John Spurzem, M.D., professor in the department of internal medicine, section of pulmonary & critical care medicine, has been named medical director of the Adult Intensive Care Units for NHS University and NHS Clarkson hospitals. He succeeds Joe Sisson, M.D., who will continue to serve as professor and chief of the pulmonary & critical care medicine section.
Dr. Spurzem will oversee the ICU units located on the fifth floor of NHS University Hospital and the eighth floor of NHS Clarkson Hospital for UNMC. The units include a total of 44 beds. Marlin Stahl, M.D., a private practice physician for NHS, will continue to serve as medical director of the ICUs for the private practice physicians.
“My goal is to energize the critical care services, so that we become a real leader for the state of Nebraska in the delivery of state-of-the-art critical care medicine,” Dr. Spurzem said. “Eventually, once the Center for Clinical Excellence is built, we hope to consolidate the ICU units into one location.”
Wealth of expertise
Dr. Sisson praised Dr. Spurzem for his expertise. “John is really well trained in ICU. He trained in the Shock Trauma Unit at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City and has directed the ICU at the VA Medical Center in Omaha for the past decade. He’s the perfect person to take on this position. He has a wealth of experience. It will be great to have a fresh look at how our ICU units are run.”
A native of Santa Ana, Calif., Dr. Spurzem has worked at UNMC since 1988. Prior to joining UNMC, he worked for three years as a senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
Educational, professional background
He attended the University of California, Berkeley and received his medical degree in 1979 from the University of California, Irvine. He earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Utah in 1986. Dr. Spurzem did his internship and residency at the Mayo Graduate School in Rochester, Minn., and a three-year fellowship in respiratory, critical care and occupational medicine at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
For the past 10 years, Dr. Spurzem has served as medical director of the ICU for the VA Medical Center in Omaha. Craig Piquette, M.D., assistant professor, pulmonary & critical care medicine section, will succeed Dr. Spurzem as medical director of the ICU at the VA Medical Center.
Leading a key program
“The ICU is an essential element of our acute care services,” said John Gollan, M.D., professor and chairman of the UNMC internal medicine department. “Dr. Spurzem is highly qualified to lead this key program, and he is an innovator. I am confident that he will enhance the clinical, educational and research aspects of critical care medicine at NHS.”
Dr. Stahl concurred that Dr. Spurzem’s new appointment will make a difference. “John is a great guy and will bring new energy and ideas into this position. We have had substantial success in our combined planning process between private practice and academic leadership,” said Dr. Stahl, who is chair of the Special Care Committee, which includes the ICUs. “We need continued strong leadership. Dr. Sisson — and now Dr. Spurzem — have taken a leadership role in development of our care delivery. I look forward to combining our skills to reflect the mission and vision of NHS through private practice and academic expertise.”
2003 Heartland Ball chair
Among his outside activities, Dr. Spurzem is serving as chair of the Heartland Ball for the American Heart Association. The event will be in February.