Dear Team,
It is with mixed emotions that I write to share that Dr. William Huffner, our Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, has announced his upcoming retirement. With ten years’ service as our chief medical officer, Dr. Huffner will serve his last day with UM SRH on June 28, 2024.
Dr. Huffner’s time at Shore has been filled with many important milestones and accomplishments. With his leadership, UM SRH has implemented significant healthcare transformations throughout the region we serve. Among his earliest accomplishments was the integration of two separate and distinct medical staffs into one regional medical staff, complete with one medical staff president, one governance / committee structure, one set of by-laws and one medical staff voice for UM Shore Regional Health.
Dr. Huffner was also instrumental with developing our health care transformations in Cambridge and Chestertown, ensuring we maintain high-quality accessible patient care locally in each of these important communities within our service area. Around the same time, he also served as our Incident Commander for Covid-19, helping lead us through the challenges of a multi-year, world-wide pandemic. Most recently, Dr. Huffner played a pivotal role in advancing our CON application for our new regional medical center with the State and assisting with the design of the new facility. Because of his efforts and input, the regional medical center will be a more efficient facility that is designed to meet the acute care needs of our community for decades to come.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Huffner on his accomplishments and contributions to our region and help me by celebrating this next important chapter in his life with him.
With great appreciation,
Kenneth Kozel, MBA, FACHE
President and CEO at UM Shore Regional Health
University of Maryland Medical System