On behalf of Dan E. Berkowitz, MB BCh:

It is with great enthusiasm and expectation that I announce a restructuring of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine’s IT team. Please join me in congratulating Dale A. Parks, Ph.D., who has been appointed Associate Vice Chair for Quality Improvement and Director of Quality Integration, and Josh Hagood, B.S., who has been appointed Director of Information Technology.

Dale Parks has been with the department since 1985 and is well qualified to assume this leadership role. Dr. Parks earned a Ph.D. in Basic Medical Sciences (Cardiovascular Physiology) from the University of South Alabama and completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Cincinnati (Pharmacology). Over the next 25 years, Dr. Parks has served as PI or Co-PI on more than 20 extramurally funded basic, clinical, and industry-sponsored grants, as well as five training grants (T32), and has mentored 18 M.D. and Ph.D. students. Dr. Parks has authored 89 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 28 reviews/book chapters. In his most recent role, he served as Director of IT and Entity Security/Privacy Coordinator, as well as serving on the Section for Quality and Patient Safety and PROMPTs (Perioperative Risk Optimization and Management Planning Tool) committees. Dr. Parks has held numerous leadership positions, including Director for the Center for Wine and Cardiovascular Health, Chair of the Promotions and Tenure Committee, Chair of the Human Research Committee, and Acting Vice Chair for Research.

In this new role, Dr. Parks will work with the Division of Quality Improvement and Vice Chair Dr. Philip McArdle, as well as Anesthesiology IT, to develop novel quality improvement initiatives and continue to refine PROMPTS and value-based measures. His overall goal will be to create programs for quality improvement, assess variation in practice, investigate perioperative adverse events, encourage multidisciplinary collaboration, and publish in high-impact journals.

Josh Hagood has been with the department for 11 years as a systems specialist, analyst, and most recently as manager of the Information Systems and Informatics teams. Prior to joining the department, Josh attended the Collat School of Business at UAB, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems. He was instrumental in the creation of the department’s Dashboard software platform and has guided its expansion and use both inside and outside the department. Since 2016, Josh has worked as an instructor teaching healthcare business intelligence for the MSHA/MSHI programs in the School of Health Professions at UAB and has served as an advisory board member for the Computer Science Department at Bevill State Community College. Josh currently serves on the committees for PROMPTs (Perioperative Risk Optimization and Management Planning Tool) and PISC (Practice Integration and Scheduling) within the department.

Josh demonstrated his exceptional leadership qualities as we navigated the COVID crisis. He led his team in rapidly deploying innovative IT solutions for operations, education, and research in our department and the institution as a whole. In his new role, Josh will continue to build on the great accomplishments of the IT group by facilitating and strengthening the department's clinical, educational, and research missions through the use of new and innovative technological solutions.

Please join me in congratulating both Dale and Josh on their new leadership roles.