Mercy Health – Springfield Names Vice President of Medical Affairs

Springfield, OH (August 20, 2024) – Mercy Health – Springfield has announced Dr. Austin Al-Kazaz as its new Vice President of Medical Affairs, effective September 1^st.

In this newly created position, Al-Kazaz will be promoting physician engagement, alignment, and recruitment as well as working collaboratively with other members of the executive team.  He will seek to optimize processes, maximize the hospital’s operational efficiency, and look for growth opportunities to expand the footprint in the Springfield community. 

Dr. Al-Kazaz has been with Mercy Health since 2021, when he began his service as hospitalist medical director for Urbana Hospital and Springfield Regional Medical Center. 

“As a hospitalist, coordinating care with the consultants and ancillary departments to provide care gives me the most gratification,” says Dr. Al-Kazaz. “The instantaneous results that are achieved from this team effort are very self-motivating. As a leader, process improvement to facilitate patient care and improve quality is my biggest goal and what I am always striving for.” 

Dr. Al-Kazaz attended high school and college in Oklahoma and holds his undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Oklahoma. He then attended the Medical University of the American in the West Indies completing his MD and returned to Oklahoma to attend the University of Oklahoma for his internship and residency. Prior to joining Mercy Health, he held physician positions with Ohio Health, MedOne (Grant and Riverside Hospitals) in Columbus, Adena Medical Center in Chillicothe, and Weatherford Regional Hospital in Oklahoma

He is also a tri-lingual, speaking Spanish, English and Arabic.

“I enjoy working with all the subspecialists in Springfield, and I feel it is the most collegial environment that I have ever worked in,” shares Dr. Al-Kazaz. “The collaboration with all the ancillary departments daily to provide quality care for our patients is remarkable and really has evolved over the past few years. Mercy Health as an organization is very innovative and has a progressive philosophy that keeps me engaged, as well as optimistic about the future.” 

Dr. Al-Kazaz and his wife have three young children, one boy (11) and two girls (8 and 6). He enjoys spending time with family, playing tennis, pickleball and traveling.

###