Dean Clinic’s Chief Medical Officer to Retire

Mark Kaufman, MD With Dean Since 1982 to Retire in June

It is with both joy and sadness that Dean Clinic announces the retirement of Dr. Mark Kaufman, Dean’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kaufman will be with Dean until early June.

“While we are tremendously sad to lose such an amazing leader, we wish Dr. Kaufman well as he enters retirement,” says Dean Clinic CEO Craig Samitt.

Dr. Kaufman is a long-standing member of the Dean team, and has been an outstanding leader through many phases of significant change in Dean’s history.  Dr. Kaufman joined Dean Health System in 1982 as an Internist and practiced full-time until 1998, at which time he assumed the role of Vice President of Medical Affairs at Dean Health Plan. 

In 2001, Dr. Kaufman stepped into the role of Chief Medical Officer of DHP, and was instrumental in the creation and implementation of a wide array of quality improvement and clinical effectiveness programs. 

In 2006, Dr. Kaufman assumed the leadership mantle at Dean Health System as Chair of the Board, and was one of the driving forces and architect of Dean’s decision to pursue the “value-model.”

After a brief tenure as acting President and CEO at Dean Health System, Dr. Kaufman assumed the role of Dean Clinic’s Chief Medical Officer in March 2007.

Under Dr. Kaufman's leadership, Dean Clinic has grown to become regarded as a regional and national leader of delivering better care at a lower cost.  His contributions have been extensive, with just a small sample being: oversight of Dean’s service enhancement initiatives for patients, implementation of its Primary Care Redesign work, leadership of numerous quality improvement endeavors both within and outside of Dean, and executive oversight of the Dean/St. Mary’s Accountable Care Organization work.

“Dr. Kaufman’s loyalty to Dean and his hard work for the benefit of our patients, physicians and staff is unmatched,” says Dr. Samitt. “He has been a wonderful leader, and will be sincerely missed.”