Chattanooga, Tenn. – Steven H. Burkett has been named Senior Vice-President of Physician Services at the Erlanger Health System.
In making the announcement, Erlanger President and CEO Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, noted that “Steve’s significant executive experience in medical group management, hospital operations and managing physician relationships makes him the ideal fit for this key position at Erlanger.”
Prior to his position at Erlanger, Burkett served as founder and CEO of The Burkett Group in Memphis, Tenn. Burkett’s consulting firm served numerous clients in the health care industry, advising them in such areas as strategy development and planning, contract negotiation, ambulatory care and clinic assessment and facilities development.
From 1984 to 2012, Burkett worked with UT Medical Group, Inc. in Memphis, an adult multi-specialty group practice at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine in Memphis. As President and Chief Executive Officer, he was responsible for the development of the UT Medical Group’s overall strategic plan, alliances and business opportunities with hospitals, managed care organizations and other entities in the healthcare marketplace. Under his leadership, the UT Medical Group grew to more than 440 MD and non-MD providers, representing specialists and sub-specialists in all major disciplines.
Burkett has served as President and Executive Director of University of Tennessee Bowld Hospital in Memphis, President of University Physicians Foundation in Memphis, and Administrator of University Physicians Group with the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo.
He received his Master of Public Administration, with a Major in Health Services Administration from the University of Memphis in Tennessee.
Board memberships include ShelbyCounty’s Mayor’s Healthy Community Commission, the Governor’s Safety Net Task Force, and Board Chairman of Memphis Managed Care Corporation.
Burkett has also been active in community involvement, serving on the Board of Directors of Theater Memphis, graduating from Leadership Memphis in 2004, Executive Committee member of the Memphis Area Transit Authority and Chairman of the American Heart Walk in Memphis and ShelbyCounty. In 2002 he was named Memphis Executive of the Year by the International Association of Administrative Professionals.
Burkett and his wife Anita have two daughters, Whitney and Hillary. He assumed his new leadership position at Erlanger on December 2, 2013.
The Erlanger Health System, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., is comprised of five campuses in two counties, serving residents living within a 150-mile radius of Chattanooga, primarily in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Erlanger has the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, only Children’s Hospital, and is the region’s only teaching hospital, affiliated with the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.
