{"id":42641,"date":"2024-05-23T08:50:34","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T15:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?page_id=42641"},"modified":"2024-06-21T13:44:24","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T20:44:24","slug":"meet-jeff-absalon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/careers-education\/find-a-job\/meet-jeff-absalon\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Jeff Absalon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tMeet Jeff Absalon, MD, FACP<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSenior Medical Director<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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New Senior Medical Director to Build on a Good Foundation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a teenager growing up on the Oregon coast, Jeff Absalon, MD, FACP, put himself through school, working construction jobs in California each summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He knows the rewards of working physically hard and mentally smart to get the job done right \u2014 traits that should
serve him well in his role as Samaritan Medical Group\u2019s newest physician leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As senior medical director of the Acute Care, Hospitalists and Medical Specialties divisions he oversees operations
at locations across our three-county region, ensuring value-based care is at the forefront of all he does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through three decades of work, he is familiar with the ethos of Oregon\u2019s diverse communities \u2014 from urban to rural, coastal, gorge, valley and high desert. Now, he is on a quest to learn about Samaritan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy first priority is to get to know the services we offer and meet the caregivers,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to be a student first so I can gain a good understanding of the culture and the people doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His next priority is to \u201cfocus on improvement while sustaining the great things that are already happening, and supporting our care teams,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is what really inspires me \u2014 making sure the people who provide care are healthy and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, he strives to improve access and health outcomes through strong physician-hospital alignment that supports the success of those who care for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journey to Physician Leadership<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After earning a bachelor\u2019s degree at Lewis & Clark College, Dr. Absalon obtained his medical degree from Oregon Health & Science University, where he also completed his internship and residency. He practiced at locations throughout the state before settling in Bend in 2002. He has seen his professional life change as he gained a greater understanding of health care delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an internal medicine physician, I loved and cherished my time with patients,\u201d he said. \u201cThe bulk of my career was as a practicing physician. Then a number of years ago I was drawn into physician leadership and have experienced progressive roles in administration. My career is now fully as a physician leader, which was not my intention, but I
discovered that I have a passion to serve in this broad capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledges health care is currently under strain, exacerbated by the pandemic, making it especially important
to be a good steward of resources, including people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will partner with administrators and clinicians to focus on providing high value to patients and the organization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming to Samaritan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Absalon was instrumental in developing a regional physician leaders\u2019 group within the Hospital Association of Oregon and throughout the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its purpose was to share information, including clinical and operational approaches to meeting unprecedented challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were staring down the barrel of something we hadn\u2019t seen before,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe had to tackle changes daily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group provided input to the governor and the Oregon Health Authority on crisis care guidelines, screening and visitor policies, sharing of ventilators and more. It was through this work that he met Robert Turngren, MD, to whom he now reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After serving in leadership roles for 15 years at St. Charles in Bend, he was forming a private consulting business when
the Samaritan opportunity came up. After doing some research, he halted his consulting business efforts and accepted the role, which combined two openings into one full-time position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I saw Samaritan\u2019s mission is working with the community to improve health, I realized this could be a good fit,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly wonderful to learn about Samaritan and become a part of this great organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Personal Look<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Absalon has been married to his wife Linda for 34 years. She currently works as a pediatric physical therapist in Central Oregon. Their oldest daughter is also a pediatric physical therapist in Portland, their son is a financial consultant in Bend, daughter-in-law a nurse, and their youngest is halfway through completing a doctorate in
psychology in Portland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mountain biking is his favorite activity outside of work, followed by carpentry and remodeling spaces. He also likes to hike, cut firewood and be with family and friends. He and Linda are excited to search for their new home in the Corvallis area.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Open the Door to New Possibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking for a new job? From housekeeping to nursing and accounting to managing, there are a lot of opportunities to explore at Samaritan Health Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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General Job Openings<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Provider Job Openings<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Absalon, MD, moves into leadership position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"parent":56,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":true,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42641","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42641\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}