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Chairman, Board of Directors, Surgical Review Corporation
Managing Director, Commonwealth Surgeons
Richmond, Virginia
Dr. Neil Hutcher is the Chairman of the SRC Board of Directors and a member of
the Executive Committee. He is a recognized leader in the advancement of bariatric
surgery, especially as it relates to patient education and advocacy on the federal
and state levels. He began practicing medicine in Richmond in 1973 and currently
serves on the staff of Commonwealth Surgeons. Dr. Hutcher has served as Chairman
of the Department of Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital and Clinical Associate
Professor of Surgery at both the Medical College of Virginia and McGuire
Veterans Administration Medical Center. He is also a past president of the
American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Dr. Hutcher
received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and his medical
degree from the Medical College of Virginia, where he also completed a residency
in general surgery and specialty fellowship training in transplant surgery.
Director, Nutrition and Weight Management Center, Boston Medical Center
Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts
Dr.Caroline Apovian represents bariatric physicians. She is Director of the Nutrition Support Service at Boston University Medical Center. Dr.
Apovian is an internationally recognized nutrition and obesity clinician and clinical
scientist who has published more than 100 articles, editorials, abstracts, chapters
and books. She is an associate editor of Obesity and the nutrition and obesity editor
of Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity. Dr. Apovian was a recipient
of the Physician Nutrition Specialist Award given by the American Society of Clinical
Nutrition for her work on developing and providing nutrition education to medical
students and physicians in training at Boston University School of Medicine. She
received her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey and completed an internal medicine residency at New England Deaconess Hospital,
part of Harvard Medical School.
Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Healthcare
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Dr. Don Bradley represents health plans. He serves on SRC's Executive Committee and is Chief Medical Officer and
Senior Vice President for Healthcare of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where
he was instrumental in the launch of the organization’s own bariatric surgery centers
of excellence program. Dr. Bradley is a board-certified family physician and a fellow
of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has faculty appointments at both Duke
University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he continues to
teach and collaborate on research projects. He also serves on the North Carolina State
Health Coordinating Council, Executive Committee of the National Medical Management
Forum and BCBS National Council of Physician Executives. Dr. Bradley received his medical
degree from the Medical College of Virginia and completed a family practice residency at
the Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He also completed a Kellogg
Fellowship in family medicine and earned a master’s degree in health sciences in clinical
leadership from Duke University.
President, Health Care Consultancy
Publisher and Editor, The Downey Obesity Report
Washington, D.C.
Mr. Morgan Downey represents patient advocates. He is a
consultant to for-profit and nonprofit organizations on obesity-related
issues, and co-leads SRC's advocacy efforts. Previously, Mr. Downey
served as Executive Vice President of The Obesity Society and was responsible for the
inclusion of obesity in both the Democratic and Republican Party national platforms
in 2008. During his tenure as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
American Obesity Association, his accomplishments included gaining recognition of
obesity as a disease by the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service
and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; changing the IRS policy to allow
individuals to include obesity treatments under the medical deduction; a four-fold
expansion of NIH research funding on obesity; improving the standards for determining
disability for persons with morbid obesity; expanding the role of the federal
government in obesity education, prevention and treatment; and organizing the first
conferences on obesity as a public policy issue. Mr. Downey received his undergraduate
degree from Fairfield University and his juris doctor degree from Georgetown
University Law Center.
Manager, Retirement Plans
Michelin North America
Greenville, South Carolina
Mr. James Fivecoat represents consumers, large employers
and patient advocates. He has more than 30 years of experience in
personnel, organizational development and benefits for Michelin North
America. In his current role, Mr. Fivecoat manages
retirement plans with more than $4 billion in assets and monthly payments of over
$14 million for Michelin’s 36,000+ employees and retirees in the US. He is also a
member of Michelin’s Benefits Policy and Investment Committees. Mr. Fivecoat is
Chairman of the Board for the Obesity Action Coalition and a bariatric surgery
patient who remains successful with his weight loss. He received an MBA from Kent
State University and has done extensive post-graduate work with the Gestalt Institute
of Cleveland.
Chief Executive Officer
Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Mr. Michael Kerner represents hospital and health system administration. He
is the Chief Executive Officer of Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health
System, which serves southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Mr. Kerner has
more than 25 years of experience in healthcare leadership and previously served
as the Executive Vice President/Administrator for Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital
in Richmond, Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University
of Virginia and a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth
University’s Medical College of Virginia.
