Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A. (Courtesy photo)

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, UVM Health Network, and UVM Health Network Medical Group are pleased to announce that Jason Sanders, M.D., M.B.A., has been appointed to fill three critical executive leadership roles – senior associate dean for clinical affairs at Larner, president and CEO of the Medical Group, and Network executive vice president for clinical affairs. He will begin his work for the College and the Network in February 2022, succeeding Claude Deschamps, M.D., who stepped down at the end of September 2021.

Sanders comes from the University of Oklahoma (OU) Health Sciences Center, where he has served as senior vice president and provost since 2015. As the chief executive for the university’s comprehensive academic health center, Sanders oversees seven colleges and all clinical, research, and educational programs in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and across the state, including the OU Physicians group practice and National Cancer Institute-designated Stephenson Cancer Center.

“I'm excited to join UVM Health Network at a critical time in its evolution," said Sanders. “This network is a national example of how a health system can work collaboratively with a multi-specialty medical group to improve the care experience and achieve better patient outcomes. I look forward to drawing on my experience to help further unify the Network. I'm also eager to help define what value-based care looks like in rural and community settings, as well as promote the unique abilities of an academic health system to bring innovative care to patients and educate the future clinical workforce."

Sanders has spent the bulk of his career in Oklahoma, but he has strong New England connections through his medical training. He earned his medical degree and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard, and was an intern and resident at Massachusetts General Hospital.

He will lead the UVMHN Medical Group as it navigates the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and launches numerous strategic initiatives as part of the Network’s multi-year Access Action Plan. As senior associate dean for clinical affairs, he will join the senior leadership team in advancing research and education at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, ensuring all three missions of the academic health system – clinical, research and education – continue to be realized.

Additionally, he will work closely with department chairs and health care service leaders, and actively collaborate with the affiliate Network hospitals to advance a common vision for clinical and academic growth across the Health Network  He will play a key role in the Network’s continued leadership in transitioning to value-based care, including standardizing quality metrics and transforming the care-delivery model. Sanders will also lead efforts to recruit and retain a dynamic and diverse provider workforce with the medical expertise our patients need.

"Jason Sanders brings experience, talents and core values that will be tremendously valuable to our College,” said Richard L. Page, M.D., dean of the Larner College of Medicine. "I look forward to working with Dr. Sanders in support of our clinical chairs and clinical faculty."

“These are extremely challenging times for health care providers, and we know Dr. Sanders is the right leader at the right time for advancing our clinical, research and educational missions,” said John R. Brumsted, president and CEO of the UVM Health Network. “He will continue to integrate our academic health system, further our transition to value-based care, and ensure we can meet our patients’ and communities’ needs in a high-quality, sustainable way, now and into the future."

Robert Pierattini, M.D., has provided interim leadership for these roles since July. He previously served as chair of the Department of Psychiatry for the Larner College of Medicine and UVMHN Medical Group. A long-tenured department chair, Pierattini continues to provide expertise on mental health and psychiatric care to the residents in our region.