Claudia Emami, MD FACS

Seasoned healthcare executive and board-certified pediatric surgeon with over 20 years of clinical, educational, and leadership experience. Serving as the Chief Medical Officer for Ascension Sacred Heart in Emerald Coast FL, overseeing medical staff, strategic growth, recruitment & service line development, quality & regulatory as well as through put management. Served as Interim Chief Medical Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Health University Medical Center, a 711-bed Level I trauma center, comprehensive stroke center in Savannah, GA. In these executive roles, I provided strategic leadership for members of the medical staff and advanced practice providers, emphasizing high-quality, patient-centered care and operational excellence. This included overseeing Medical Staff Office, Quality & Patient Safety, Regulatory & Compliance, GME , Cancer Center, Clinical Research/IRB, and medical directorships. Achievements focused on driving quality metrics (improvements in Leapfrog scores, STS star ratings as well as CMS star rating) enhancing throughput, boosting physician engagement and managing hospital-based services in collaboration with C-suite leaders. As CEO & Founder of Claudia N. Emami MD Inc. and Pediatric Surgeon at Beverly Hills Pediatric Surgery, I expanded clinical operations through strategic contract negotiations and GME faculty oversight. As Section Chief of General Surgery at Huntington Hospital I guided 100+ physicians in consensus-building, contract negotiations, policy updates, and change management, including a seamless 18-month Cerner-to-Epic EHR transition. Held additional physician and academic roles at premier institutions like Cedars-Sinai, City of Hope, and University of Nevada Las Vegas (Assistant Professor of Surgery). Nationally, contributed to governance and advocacy through board positions at UCLA Anderson Easton Technology Center , American College of Surgeons, Association of Pediatric Surgeons of America Core expertise include executive leadership in complex healthcare systems, quality improvement & patient safety, physician engagement and change management (e.g., EHR implementations), contract negotiation and P&L oversight, GME program management, board governance, healthcare regulations, clinical services expansion, and physician advocacy. Passionate about advancing equitable, high-performing healthcare systems.

Pediatric Surgery

• abdominal pain
• bile duct surgery
• feeding tubes
• hepatobiliary surgery
• inguinal hernia
• intestinal failure management
• intussusception
• pyloric stenosis
• umbilical hernia

University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

Reno, NV

Assistant Professor

08/2015—07/2017