Kreisberg to retire
Mobile Register, November 19, 2004 Section: B Page: 1
Author: Jeff Amy

"There's not a single person who knows me who thinks I can stop being a doctor." Dr. Robert Kreisberg 8 Kreisberg College dean was one of the founding faculty members Dr. Robert Kreisberg, the leader of the University of South Alabama's medical school and hospitals, said Thursday that he plans to retire within two years.

Kreisberg, officially dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs, said he wanted to announce his plans early to give USA plenty of time to look for a successor.

"I think it's a transition a lot of people have been expecting," said USA President Gordon Moulton.

Moulton lauded the 70-year-old Kreisberg for helping stabilize the finances of the medical school's physician practice and recruiting new leadership for many medical school departments. The school has also launched its cancer research institute and a smaller lung-disease research effort during Kreisberg's term.

An endocrinologist, Kreisberg became medical school dean in 2000 after Dean Charles Baugh died from cancer. Kreisberg was named the permanent dean in 2001.

One of the founding faculty members of the USA medical school, Kreisberg had also served as dean from 1976 to 1980. He returned to USA as a troubleshooter and ruffled a lot of feathers during his stay, closing some departments and pushing doctors to see more patients to pull in money for the system.

Kreisberg, who is making $308,438 this year, said he planned to remain active at the university, although probably on a reduced schedule.

"There's not a single person who knows me who thinks I can stop being a doctor," he said.

Moulton said he would appoint a search panel to look for a new dean. Before a search begins, though, Moulton said the university is going to reconsider how medical affairs are organized.

As dean and vice president, Kreisberg is not only responsible for the education of medical school students and residents but also is in charge of USA's three hospitals and the Health Sciences Foundation, a university affiliate that runs the practices for faculty physicians and pays much of their salaries.

The hospitals and foundation have a combined budget this year of about $340 million.

Moulton said the dean and vice president roles might be separated or responsibilities might otherwise be altered, but there also might be no change.

Kreisberg said he hoped the new people he hired and new initiatives he launched will provide for growth at the medical school long after he steps down.

"I wish I was 65 at this point in time because I wish I was going to be around to see this all come together," he said.

The outgoing dean said he planned to stay on for a few months if USA hires someone from outside the school, to help the new dean learn the ropes.

Dr. Steven Stokes, a trustee and USA medical school graduate, said he will remember Kreisberg foremost as a great teacher and mentor to students. Stokes said he hoped the next dean will emphasize USA's historic role as a provider of community physicians.

Among medical schools nationally, USA has been particularly dependent on patient income to pay many of its faculty members, national groups have said.

When Kreisberg returned to Mobile in 1999, the physician practice foundation had lost $17 million over four years. In the last four years, the foundation has lost only a total of $1.1 million, a deficit university officials see as more manageable.

Historically, USA, and in particular the USA Medical Center in north Mobile, have been swamped with poor patients who lack health insurance. Caring for such patients financially strained the system.

In one effort to increase the number of paying customers, USA has shifted many of its doctors to USA Knollwood Hospital, in a more affluent area of southwest Mobile.

This article reproduced with special permission from the Mobile Register.