New TPMG, MAPMG Leader Appointed

Richard S. Isaacs, MD, to Assume Roles of Executive Director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, and President and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Permanente Medical Group and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group announced that Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS, will officially assume the roles of executive director and CEO of TPMG and president and CEO of MAPMG on June 1, 2017.

TPMG and MAPMG are two of the largest and most distinguished medical groups in the nation, with more than 10,000 Permanente physicians delivering high-quality health care to nearly 5 million Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Dr. Isaacs will succeed Robert Pearl, MD, who has served as executive director and CEO for TPMG and president and CEO for MAPMG. He will also succeed Dr. Pearl as co-CEO of the National Permanente Executive Committee of The Permanente Federation.

“It will be a tremendous honor to assume the role of CEO with both The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group and to succeed Dr. Pearl, who has led our organizations so successfully,” said Dr. Isaacs. “As we look to the future, I am excited about the opportunity to work with our incredible physicians and staff to build on our exceptional foundation and to challenge ourselves to enhance our world-class care in a continually changing health care environment.”

Dr. Isaacs has served as physician-in-chief for the Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center since 2005. In this role, he has been responsible for all clinical operations throughout the inpatient and outpatient arenas.

As physician-in-chief, Dr. Isaacs played a critical leadership role in helping his medical staff pioneer several innovative initiatives that were ultimately adopted by Kaiser Permanente nationwide, including the implementation of Kaiser Permanente’s electronic medical record. In 2008, Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center became the first Level II trauma center within Kaiser Permanente. More recently, the area’s collaborative Greater Sacramento Sports Medicine program has expanded to provide expert care to regional and professional athletes.

Prior to becoming physician-in-chief, Dr. Isaacs served as The Permanente Medical Group’s chair of the Regional Chiefs’ Group for Head and Neck Surgery and chief of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery for Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.

Born and raised in Detroit, Dr. Isaacs received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in that city. He completed his Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery training in New York at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital/New York Hospital-Cornell Medical College/Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Subsequently, he received his Head and Neck Oncologic and Skull Base Surgical training from the University of California, Davis. He joined The Permanente Medical Group following the completion of his surgical training in 1995. He is board certified in Otolaryngology with advanced certification in Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery, is a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Isaacs, who has published several articles in national publications, is actively involved in medical education and has served as a clinical professor of Otolaryngology at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine, and California Northstate University School of Medicine.