Experts
Baptist Memorial Health Care is one of the largest health care systems, not only in the South, but in the U.S. With more than 900 providers with expertise in diagnosing and treating the most common and complex medical conditions, Baptist is often the first or only provider in the region to offer an innovative treatment. Baptist offers access to the only certified adult heart transplant program in the region; the only extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) unit in the area; is the only provider within hundreds of miles to offer adult clinical research through the Minority/Underserved NCI Community Oncology Research Program, known as NCORP, and the Cancer Moonshot program for the advancement of cancer research; and the region’s only freestanding women’s hospital. Baptist is a regional referral center for adult heart services, lung cancer treatment, bereavement services, high-risk pregnancy care and its newborn ICU, and was the first hospital in the area to diagnose and treat COVID-19.
Dr. Stephen Threlkeld
Medical Director of Infectious Diseases, Baptist Memorial Health Care
Expertise: Infectious Diseases, Pandemics, COVID-19
Dr. Steve Threlkeld is an expert on infectious diseases, including existing diseases, such as the flu, measles and Ebola, and emerging diseases or pandemics, such as COVID-19 and metapneumovirus. He is the medical director of infectious diseases for Baptist Memorial Health Care, the system chair for antibiotic stewardship and serves as infectious disease physician for the Baptist heart transplant program. He serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine education committee that oversees the creation of the infectious disease board certification exam. Threlkeld is a third-generation Memphis physician and a 1986 graduate of Rhodes College, during which he also worked in Dr. Robert Webster’s lab at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital conducting research in virology and molecular biology of pandemic influenza.
Threlkeld earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama and completed an internal medicine residency there as well. After serving as chief medical resident for an additional year, he completed his infectious disease fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He was an instructor at Harvard Medical School and carried out research in the virology and immunology of HIV infection.
Dr. Raymond Osarogiagbon
Chief Scientist for Baptist Memorial Health Care/Director of the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program and the Thoracic Oncology Research Group for Baptist Cancer Center
Expertise: Lung Cancer, Thoracic Cancers, Clinical Research
Dr. Ray Osarogiagbon is a world-renowned lung cancer specialist who spearheads Baptist Cancer Center’s Mid-South Miracle initiative, a multifaceted program comprising seven components, to help reduce lung cancer deaths 25% by 2030 in the Mid-South. A community oncologist, Osarogiagbon serves as principal investigator for the Baptist Memorial Health Care/Mid-South Minority Underserved NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) and is past chair of the Hope Foundation for Cancer Research. He was named to the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors for a five-year term, and his work has been published in numerous journals, including JAMA Network Open.
Dr. Jennifer Snow
Chief Medical Officer and System Director of Pediatrics, Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children's Hospital
Expertise: Pediatric Critical Care
Dr. Jennifer Snow was named the chief medical officer and system director for pediatrics at the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children's Hospital in 2022. Snow previously served as the medical director for pediatric critical care at Baptist Children’s Hospital. Before joining Baptist, Snow was medical director for pediatric critical care at Sheridan Children’s Healthcare Services of Virginia. She earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Utah School of Medicine and completed her residency and fellowship in pediatrics at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In 2021, Snow completed the Physicians Executive MBA Program at Auburn University and is chair of the Pediatric Quality and Safety Committee at Baptist Children’s Hospital.
Dr. H. F. Mason
Chief Quality Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care/Chief Medical Officer, Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton
Expertise: Quality, Patient Safety, Emergency Medicine
Baptist Memorial Health Care appointed Dr. H. F. Mason to the newly created role of chief quality officer for the 22-hospital health care organization in 2022. Mason provides leadership and oversight for corporate quality, infection prevention, quality data, analytics, and accreditation and compliance. Mason also serves as the chief medical officer for Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton.
A Mississippi native, Mason graduated from the University of Mississippi Medical School and completed his general surgery residency training at Vanderbilt Medical Center. He has worked as a general surgeon for more than 20 years and is board certified by the American Board of Surgery.
Angela Hamblen Kelly
Administrator, Baptist Centers for Good Grief
Expertise: Bereavement Services for Children and Adults
Angela Hamblen Kelly is a licensed clinical social worker and the administrator of Baptist Centers for Good Grief. Angela developed and directs the four centers — the Kemmons Wilson Family Center for Good Grief and Dorothy’s Cottage in Collierville, Tennessee; Milla’s House in Memphis, Tennessee; and the NEA Center for Good Grief in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Baptist is the only provider offering comprehensive grief services in the Mid-South. Hamblen Kelly developed Camp Good Grief, a free grief camp for children between 6 and 12 years old, while an intern with Baptist. Since the grief camp was started in 2001, Baptist hosted more than 3,000 campers and provided more than 115,000 individual counseling services for children and adults. All grief services are provided free of charge. Hamblen Kelly earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Memphis and her master’s in social work from the University of Tennessee.
Keith Norman
VP/Chief Government Affairs and Community Relations Officer, Baptist Memorial Health Care
Expertise: Government Affairs, Community Outreach
As VP/chief government affairs and community relations officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care, Keith Norman establishes and maintains relationships with government officials and strengthens Baptist's community outreach partnerships to make health care more accessible to all people. Through his work as senior pastor of First Baptist Church—Broad, Norman is connected to the community and often sought out to discuss how political and social issues affect the mental, physical and spiritual health of the community. His unique background in business development and seminary training contributes to his expansive knowledge and expertise on current issues and how they can affect the health and well-being of the communities Baptist serves.
Lia Lansky
Director of Wellbeing, Baptist Memorial Health Care
Expertise: Exercise, Physical Activity, Diabetes, Intermittent Fasting, Nutrition, Population Health, Employer Well-being, Holistic Well-being, Pregnancy and Exercise, Heart Health, Cancer and Exercise, Osteoporosis
Lia Lansky, system director of wellbeing for Baptist Memorial Health Care, is one of only six national experts chosen for the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2022–2023 Exercise is Medicine Emerging Leaders Program. Lansky oversees Baptist's recently launched BestHealth by Baptist, an employer-based wellness program aimed at giving large and small self-insured employers an effective, cost-saving way to sustainably improve their employees’ overall health and reduce lost production from sick days and insurance claims. Lansky has a Bachelor of Science in exercise science from the University of Massachusetts, a Master of Science in exercise physiology from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Memphis.