Crusader Announces New Chief Medical Officer
Crusader Community Health has appointed Dawn Mellish, M.D. to the position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Mellish is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, where she also completed her Internship in the Internal Medicine Affiliated Programs. She concluded Internal Medicine residency, followed by Nephrelogy Fellowship training at Harlem Hospital Center in New York City.
Dr. Mellish is board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine. She has unrestricted licenses to practice in the states of Illinois, New York and Florida. She is an experienced clinician with expertise in administrative and academic medicine. Most of her 30 years with the Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) have been in leadership roles with progressively increasing responsibilities.
She has had extensive experience with inpatient clinical administration, as Director of Service for more than twenty years in the Department of Medicine at Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York. Her experience is expansive, encompassing patient safety, credentialing, risk management, utilization management, quality improvement and regulatory compliance, including Joint Commission and CMS.
Dr. Mellish is LEAN Bronze Level certified and has served in various capacities on numerous committees, councils and workgroups. She received formal leadership training at the Harvard School of Public Health. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her achievements, including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. In addition, she was acknowledged by the City of New York on two separate occasions with Proclamations for outstanding community service, leadership and professional achievements. She holds academic appointments as Assistant Professor of Medicine at SUNY Downstate School of Medicine and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Ross University School of Medicine, where she is also the Clerkship Director for Internal Medicine.
Before coming aboard to Crusader Community Health, Dr. Mellish served as the Chief of Service for Ambulatory Care at Kings County Hospital Center, where she was responsible for all primary care and subspecialty outpatient services, achieving Level 3 patient-centered medical home designation under her leadership. Kings County Hospital Center maintains some of the largest chronic disease patient population registries in New York, accounting for more than 9,000 patients in their Cardiovascular Disease Registry and over 7,500 in their Diabetes Registry.
“As Crusader Community Health perpetuates its growth and clinical services to the Rockford Community, Dr. Mellish’s experience in a large, complex, inner-city health system and her academic, administrative and clinical acumen, makes her the ideal choice for the position as the Chief Medical Officer of Crusader Community Health” noted Gordon Eggers, President & CEO, Crusader Community Health.