Chief Medical Officer Announces Plans to Return to Patient Care
1/6/2023
Dr. Rick Reifenberg, MD has announced that he plans to move away from his role as HealthNet’s Chief Medical Officer by June 2023, after nearly 5 years of remarkable service in this position.
He looks forward to shifting back to primarily doing direct patient care at a HealthNet health center, his first passion and the reason he joined HealthNet back in July of 2000. He will return to mainly working as a primary care physician (at our new Speedway Health & Dental Center), but will also maintain some part-time administrative duties, the first being ensuring a smooth transition for whomever becomes HealthNet’s next CMO.
Dr. Reifenberg has been planning toward this moment for the past few years and feels the timing is right. Although he leaves big shoes to fill, we thank him for his leadership and appreciate his willingness to continue serving patients. His contributions to our organization have truly been exceptional.
Dr. Reifenberg has been with HealthNet for 22 years, starting as a primary care physician at Southwest Health Center. He began his clinical leadership role first as the Associate Medical Director in 2011, and then the Chief Medical Officer in 2018. During this time HealthNet’s provider team grew from 100 to over 150 providers. He helped lead through difficult times in our organization’s history, including the disruptions of the COVID pandemic for the last 3 years. He supported the implementation of many service line enhancements and significant growth of our Pharmacy program, added medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for opioid use disorder, and nurtured strong collaborations with the IU Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Dentistry and other schools to support clinical learners. Finally, he grew the provider co-leader team and empowered them with more local autonomy with the goal that each health center and service line has a greater ability to best meet the needs of their own patients, staff, and providers.
A search committee will begin a national search later this month, with interviews to be conducted this spring. A successor is expected to be selected by June. Dr. Reifenberg will work closely with the new CMO, Senior Leadership Team, and Provider Co-Leaders to ensure a smooth transition.