Sovah Health has announced three permanent leadership appointments to its Graduate Medical Education (GME) program. After serving in interim roles, Amber Stephens, DO is Family Medicine Residency Program Director; Bonnie Burnham, DO is Director of Student Medical Education; and Leslie Sturdivant, FACHE, is Designated Institutional Officer (DIO) of Sovah Health.
“Our GME program develops physicians focused on excellence in the delivery of high quality, safe and compliant care.” said Alan Larson, Market President of Sovah Health & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sovah Health – Danville. “Dr. Stephens, Dr. Burnham and Leslie have demonstrated exceptional leadership with our program, and with these three individuals at the helm, there’s no limit to how our program will grow benefitting our hospital and region.”
As Program Director of Family Medicine Residency, Stephens is responsible for planning, implementing and monitoring the family medicine postdoctoral residency program to ensure high quality education through a comprehensive curriculum and ongoing training in accordance with all accreditation standards. Stephens received her Bachelors of Science in Biology from James Madison University (Harrisonburg) and her Doctor of Osteopathy from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). She completed her residency in family medicine from Sovah Health – Danville (formerly Danville Regional Medical Center) in 2014, where she served as Chief Resident. Over the past five years, she has served as Associate Family Medicine Program Director of the program as well as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Family Medicine at VCOM and the Liberty University College of Medicine (LUCOM), while also practicing family medicine in Sovah’s outpatient clinics.
Appointed late last year, Burnham guides all education and training related to Sovah Health’s medical students, who rotate from LUCOM and VCOM. Burnham received a Bachelor’s of Science in Sports Medicine from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. Like Stephens, Burnham is a graduate of Sovah Health’s family medicine residency program, where she has been promoted to Associate Program Director effective April 21. She also serves as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Family Medicine at VCOM and LUCOM.
Serving as the Designated Institutional Officer (DIO), Sturdivant, FACHE, will work in collaboration with the Sovah Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) to provide oversight and administration of all Sovah Health accredited GME programs, to include medical student and physician resident training. She also will lead all GME administrative staff, directors and faculty members. Sturdivant also currently serves as the Assistant Administrator at Sovah Health – Danville supporting the Market President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other senior officers in the strategic planning and organizational operations of the hospital. She provides day-to-day oversight to multiple hospital departments, and leads operational initiatives pertaining to patient safety, quality, experience and fiscal accountability. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Science in Healthcare Management from Old Dominion University. She is a Board Certified Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and deemed a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). She maintains other professional affiliations and is also very active within the community currently serving on the Virginia State ACT Leadership Council and Danville Public Schools Educational Foundation to name a few. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
