Parkridge Medical Center has named Dr. Walter Kerschl its chief medical officer. Before joining Parkridge, Kerschl most recently served as president for Evexia Healthcare Advisors. He previously served as vice president and chief medical officer at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and as chief medical officer and senior director at the Cerner Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri.
Kerschl served as an internist and practiced for more than 24 years before transitioning into chief medical officer roles in recent years.
Kerschl is a graduate of the University of Rochester and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. He completed his residency at the University of Virginia.
Kerschl also has completed a Master of Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently a part of the Global Health Care Leaders Program at Harvard Medical School.
Covenant College names Voyles president
Dr. Brad Voyles is the new president of Covenant College. Voyles has been serving as interim president and has been the vice president for student development and dean of students since 2005.
His academic credentials include a Doctor of Education from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Divinity from Reformed Theology Seminary, a Master of Science in Education from Southern Illinois University and a degree in biology from DePauw University.
Voyles has been married to Kelli Voyles for 25 years, and they have three children. Voyles has served as an ordained ruling elder at Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church since 2008.
Executive Chief Scruggs to retire from CPD
Executive Chief Glenn Scruggs will retire from the Chattanooga Police Department this month. Scruggs has served the department for the past 29 years.
He started his career with the Chattanooga Police Department as a patrol officer in its Public Housing Unit in 1994 and culminated with his service as the executive chief of neighborhood policing and community services.
“It’s been my privilege and honor to serve alongside the men and women of this agency,” says Scruggs. “I’ve loved every day of it – even the hard days.”
Cempa appoints Thomas director of community health
Cempa Community Care recently welcomed Joseph Thomas as its director of community health – a new position at the company.
After earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis in 2011, Thomas spent several years as a foster care home assessor and case manager. He also served with the Chattanooga Fire Department for 12 years and retired as a lieutenant.
Thomas’ experience includes a significant amount of health and wellness-related volunteer work and project-based public health research. He earned his Master of Public Health from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2022.
Thomas will oversee outreach services, harm reduction, health screenings and more.
Cempa’s Burger wins executive leadership award
The Tennessee Primary Care Association recognized Cempa Community Care’s CEO, Shannon Burger, with the 2023 Kathy Wood-Dobbins Executive Leadership Award at the organization’s annual conference in Nashville.
The award, “recognizes an individual, either a member or non-member of the association, who, within their role as executive leader of an organization, advocates vigorously for health centers and their patients, resulting in support and recognition of the quality primary care provided by health centers in our Tennessee communities,” the TPCA reports.