Women We Admire, which recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of today's women leaders across business, government, non-profits, entertainment, sports and other fields of work and interest, includes just one physician in the "Top 50 Women Leaders of Georgia for 2022" list just published. Susan Schayes, M.D., MPH, FAAFP, Chief Transformation Officer for ChenMed, a national leader in primary care, is honored for her expert clinical and business contributions helping the hyper-growth company transform care of the neediest populations through nearly 100 centers in 12 states.
Always recruiting outstanding doctors and care team members, ChenMed presently is expediting the self-funded construction of new centers in current markets, while also expanding into North Carolina (Burlington, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem), South Carolina (Columbia) and rural Georgia (Savannah, Macon and Augusta).
"We acknowledge these women for their tenacity, strength and resilience year after year," reports Women We Admire, adding that, "This year's awardees are some of the contributors for the state's success."
Women We Admire and its affiliates focus on inspiring greatness in diverse settings by sharing educational content directly with 32,000 individuals and businesses.
"Dr. Schayes is a tireless champion for the highly personalized primary care that's absolutely vital for underserved seniors living with major and multiple chronic diseases," says Jessica Chen, M.D., ChenMed Chief Clinical Officer. "A humble healer, with an uncanny ability to inspire both patients and other physicians delivering VIP care, Dr. Schayes constantly helps ChenMed innovate. Her keen eye for improving the patient experience is reinforced by effective coaching to generations of physician leaders – all energized by her resolute focus on 'doing whatever it takes to transform care, one patient at a time'."
This week, Dr. Schayes launched the nation's first Fellowship in Transformative Care (FIT), that's specifically designed to train ChenMed physician leaders of the future. "We now are actively recruiting board certified physicians in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, or Geriatrics to fill the first wave of up to 10 ChenMed Fellowships in Transformative care," explains Dr. Schayes. "Mission-focused doctors are encouraged to apply for the full-time FIT positions that are 50 to 75 percent clinical care; that require full-time travel assignments in three to four geographies per year for two years; that are a short cut to career development with accelerated leadership and income opportunities for successful candidates."
When asked about being among the "Top 50 Women Leaders of Georgia for 2022," Dr. Schayes describes the tremendous joy she still finds every day after decades of serving others as a doctor. "This award is not really about me, or the other distinguished honorees, flattered as we are to be included," underscores Dr. Schayes. "My hope is to inspire even more pride in primary care among the next generation of clinicians – all to keep the focus on transforming care for the people we are blessed to serve."
"More than 64 percent of ChenMed partners are female clinicians," adds Dr. Schayes, "and every ChenMed doctor knows the sky is the limit for top performers in our physician-led company."