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Gregory P. Conners MD, MPH, MBA, named chair of Pediatrics and executive director of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital

Dr Conners

Gregory P. Conners, MD, MPH, MBA, associate chair of pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinic, University of Missouri, Kansas City School of Medicine, has been named chair of the Department of the Pediatrics at Upstate Medical University and executive director of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. The appointment, effective March 4, was announced by Julio Licinio, MD, PhD, senior vice president for Academic Health Affairs and dean of the College of Medicine.

“I am pleased that Dr. Gregory Conners will be returning to Upstate New York to lead our Department of Pediatrics and Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital,” Licinio said. “With the appointment of Dr. Conners, we are gaining an outstanding physician-scientist, collaborative leader and champion of quality.

Conners will succeed Ann Botash, M.D., who served as interim chair since May 2018. Licinio commended Botash for her service and her work throughout the university and for her tremendous dedication and commitment to Pediatrics and its patients. In addition to her faculty post, Botash serves as senior associate dean for faculty affairs and faculty development.

Conners, originally from Pittsford, N.Y., joined Children’s Mercy Hospital in 2009 and has served in a variety of roles, including director of the Division of Emergency Medicine, as well as professor, vice chair and associate chair of Pediatrics and medical director for emergency preparedness.

Under his leadership, the division has grown considerably; it now sees about 115,000 pediatric emergency visits per year in its Missouri and Kansas emergency departments, as well as educating a wide variety of trainees, and producing substantial research, advocacy, and other scholarly products. Conners has helped create one of the nation’s premier academic pediatric urgent care groups, with scholarly activity and serving nearly 100,000 children annually. He also has held faculty and teaching positions at the University of Rochester and George Washington University.

Conners has been a member of the editorial boards of three peer-reviewed, professional journals. He has authored or co-authored about 100 papers, as well as 17 book chapters and a peer-reviewed book. He has been active in the American Academy of Pediatrics and other professional societies, and is a member of the prestigious American Pediatric Society. He is a past chairman of the International Group on BS/MD Programs. His professional interests include the clinical practice of pediatric emergency medicine, as well as pediatric leadership, faculty development, and quality improvement as scholarship.

Conners earned his bachelor’s degree at Amherst College (1983) and his medical degree from Stony Brook School of Medicine (1989). He also holds a master of public health degree (1998) and a master of business administration degree (2003), from the University of Rochester. He did his residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

His numerous honors and awards, include the 2013 SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine’s Distinguished Alumnus. He also has appeared on numerous “Best Doctors” lists, including America’s Top Pediatricians by the Consumers’ Research Council of America.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Conners and his wife, Jan Conners, RN, have four children: Libby of Rochester, N.Y., and triplets Margaret, Jackson and Luke, who are all in college

 

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