News Releases

Chicago, IL | December 13, 2023

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) announces that Gay Wehrli, MD, MBA, MSEd; Jon Thomas, MD, MBA; and Tammy McGee, MBA were elected as the ACCME's 2024 Officers.

Gay Wehrli, MD, MBA, MSEd is the Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center (UH SMC) and Professor of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRU). She also serves as UH System Medical Director, High Reliability Medicine for Blood Management, UH System Medical Director, Blood Utilization, and as UH SMC Laboratory Medical Director. As part of the UH SMC leadership team she develops and implements value management strategies to ensure high-quality, cost-effective care. In her 2.5 year tenure with SMC, she has led them through the challenges of COVID, a new electronic health record implementation, a transition to DNV accreditation and a CAP inspection.  Dr. Wehrli has a national reputation as a leader in education for which she has received awards including the 2022 and 2019 Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) President’s Award and multiple Teacher of the Year awards at the University of Virginia (UVA). She is very active at a national and international level with AABB, having served as Chair for the Annual Meetings of 2018 through 2021 and for the Annual Meeting Highlights in the Middle East of 2019 and 2020. She recently edited two books, Principles of Apheresis Technology and the new Apheresis Study Guide. She was a member of the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s Resident in Service Exam Committee as Chair for the BBTM section, in addition to serving as an invited contributor for exam questions. Her interests in education extend beyond healthcare providers, to creating universal blood donor educational materials. Prior to joining UH SMC and CWRU, Dr. Wehrli served as an Associate Chief Medical Information Officer with UVA Health and in Medical Director positions at UVA Health, Tufts-New England Medical Center and at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Wehrli completed her undergraduate degree at Trinity College (CT), then returned home to complete a medical degree at the University of Southern California (USC) and residency plus fellowship at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. She also completed her Master of Science in Education at USC. Dr. Wehrli completed her Master of Business Administration plus health sector management certificate at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.  At Fuqua she was selected as a national, Forté Foundation Fellow for exemplary leadership and commitment to advancing women professionally.

Jon Thomas, MD, MBA completed his undergraduate education at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He completed his medical school education at Mayo Medical School and residency training at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He held a subspecialty interest in head and neck tumors. He received his MBA in Medical Group Management from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Thomas spent 24 years in private practice, ultimately leading a group of 21 otolaryngologists as President and CEO. During his 7 years of leadership, he expanded the reach of the group to the entire Twin Cities metro area including Minneapolis, St. Paul and western Wisconsin. He also oversaw the implementation of the Electronic Health Record for his group. He was recognized as a Top Doctor by Mpls/St. Paul Magazine during the last 10 years of his career as a surgeon before retiring from clinical practice.  Dr. Thomas was also active in the administration of United Hospital, the State Capitol’s largest hospital. He was nominated by his peers on the medical staff to serve on the Executive Leadership Team. In addition, he held a variety of leadership positions, including Chief of Staff. He recently retired from clinical practice to become an ENT Medical Director for UnitedHealthcare. In addition to his clinical activities, Dr. Thomas was honored to serve on the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice for 16 years. He holds the distinction for being appointed by subsequent Democratic, Republican and Independent Governors. During his time on the Board, he served on myriad committees and held many leadership roles including President. Success in healthcare regulation at the state level led Dr. Thomas to become active nationally with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Once again, he demonstrated tireless effort, served on numerous committees and ascended the ranks of leadership to Chai. As Chair of the FSMB, Dr. Thomas shepherded the development of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact statute, which ultimately led to the formation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC), to which Dr. Thomas was elected Chair. The IMLCC provides for expedited multi-state licensure. Dr. Thomas was recognized for his national advocacy in advancing the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission by receiving the FSMB’s Distinguished Service Award and from his alma mater, Mayo Clinic’s Professional Achievement Award. Currently, Dr. Thomas serves on Board of Directors of the National Board of Medical Examiners and is acting Chair of the Committee for Individualized Review of the United States Medical Licensing He also serves on the Editorial Committee for the American Association for Physician Leadership. Dr. Thomas’ career evinces a commitment to patient protection and physician improvement. Dr. Thomas’ interests outside of healthcare include running marathons, jazz music, writing, reading fiction and nonfiction. Lastly, he serves on the Board of Directors of the History Theatre, protecting theatre goers from substandard entertainment.

Tammy McGee, MBA has more than 30 years of expertise in strategic planning, financial analysis, operations management, mergers & acquisitions, cost accounting, project management, process improvement, team development, and regulatory compliance. She joined Dunwoody College of Technology in 2018 as the VP, Administrative Services & Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Dunwoody, McGee served as VP, Finance & Administration for private and public institutions of higher education. She previously served in financial leadership positions at various large manufacturing organizations in Minnesota and Colorado. McGee holds a BS in Finance and Economics and an MBA in New Venture Strategies.  Her volunteer activities have included positions with the: Federal State Medical Board, US Medical Licensing Exam, Metropolitan Airport Commission, National Association of College and University Business Officers, and Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict.

Media Inquiries
Ellen Sullivan
312-245-4066
esullivan@accme.org
 
Other Inquiries
info@accme.org

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The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, responsible for accrediting organizations that offer continuing medical education (CME) and for recognizing state medical societies as accreditors of local CME programs. The ACCME is a cofounder of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™.

The ACCME sets standards for CME that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. These standards ensure that accredited CME is designed to be relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients.

Accredited CME facilitates engagement with physicians and healthcare teams where they live, learn, and work. There are approximately 1,700 accredited CME providers within the ACCME System, across the country and internationally, representing a range of organizations including medical schools, hospitals/health systems, government/military agencies, specialty societies, and insurance/managed-care companies. Accredited providers offer about 170,000 activities each year, comprising more than one million hours of instruction and including more than 45 million interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals. 
For more information, visit www.accme.org. You can also find ACCME on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.