Printer-friendly format

In a medical career that has progressed like a military hierarchy, making it to the top rung in pediatric cancer was a strategic move for hematologist/oncologist Joseph Laver, MD, MHA. A nationally recognized expert in pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplantation, Laver pursued the opportunity to interview at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital after the hospital expanded the function of clinical operations.

“As a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, you always like to gravitate to a center of excellence,” Laver said.

In May, Laver came to St. Jude from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center where he was the department of pediatrics chairman and held the Jesse Ball duPont Professorship in pediatrics, which is one of many honors and appointments Laver has earned in his distinguished career. As the chief of St. Jude clinical operations, Laver will head clinical care delivery and patient care quality, and will oversee the consulting physicians and adjunct clinical faculty programs. In addition, Laver will supervise the planning and managing of the overall clinical space, systems and staff.

Within the juggernaut that is St. Jude, Laver is currently on a learning curve, he said, while he takes time to wrap his arms around the organization and determine courses of action and improvement.

“A couple of things I’m looking at for an overall broad view, are how you maintain excellence and improve quality,” explained Laver. “From a 30,000-foot view, my vision and my goal are to improve the clinical care delivery, clinical effectiveness and improve physician management.”

“This is an amazing institution,” he continued. “It’s at the top, but I believe, if you are at the top, you have to stay at the top, and sometimes it’s as difficult as it is to get to the top.”

Maintaining excellence is a tremendous task to be sure, but one for which Laver has prepared all his life.

Born in Romania and growing up in Israel, Laver was aligned on a specific career path from a young age. With a physician father, three uncles who were physicians, and a mother who told him he could be anything he wanted to be, as long as it was some type of doctor. “It was very clear to me early in my life I would be a doctor,” he said.

The way young physicians were trained in Israel depended on the hospital in which they interned. Laver said hospitals dictated what specialty one would go on to pursue in the U.S. His choice of oncology wasn’t motivated by some kind of higher inspirational experience; Laver simply chose the specialty because it was needed in Israel. Once he became involved in oncology, he felt a pull toward pediatric cancer.

“I did my residency in pediatrics and I loved it,” he said. “Then it became clear that I wanted to deal with a sub-specialty.”

With his experience in pediatrics and the great need in the field of pediatric oncology, he jumped at the opportunity. While he had every intention of going back home to Israel when he embarked on a fellowship for hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, “life took me a different way.”

Laver has previously served as director of the division of hematology/oncology and pediatric bone marrow transplantation service at Medical University of South Carolina, and held the vice chairman position in the institution’s department of pediatrics. He also served as medical director of Children’s Hospital in Richmond, Va. He is the recipient of numerous professional honors, including Best Doctors in America recognitions, and is a member of various professional societies including the Children’s Oncology Group and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others.

Laver’s career has evolved in tertiary care centers where he dealt with catastrophic pediatric diseases as the bulk of his work. From clinical to research to administrative, he said, “for me, (pediatric cancer) wasn’t a rare disease since I dealt with it on a routine basis.”

What is different about working at St. Jude, he said, is the uniqueness of it being a stand alone pediatric hospital and focused research center.

“The fact that it’s so specialized in the clinical and research arena of cancer is great, but it creates a lot of challenges, like how you provide all the services,” Laver explained.

While maintaining excellence is a constant challenge, finding patients who should be delivered that quality care can be equally demanding. Other responsibilities on Laver’s plate include getting and retaining talent, and maintaining St. Jude’s national and international impact through programs like international outreach.

Laver was lucky to move here during the Memphis in May festivities, he said, where he enjoyed soulful music and food. Outside of work, Laver is an avid novel reader. He has four children and three grandchildren.

Beyond all the clinical and administrative demands perpetually on the forefront, for Laver, improving communication between the local medical industry and the community is where the rubber can really meet the road.

“There has been no hospital that I worked in that didn’t have some sort of communication problem between the hospital and the community,” he said. “I would love to improve communication.”

Laver’s message to the Memphis medical community, “I have an open door policy if anyone has a question. If anyone wants to call and introduce themselves, or has a particular question then call, or email. I always respond to emails within 24 hours.”

Upon Laver’s request, Medical News is publishing his contact info for our readers.

Joseph Laver, MD
Office: 595-5432
Email: joseph.laver@stjude.org
joseph.laver@stjude.org



August 2008

Tags:

None

Login and voice your opinion!