BayCare Names New Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Women's & Children’s Hospitals

BayCare has named Sowmya Viswanathan, MD, MBA, MHCM, FACP, as the vice president and chief medical officer for St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Women's and Children’s Hospitals. She assumed her new role in June 2022.

Additionally, Dr. Viswanathan recently assumed oversight as the interim regional chief medical officer for St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel and South Florida Baptist Hospital. She will also provide oversight for the BayCare medical staff affairs functions. 

Dr. Viswanathan, who was the group chief medical officer for Tenet Health - Massachusetts and South Carolina Hospitals, is responsible for working with BayCare and hospital leaders to develop and implement policies and procedures to elevate quality assurance, process improvement, clinical operations, strategic direction and medical staff office functions. She also serves as an advocate for BayCare and its physicians with external payers, accreditors, and regulatory agencies. 

“We’re thrilled to have Dr. Viswanathan join our physician leadership team,” said Kimberly Guy, senior vice president and market leader for BayCare’s Hillsborough County entities. “She brings a wealth of experience and leadership. Her collaborative style will help achieve our goals and objectives for our hospitals and throughout the system.”

Dr. Viswanathan brings more than three decades of experience in quality care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. In her role with Tenet Health, Dr. Viswanathan was responsible for overseeing all clinical service lines including oversight of academic affairs. She also helped lead physician executives, laboratory leadership, physician quality, patient safety, and hospital-based physician contracting with different entities. She has served as advisor for several strategic initiatives, clinical quality alignment, consolidation and financial savings, and led value-based programs, graduate medical education programs and clinical research endeavors.

“I’m excited to be a part of the BayCare family,” said Dr. Viswanathan. “As a physician, I wanted to join a health system that values its health care workers, gives back to the community and strives to provide the highest quality care to patients. BayCare does all that. I’m looking forward to working with physicians and leaders to elevate BayCare’s initiatives, clinical operations, financial growth and continued focus on patient quality and safety across all the hospitals.” 

Prior to her role with Tenet Health, Dr. Viswanathan served in various leadership positions including chief accountable care organizations officer at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Health. Prior to that, she served as regional physician-in-chief at the Southcoast Health, and senior medical director for health plans at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care & Network Health. She continued her clinical practice of medicine for more than 20 years and has taught at Harvard School of Public Health.

Dr. Viswanathan received her medical degree from the Madurai Medical College in India, completed residency at the Boston University Residency Program in Boston, Massachusetts, received a master’s degree in health care management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, and a master’s in business administration at the University of Massachusetts.