Benjamin Chu, M.D., Elected Commonwealth Fund Chairman; Mark Smith, M.D., Elected to Fund Board
<strong>Benjamin K. Chu</strong>, M.D., group president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals in Southern California and Georgia, has been elected chairman of The Commonwealth Fund. He has been a member of the Fund’s board since 2003.<br /><br />
Before joining the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in 2005, Chu was president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, senior associate dean at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (affiliated with Harlem Hospital), and vice president for clinical affairs and associate dean at New York University Medical Center. He takes office immediately, succeeding James R. Tallon, Jr., president of the United Hospital Fund of New York, who has served as chairman since 2007 and as a director since 1996.<br />
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In addition, <strong>Mark D. Smith</strong>, M.D., joins The Commonwealth Fund board effective immediately. Smith was the founding president and chief executive officer of the California HealthCare Foundation, where he served from 1996 to 2013. A board-certified internist, Smith is a member of the clinical faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, and an attending physician at the Positive Health Program for AIDS care at San Francisco General Hospital.<Br /><br />"We are extremely fortunate that Ben Chu has agreed to lead our board during this time of health system transformation, and as we continue our work to enhance the health of our population and economic stability for families," said Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal, M.D. "It is doubly gratifying that Dr. Mark Smith, with his experience addressing the health care needs of vulnerable populations, has also agreed to join the Fund. Given its continuing strength, the Commonwealth Fund board is well positioned to help the foundation’s staff continue its work to achieve quality, affordable health care for all Americans."