Sound Physicians Welcomes Kevin Letz, DNP, as Vice President of Advanced Practice Providers

    TACOMA, WA, December 12, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sound Physicians, a leading healthcare organization focused on improving quality and lowering cost throughout the acute episode of care, today announced the addition of Kevin Letz, DNP, as Vice President of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), which includes nurse practitioners and physicians assistants.

In this new clinical leadership role, Dr. Letz is responsible for APP strategy, as well as clinical education and career development of APPs within Sound's practice. He will work closely with the clinical leadership team to drive innovation through new care models and best practices to improve performance outcomes.

Dr. Letz comes to Sound Physicians with extensive experience in clinical leadership, including his most recent appointment as Director of Advanced Practice at Stanford University Medical Center for the past 10 years. Prior to Stanford, Dr. Letz held various leadership roles, including Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Emergency Services. He also has 18 years of experience in various clinical APP practices.

Dr. Letz is a nationally recognized advocate for APPs and founded the nonprofit Advanced Practice Provider Executives (APPex), which has the goal of promoting growth of APP leaders in the United States. Dr. Letz' academic achievements include a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, with a focus on leadership, from Rush University, as well as an MBA and MSN. He is board certified as an FNP, ANP, PNP, CNE, and CEN, and is also a fellow of AANP.

"Multidisciplinary teams are central to Sound's strategy for driving continuous improvement in quality, patient experience and total cost for acute care episodes. Under Dr. Letz's leadership, our APP clinical colleagues will help us continue to innovate and deliver better outcomes for our patients and hospital partners," comments John Birkmeyer, MD, Chief Clinical Officer.

With the rapidly aging population and the shortage of physicians in the United States, new acute care practice models are emerging to address care needs. A growing number of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants are opting to practice in the fast-paced and challenging hospital environment.

Robert Bessler, MD, Sound Physicians' Chief Executive Officer, notes, "Today, more than 20% of Sound Physicians' providers are APPs. Our APPs care for patients in our Hospital Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care service lines. APPs are respected members of our clinical teams nationwide, and we expect continued growth and advancement of our APP colleagues under Dr. Letz' leadership."

About Sound Physicians
Sound Physicians is a leading healthcare organization with a proven track record of improving quality, satisfaction and financial performance for its hospital partners nationwide. Sound combines a high-performance model with engaged providers to drive reproducible results across the acute care episode - through emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, transitional care and advisory services.

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