Dr. Harold Paz will serve as the executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs beginning in the spring. Credit: Courtesy Ohio State
The Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees convened Wednesday, in which it formally introduced a new leader and voted on projects to expand the medical center.
The board announced that Dr. Harold Paz will serve as the executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs beginning in the spring, and it voted to approve the purchase of land in Dublin for a new facility as well as create a centralized sterile supply center off campus.
“This is a momentous day for Ohio State and its medical center,” Les Wexner, chair of the Wexner Medical Center Board, said.
The board began its meeting by introducing Paz, who previously worked as the executive vice president and chief health officer at health insurance company Aetna, according to an email from university president Michael Drake sent following the meeting.
Paz said that in his new role, he plans to help prepare students for a rapidly changing medical landscape.
“We owe this to our students, who must be prepared for a very different work environment, which will require new skill sets to be successful in the future,” Paz said.
The search committee created to fill the position has been looking at a small pool of candidates for approximately a year and a half, according to President Michael Drake at the meeting.
In terms of property, Gail Marsh, chief strategy officer for Ohio State University and Wexner Medical Center, said that expanding medical facilities is a key part of the Wexner Center’s strategic plan.
“We’re growing, and we need facilities to grow, and so lots of work this last year on a new inpatient hospitals and new ambulatory facilities around the city,” Marsh said.
The board voted to purchase about 34 acres in Dublin next to Route 33 to construct its second of three outpatient care facilities outlined in the strategic plan. The purchase cost $8.3 million, Jay Kasey, senior vice president of the Office of Administration and Planning, said.
This facility will be the second of three outpatient centers outlined in the Wexner Center strategic plan, Kasey said.
The board also voted to fund the construction of a sterile supply facility at a free standing off-campus location to serve the growing number of facilities and create more space for the supplies. Kasey said the project will cost $45.7 million.
