UK St. Claire Introduces Medical Staff Officers

During its recent Annual General Staff Meeting, UK St. Claire (SCH) introduced its new slate of medical staff officers. These physicians were elected by their peers and will play an important role in the decision-making process, working collaboratively with the administration and all SCH medical staff.

Phillip B. Baker, DO, will serve as president and chief of staff. He joined the SCH medical staff in 2016 as a family medicine physician at St. Claire’s Owingsville clinic and now serves as a hospitalist. Dr. Baker previously served as chair and vice-chair of the Department of Medicine. He is a graduate of the University of Pikeville College - Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency through the University of Kentucky Family Community Medicine Residency Program.

Thadis Cox, MD, will serve as president-elect. A board-certified gastroenterologist, he earned his medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine (UKCOM) and completed his residency in gastrointestinal diseases at UK. Dr. Cox, a gastroenterologist, is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Cox joined the SCH medical staff in 2008. He also serves as on SCH’s Administrative Council as Medical Director, Specialty Practices.

Amber D. Sexton, DO, will serve as secretary-treasurer. Dr. Sexton joined the SCH medical staff as a family medicine physician in 2021. A native of Morehead, she earned her medical degree from the University of Pikeville College - Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency at SCH through the University of Kentucky’s Rural Family Medicine Residency program. She now cares for patients at St. Claire’s Sandy Hook clinic.

Megan Dillon, MD, will serve as a member-at-large. Dr. Dillon joined the SCH medical staff as an emergency medicine physician in 2021. She earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and was part of the Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP). Dr. Dillon completed her residency in emergency medicine at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.

The Department of Surgery is represented by Michael E. Vega, MD, (chair) and Eric Dennis, MD, (vice-chair).

Dr. Vega, an anesthesiologist, joined the SCH medical staff in 2021 as the Medical Director, Anesthesia. He earned his medical degree at Autonoma University of Guadalajara in Mexico and completed his anesthesiology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Dennis, an orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, joined the SCH medical staff in 2021. He attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia, where he earned his medical degree in 2015. Dr. Dennis completed both his orthopedic surgery internship and residency at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and a fellowship in sports medicine at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Ahmad H. Abuarquob, MD, (chair) and Davin Barnett, DO, (vice-chair) represent the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Abuarqoub, a cardiologist, joined the SCH medical staff in 2020. He earned his medical degree from the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Arramtha, Jordan, and completed his internal medicine residency at Jordan Hospital of Internal Medicine in Amman, Jordan. He completed a second three-year internal medicine residency at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, and fellowships in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in New Jersey.

Dr. Barnett, an emergency medicine physician, joined the SCH medical staff in 2022. He earned his medical degree from the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Pikeville in 2018 and completed his emergency medicine residency at Ohio Health in Columbus, Ohio.

Aaron Parker Banks, DO, completed two terms as president and will continue to serve the medical staff as the immediate past president.

By accepting these roles, these physicians make a huge commitment to St. Claire that goes above and beyond the care they offer their patients each and every day.