Notable Names at Atrium Health

By Lelita Cannon

DR. BENJAMIN SIIMMONS

Dr. Benjamin Simmons, a Family Physician and Assistant Professor for the Department of Family Medicine, has been part of Atrium Health for 13 years. His medical practice extends to newborns, geriatrics and everyone in-between in both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings. Simmons currently serves as faculty for the Family Medicine Residency Program at Atrium Health Union Family Practice. Prior to that, he helped establish the Atrium Health Urgent Care facility in Salisbury, North Carolina. There, he led the development of a domestic violence care initiative in partnership with the Rowan County women’s shelter. He also launched a program to assist individuals afflicted with asthma. A graduate of Howard University College of Medicine, Simmons believes ideal health outcomes are realized when practitioners support services that meet patient needs at a comprehensive level — affordable medications, a nutritious and attainable diet, reliable transportation and stable housing chief among those necessities. And that passion for advocacy and outreach stretches beyond the walls of his practice. For the past four years in observation of National HIV Testing Day, Simmons has worked with One Charlotte Health Alliance to provide HIV testing using mobile medical units in underserved communities in the Charlotte area.

DR. WARREN HUTCHINGS

Dr. Warren Hutchings is a family medicine physician at Atrium Health Navicent Primary Care West Macon in Georgia. He was selected as Atrium’s 2022 Excellence in Diversity winner. An alum of Morehouse School of Medicine, Hutchings is a pioneer who has illuminated an illustrious path for others to follow based on his portfolio of diversity work across Atrium Health and throughout his community. This is no coincidence. His parents imparted a formidable sense of obligation in him to give back. He has diligently labored to foster a more inclusive medical workforce that represents the substantial range of patient backgrounds and encourages a more diverse pipeline of future physicians. Hutchings recruits pre-med students from underrepresented populaces and offers guidance through his role with the Student National Medical Association – Minority Association of Premedical Students at Mercer University. In speaking to local high school and college students, he ignites their interest in health careers and inspires young doctors to become more involved in organized medicine as physician leaders — a route Hutchings chose early in his career. DR. JANELLE WHITE

Dr. Janelle White joined Atrium Health in 2004 and currently serves as the System Medical Director of Community Health. In this role, she provides leadership and administrative management to formulate and implement enterprise-wide and regional public health initiatives aimed at delivering clinical care and quantifiable progress for at-risk populations. White also serves as the Service Line Assistant Specialty Medical Director for Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital. In this capacity, she oversees the medical quality, patient experience, access, productivity and utilization of ambulatory pediatric procedures. Equipped with a medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine and recently earning a master’s degree in Healthcare Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, White is enthusiastic about managing educational and performance-based growth programs for providers. Additionally, her commitment to excellence expands outside the realm of her day-to-day responsibilities. She has also served as a preceptor and mentor for pediatric residents, medical and high school students. A physician and healthcare leader with over 15 years of experience coupled with a zealous determination to improve across-the-board quality of patient care on a large scale makes White a trailblazer in her field.

LANA HAECHERL

Lana Haecherl, a long-standing associate at Atrium Health Greater Charlotte is the Surgical Services Education and Development Director. In the 1990s, Atrium Health was pivotal in sponsoring immigrants seeking asylum due to the Croatian War of Independence. Haecherl cultivated a safe, calming work environment for refugees affected by the conflict, supporting the success and career advancement they pursued when fleeing to the U.S. As the years passed, she was relentless in ensuring her colleagues’ continued attainment of their goals. She coached them in preparation for their official citizenship exams. She also spent more than 22 years of her career training disabled adults. This year, Haecherl was designated as Atrium Health’s Diversity Champion award recipient. Her steadfast, self-led devotion to creating better opportunities for her contemporaries undoubtedly played a factor in the bestowal of this accolade. The honor identifies and distinguishes teammates who are “boots on ground,” positively influencing and propelling forward diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce. P