized nationally for its impact on human health. “My goal in the next couple of years is to work with the multi-disciplinary team here in the IU Health Simon Cancer Center around colorectal cancer care,” said Hendren, whose research focuses on healthcare quality and safety, especially for patients with colorectal cancer. “It’s a multi-year process, but we’ll be going down the road to become a Center of Excellence for colorectal cancer care, so we can walk alongside other leading cancer centers across the country.”

By supporting healthcare collaboration, improved health, innovation, professional excellence and excellence of care, philanthropy – through the Master Clinicians program – makes it possible for Hoosier to access top-notch care and for IU Health to cement its place among leading healthcare systems.

(Brian Weiss, MD, who serves as the pediatric division chief of hematology/oncology/stem cell transplant at Riley Children’s Health also is a member of the Master Clinician cohort, but could not attend the panel conversation.)

To learn how you can join other donors making all the difference in support of IU Health’s vision to help make Indiana one of the healthiest states in the country, contact Heather Perdue, IU Health Foundation Vice President of Campaigns and Philanthropy at 317.962.2207 or hperdue@iuhealth.org or make a gift to the Statewide Area of Greatest Need fund using our online form today.