Steven H. Burkett is Senior Vice President, Physician Services for Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, TN. Erlanger Health System is among the top seven publicly financed health systems in the United States, serving patients from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. Erlanger has five hospitals including a Children’s Hospital, an air ambulance fleet of five helicopters, a primary care network approaching seventy-five providers and an employed medical group numbering in excess of 225 physicians.
A native Arkansan, Burkett graduated from Rhodes College (Southwestern at Memphis at the time) with a bachelor’s degree in pre-med biology-psychology. He completed his post-graduate education at the University of Memphis State where he received masters degrees in health education and public administration, health services.
Burkett has a broad background in academic medical practice and administration. Prior to joining Erlanger Health System in 2013, he had more than 30 years affiliation with UT Medical Group and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to his appointment as president and CEO in 1994, he served as director of the UT Bowld Hospital and president of the University Physicians Foundation, Inc., the forerunner to UT Medical Group. Burkett served as chairman of the board for Memphis Managed Care Corporation, a TennCare health maintenance organization based in Memphis, which was jointly owned by UT Medical Group and The Regional Medical Center at Memphis until its sale to Amerigroup in 2007.
From 1982-1984, Burkett was administrator for the University Physicians Group at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
For the past 25 years, Burkett served as adjunct instructor for the Graduate Program in Health Services Administration at the University of Memphis and as a member of the Advisory Committee. His publications include “Practice Management Courses for Residents: A Contribution to Education”, “Microcomputer Applications in Academic Medicine”, “Using the Functional Cost Report to Analyze and Manage Spending”, and “An Exercise in Controversy: Case Study – Revising a Physician Employment Agreement.” Burkett makes frequent presentations to health care associations and other professional organizations regarding various aspects of the health care industry.
Burkett is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a past member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), where he is a past Chairman of the Steering Committee on the Group on Faculty Practice. He is also a member of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and is a past member of that organization’s board of directors.