Jason Boudjouk, MD, of Lincoln, has been elected chief of medicine and Jonathan Gates, MD, of South Kingstown, has been elected director of patient safety and high reliability at Kent Hospital. Dr. Boudjouk previously served as Kent’s assistant chief of medicine and has worked at Kent Hospital since 2006.

Dr. Gates previously served as chief of medicine at Kent, as well as lead researcher on Kent’s Emergency Department redesign. Dr. Gates has worked at Kent since 2003.

The chief of medicine is responsible for the privileging, oversight and training of medical staff while facilitating departmental efforts at quality and service integration.

The director of patient safety and high reliability is focused on Kent’s system level process improvement, education and safety culture with the goal of achieving excellent outcomes centered on patient health and experience.

“Both Dr. Boudjouk and Dr. Gates provide exceptional care and expertise to the patients of Kent Hospital and their clinical leadership is greatly valued,” Joseph Spinale, DO, FACC, chief medical officer and director of medical education at Kent, said in a statement. “In their new roles, their professionalism, knowledge and skill will further enhance patient care and Kent Hospital’s ongoing commitment to the community and patient safety.”

Dr. Boudjouk has been in private practice focusing on internal medicine since 2006 and also served as a hospitalist at Kent Hospital from 2006 to 2007. 

Dr. Gates also currently serves as the assistant program director of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine’s affiliated internal medicine residency at Kent Hospital and chair of the Kent Hospital Institutional Review Board, overseeing clinical research. He was awarded the inaugural Kent Hospital’s physician of the year for 2009-2010.