Daniel W Varga MD Appointed as Chief Physician Executive
What you need to know
Daniel W. Varga, M.D., has been appointed chief physician executive (CPE) of Hackensack Meridian Health effective February 3, 2020.
As CPE, Dr. Varga will lead and oversee the physician enterprise and will be responsible, as HMH’s senior medical leader, for achieving the best possible quality outcomes throughout the network.
He will partner with other leaders throughout the network to crystallize HMH’s strategy of value-based, highly reliable, innovative care that supports our mission, as well as integrating physician initiatives with all hospital, outpatient, and affiliated HMH services and facilities.
In addition, Dr. Varga will co-lead our Care Transformation Services (CTS) and will be responsible for the medical management of Hackensack Meridian Health Partners, our clinically integrated network.
Previous experience
Dr. Varga joins us from Texas Health Resources (THR) where he was a senior vice president and chief clinical officer and had joint accountability for all clinical operations within the health system, as well as joint accountability for clinical informatics, quality and performance improvement, and nursing, and principal accountability for the THR physician enterprise, graduate medical education, population health, medical staff affairs and physician leadership development, and clinical research. He also led the development of a high-reliability model at THR. Prior to THR, Dr. Varga was the chief medical officer at other health systems, including St. Joseph’s Health System, SSM Health Care and Norton Healthcare.
Dr. Varga is a very active physician executive. He is currently co-chair of the Physician Alignment Forum of The Leadership Institute and is the chair of Grace Indemnity Captive Insurance. In the past, he has had roles such as president of the Kentucky Medical Association and chair of the Healthcare Associated Infections Project of the National Quality Forum. He is the author of numerous articles in well-known publications and has received several awards, including the Every Moment Matters Award from the Presbyterian Health Services Foundation.
Education
Dr. Varga received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Kentucky and received his M.D. degree from the University of Louisville. Outside of work, Dan and his wife enjoy spending time with their adult children and grandson and traveling to their favorite destinations: Charleston, New Orleans and Italy.