North Kansas City Hospital and Meritas Health has named Collin Lovitt, DO, as the new medical staff president. Dr. Lovitt began her one-year term July 1. In this role, she acts as a liaison between the medical staff and the hospital system’s administration, chairs the NKCH Medical Executive Committee and provides leadership representation for the more than 550 physicians on staff.
Board-certified in internal medicine, Dr. Lovitt is a hospitalist with Meritas Health Hospitalists and also currently serves on the Emergency Department Subcommittee, Meritas Health Hospitalist Executive Committee, and Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. Over her more than 12 years with the system, she has held various leadership positions serving as chair of Medical Records, Pharmacy and Therapeutics, and Utilization Review.
“Working with the medical staff and hospital leadership has prepared me well for this opportunity,” Dr. Lovitt said. “The health system’s physicians and hospital administration have built a relationship that is rare in our industry. I look forward to strengthening that connection because it is vital to the patient experience.”
Dr. Lovitt earned her medical degree from Touro University-California College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency, for which she was chief resident, at the University of Kansas Hospital.
Chief Medical Officer Steven Starr, MD, praised Dr. Lovitt’s skills as a clinician and leader. “Collin has played a central role in meeting the needs of the Northland community,” Dr. Starr said. “She is an excellent physician and is devoted to patient care. I am confident she will continue to advocate for provider collaboration and evidence-based patient care.”
Dr. Lovitt succeeds Keenan Berghoff, MD, a bariatric surgeon with the Total Weight Loss Center and a surgeon with Meritas Health Comprehensive Surgery.