Vice President, North America, Bariatric Advantage
President, The Petkus Group
Chicago, Illinois
Mr. Bret Petkus represents freestanding outpatient facilities. He is
Vice President, North America, for Bariatric Advantage, and the Founder
and President of The Petkus Group. Mr. Petkus has served in principal
business positions at surgical device companies, surgical practices and
surgical facilities since 1997, and founded a freestanding outpatient
facility bariatric surgery program. He graduated with a bachelor's
degree in general engineering from the United States Military Academy at
West Point and served in various leadership capacities as an officer in
the US Army.
Chairman Emeritus, Board of Directors, Surgical Review Corporation
Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry, Exercise and Sport Science, Department of Surgery, Brody School
of Medicine, East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina
Dr. Walter Pories, Chairman Emeritus of the SRC Board of Directors, co-founded SRC and has held leadership
positions since its inception. Dr. Pories
is an experienced bariatric surgeon who serves as Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry, Exercise
and Sport Science at East Carolina University (ECU). He is the principal investigator of the ECU National
Center for the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery, funded by the National Institutes of Health,
as well as other research programs funded by Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, the Health Resources and
Services Administration and the Golden LEAF Foundation. Dr. Pories previously served as the president
of ASMBS and the North Carolina Medical Board, in addition to numerous other leadership positions.
He is a recipient of the O. Max Gardner Award, given to one faculty member of the 16 schools in the
University of North Carolina system for contributions to humanity. He is also a widely published
cartoonist. Dr. Pories received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and MD with Honor
from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his residency in
general and thoracic surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr. Pories served as a Commander during
the First Gulf War and retired from the US Army with the rank of Colonel and a Legion of Merit after
24 years of service.
Chief Executive Officer
Surgical Review Corporation
Raleigh, North Carolina
Mr. Gary Pratt assisted in the startup of SRC and has served as CEO
since its inception in 2003. He has spent a majority of his career in
the healthcare and information technology industries, successfully
launching seven companies and selling four of them. Mr. Pratt also
served as a partner in the nation's sixth-largest accounting firm and
president of a division of Waste Management, a Fortune 500 company. He
is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, with a degree in business
administration.
Surgeon, Provost Bariatrics
Medical Director, Bariatric Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Denton, Texas
Dr. David Provost, Chairman of SRC's Bariatric Surgery Review Committee,
has practiced bariatric surgery for nearly 20 years and is Medical
Director of the Bariatric Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital
Denton as well as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Previously, he was the
Medical Director for the Surgical Management of Obesity at the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Provost serves on
the Board of the ASMBS Foundation and is an associate editor of Surgery
for Obesity and Related Diseases. He received his medical degree from
the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he also
conducted his residency.
Director of Clinical Services, Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry and Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dr. David Sarwer represents integrated health. He is Associate Professor of Psychology in
Psychiatry and Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as well as
Director of Clinical Services at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders. Dr. Sarwer is principal
or co-principal investigator on four NIH-funded grants investigating the
psychological aspects of bariatric surgery, and involved in two studies investigating the
treatment of obesity in primary care settings. He is also a consultant to the
Edwin Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania
Medical Center, where he conducts research on the psychological aspects of cosmetic
and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Sarwer received a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University
and both a master’s and doctorate in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago.
Chairman, Health Care Litigation Group, and Co-Chairman, Health Law Group
Stevens & Lee
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Mr. James Saxton represents health law and professional liability. With nearly 30 years
of experience representing physicians in state and federal courts, he is
Chairman of Stevens & Lee's Health Care Litigation Group and Co-Chairman
of the firm's Health Law Group, and serves on SRC's Executive
Committee. Mr. Saxton advises hospitals
and bariatric surgeons on how to reduce their professional liability risk, and creates risk
reduction strategies and educational programs to support them. He helped develop the Novus
Insurance Company Risk Retention Group for bariatric and general surgeons, and has published
more than 200 articles, several handbooks and textbooks. Mr. Saxton is a Fellow of the College
of Physicians of Philadelphia, the oldest professional medical organization in the country, and
is on the Board of Directors for Surgical Excellence, LLC. He is the past chair of the American
Health Lawyers Association Healthcare Liability and Litigation Practice Group and a member of
numerous other professional associations. Mr. Saxton received his undergraduate degree from
Shippensburg State College and his juris doctor degree from Duquesne Law School.
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