Juhan Paiste, M.D., MBA, CPE has been named interim chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, effective Oct. 1, 2017.Keith A. (Tony) Jones, M.D., who led the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine as chair for 11 years, was named UA Health Services Foundation president and chief physician executive for UAB Medicine earlier this year. Paiste will fill the interim role for the next 12-18 months while a national search is conducted for a permanent department chair.
“I’m honored that the leadership of the SOM has given me the opportunity to lead the faculty of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine during this interim period,” Paiste said.
A native of Estonia, Paiste was recruited to UAB in 2014 from Pennsylvania where he was president of a private anesthesiology practice to serve as the vice chair and division director for Multispecialty Anesthesia Services. Since joining the faculty, Paiste has also taken on the role of associate chief medical officer for perioperative and procedure areas, executive medical director of operating rooms and co-chair of the Perioperative Services Executive Committee.
“Dr. Paiste has been a leader of over 450 anesthesia providers and staff during his tenure at UAB Medicine, and his knowledge not only the of the clinical enterprise, but of the research and academic missions of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine make me confident that he will successfully guide the department during this leadership transition,” said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the UAB School of Medicine.
An accomplished public speaker at both the local and national level, Paiste is also active in the American Society of Anesthesiology, International Anesthesia Research Society, Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologist and Medical Group Management Association.
Paiste earned his medical degree at the University of Tartu in Estonia in 1988 before completing internships in surgery. He continued medical training in anesthesiology residency and fellowship in advanced clinical anesthesiology, both at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty as an assistant professor in 1999, before joining Penn State Hershey Medical Center as a clinical assistant professor and associate professor from 2003-2014 before being recruited to UAB in 2014.
He earned an MBA from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh in 2001 and a designation as a Certified Physician Executive from the American College of Physician Executives in 2010.