Dr Keith Chiappa Appointed BHB Chief Of Staff
Bermuda Hospitals Board today [April 27] announced the appointment of Dr Keith Chiappa as Chief of Staff while recruitment for a permanent appointment is completed.
He takes over from Dr Michael Weitekamp, who stepping down from the Chief of Staff role after completing his three year contract. Dr. Chiappa will maintain his Consultant Neurologist duties.
The Chief of Staff is the most senior physician position at BHB and is responsible for clinical care and quality at the hospitals.
Reporting through to both the CEO and the Board, the position is appointed through a legislative process that requires the approval of the Minister responsible for health. All BHB medical chiefs and the Vice President of Quality & Risk report to this position.
Born in Bermuda and educated here to age 17, Dr. Chiappa was appointed as BHB’s Chief of Medicine and Consultant Neurologist in 2008, after a highly distinguished career at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he worked from 1976 to 2011.
He held increasing senior positions at Mass General, his last positions being director of units of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory, and Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. He also served on Harvard Medical School committees for scientific review of research proposals and continuing medical education.
Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities , Dr. Chiappa undertook his post-doctoral training at Boston City Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, with a research fellowship at the University of California at San Diego.
Venetta Symonds, Chief Executive Officer, comments: “I would first like to thank Dr. Weitekamp for his dedicated and exemplary service to BHB and Bermuda. He has been a wise and guiding presence and set ambitious goals that relate to clinical care and quality, which he has worked hard to achieve.
“As Chief of Medicine, Dr. Chiappa worked with Dr. Arlene Basden, Director of the Hospitalist Service, to upgrade the Hospitalist service, including 24- hour hospital coverage, improved emergency department admission coverage, and communications with patients and the community physicians.
“As a neurologist, he has worked steadily to improve the care of stroke patients at BHB, including the use of emergency clot-busting therapies. We are very fortunate that Dr. Chiappa has agreed to take on this role as we complete an extensive recruitment process in the coming months for a permanent appointment.
“Dr. Chiappa’s extensive leadership and medical experience will help us keep momentum going so that we can ultimately meet our vision of ‘Exceptional Care. Strong Partnerships. Healthy Community.’”
Dr. Chiappa comments: “I’m looking forward to working with the Medical Chiefs, the physicians at BHB, the community physicians and the Ministry of Health to continue the work of improving the quality of clinical care in Bermuda. I am very pleased to be able to assist BHB at this time and work with my colleagues to ensure we continue to make progress to improve standards of governance and medical practice.”
A co-founder of the electronic Journal of Contemporary Neurology, Dr. Chiappa was Editor of the publication from 1995 to 2004. He was aslo Co-Editor of UpToDate in Neurology from 1995 to 1997.
Alongside many research papers, Dr Chiappa also authored and co-authored numerous books and monographs, and lectured extensively internationally.
Congratulation Dr. Keith Chiappa on your appointment as Chief of Staff etc. You are the appropriate Dr.for the position.
I sure hope so. Time will tell!!
And he doesn’t know, trust me.
I TRULY wonder what sincere impact HE will have on the volumes of people with cancer in Bermuda with a background in neurology?
We will remain vigilant.
There are an enormous number of head injuries in young people from traffic accidents – but the point is that he is not in a clinical position. We have two oncologists. He cannot be a specialist in all the things that happen to people in Bermuda.
Dumbest comment award winner.
So the Chief of Staff should be an OBGYN because there are babies born every day? Newsflash moron – it doesn’t work that way.
What a ridiculous comment ‘have some backbone’. You need to have some common sense. Dr. Chiappa is eminently qualified in Nuerology. He is not a cancer specialist. That is like saying a gynecologist should be able set your broken leg. I do not know Dr. Chiappa but he brings a wealth of educational qualifications and international experience. How lucky Bermuda is to have a son of the soil return home to share his expertise.
Thank you Scotty. I nor anyone else could have, (possibly) explained his qualification any better…Nor what the Bermudian public have now with them at their finger tips.
Dr.Keith Chiappa is extremely qualified for the position he has taken up…
Through my personal experience, had it not been for his capabilities / qualifications 16 yrs. ago I would possibly have been dead…I was flown to Boston for further examination after finding a tumor in my brain. This is where Dr. Chiappa was located and it was him and others that literally saved my life.
So, do I trust him with my life? the answer is yes, “I do…”
I can’t believe this! Having experienced his arrogant “my way or the highway” approach to head injury and stroke….which are both very long stories and surely not the only ones that exist.I say just because you are Bermudian does not “entitle” you. Your qualifications are more so that you are Bermudian not that you really can “Make a difference” I shudder to think of what we all will endure (or not) under his charge!
Next time maybe you should take care of your own head injury and stroke since you didn’t like his approach and clearly didn’t know how to ask for a different Dr.
Congratulations Dr. Chiappa. I’ve heard wonderful thinks about you and your professional skills.
I hope you raise the level of care provided at KEMH. We need to raise our confidence in our hospital.