Executive Officers
J. Lacey Smith, M.D., FACP, AGAF
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Medical Officer
Dr. J. Lacey Smith was named Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2011. He has been the Chief Medical Officer for UTMG since August 1, 2008.
Dr. Smith is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine with a subspecialty of Gastroenterology. His medical degree, internship and residency in Internal Medicine were at Baylor University College of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals, Houston, Texas. He also serves as Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Dr. Smith is a fellow of both the American College of Gastroenterology and the American College of Physicians. He is also a member of the American Gastroenterology Association.
Brenda H. Jeter, Chief Financial Officer
Brenda Jeter has served as UTMG’s Chief Financial Officer since 2002. She has over 20 years of experience in health care financial and revenue cycle management. Prior to serving as the CFO, Ms. Jeter served as the Vice-President of Revenue Services and as the Vice-President and Controller. She has a particular interest in health care revenue cycle management with a focus on use of technology to facilitate process improvement and benchmarking of functions. She was a co-speaker at a recent national American Medical Group Association (AMGA) meeting on Improving Payor Contract Performance.
As CFO, Ms. Jeter oversees the finance and accounting functions including internal and external financial reporting, budgeting, banking relationships, and pension plan administration. Other areas of responsibility are the revenue cycle functions and managed care contracting, both centralized support functions which are critical to the overall financial performance of UTMG and the role of the CFO.
Ms. Jeter is a Certified Public Accountant and received her degree from the University of Memphis. Prior to joining UTMG, she worked in public accounting and teaching. She has served on the boards of directors of Memphis Managed Care Corporation, Mid-South Health Solutions, and the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church USA.
Francine Merenghi - Chief Operating Officer
Francine D. Merenghi has joined UTMG as its interim Chief Operating Officer effective August 8, 2011. Ms. Merenghi is a Principal with ECG Management Consultants Inc., a national healthcare consulting firm that has worked with UT, UTMG and affiliated entities on several initiatives in the past.
At UTMG, Ms. Merenghi will be working collaboratively with physician and administrative leaders and staff to identify, prioritize, and implement targeted initiatives to enhance patient experience, improve patient access, optimize operating and financial performance, and increase faculty and staff satisfaction levels. She will serve in the full capacity of the COO with full authority and responsibility and will be very active in making positive changes to the organization.
Ms. Merenghi brings considerable experience in developing and implementing physician-related strategies and providing interim executive management services to provider organizations where she has focused on reengineering, troubleshooting, implementing best practices and developing practical solutions. Recent positions included serving as Vice President of Operations for a 350-physician enterprise with 90 practice locations; Executive Director for a 140-physician faculty practice plan; Chief Operating Officer/Vice President of Marketing for a private multispecialty group; and Chief Operating Officer for a 150-physician medical foundation with 50 satellite sites.
Juloy Raymer – Vice President, Revenue Services
Juloy Raymer was named UT Medical Group’s Vice President of Revenue Services in 2011.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Memphis and is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Prior to joining UTMG, Raymer spent more than 10 years in multiple leadership roles at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in the areas of revenue cycle operations and management. Most recently, she was the Methodist's Administrator for Outpatient Clinics.
A finalist for the Memphis Business Journal Health Care Hero Awards in the Administrative Excellence category, Raymer was also a 2007 nominee for “50 Women Who Make a Difference” awards, sponsored by Memphis Woman magazine. She is a board member and past president of the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics Alumni Association.
David M. Stern, M.D., Chair, Board of Directors
Dr. David M. Stern was named Executive Dean for the UT College of Medicine campuses in 2011. He will also serve as Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs at the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine as well as Chairman of the Board for UT Medical Group.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Most recently, he was Dean of the College of Medicine and Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Physiology at the University of Cincinnati. His achievements included identifying and focusing resources on critical centers of excellence related to cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and metabolic disorders. To increase profitability, he re-engineered the faculty practice group, University of Cincinnati Physicians, by creating an effective community advisory board and developing a foundation for the university’s health system, UC Health.
Dr. Stern also served as Dean and Chief Clinical Officer at the Medical College of Georgia and spent several years as a physician scientist at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
A certified diplomat for the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Stern has built a career as a grant-supported researcher, inventor and academician. He is widely published, holds 14 patents, and has earned many honors.
Jill Truitt, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Systems
Jill Truitt has served as UTMG Vice President of Information Systems and Chief Information Officer since 2007. She holds a bachelor's degree in comprehensive business and economics, computer science at the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Dubuque in Iowa.
Truitt has more than 25 years of experience in health care information technology and management, including six years at Minneapolis - Allina Hospitals and Clinics, where she led the implementation of a system-wide electronic medical record and revenue cycle system. She also served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President at ViTec, a nationwide provider of claims services for the healthcare industry; DISC Systems; and Medintell Med Management.
She is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Truitt is also an executive board member for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South.
Renee Trammell
Vice President of Practice Development
Renee Trammell was named Vice President of Practice Development for UT Medical Group in 2010. In that capacity, she leads the managed care contracting, marketing and practice development functions for the organization and aligns initiatives with the UT Health Science Center and UTMG hospital partners joint initiatives.
Trammell has more than 25 years of experience in the health care field, working with physicians, hospitals and payers to create and grow revenue-producing programs. She has a strong background in the operational development of health care sales and marketing strategies; physician, hospital and ancillary network development; and commercial payer contracting for both group health and workers compensation services. Trammell is known for her expertise in developing clinical lines of service that meet the needs of business and industry, improve provider to provider relations, and facilitate patient care coordination.
Her work experience includes multiple leadership and strategic planning roles at Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation, Memphis Managed Care Corporation, West Clinic, and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. She holds a bachelors degree in health education and two masters degrees from the University of Memphis.
Cassandra Taylor-Wilson, J.D.
Vice President of Corporate Compliance & Contract Management
Cassandra Taylor-Wilson was named Vice President of Corporate Compliance and Contract Management in 2010. Prior to that time, she was UT Medical Group's Director of Contract and Legal Services.
Taylor-Wilson is a graduate of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University and holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
She has more than 15 years of successful experience as a healthcare professional, manager, and business advisor with expertise in business operations, contracting, negotiations, compliance, and reimbursement analysis. Prior to joining UTMG in 2004, Taylor-Wilson was Director of Network Development and Provider Relations at Great West Healthcare-One Health Plan of Georgia, where she was responsible for activities over a three-state region. Her background also includes service as Director of Pricing and Reimbursement for Vanderbilt Management Services in Nashville, contract attorney for a health cooperative in Seattle, and Professor in the accelerated degree program at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis.
Taylor-Wilson serves on the Board of Directors for several Mid-South organizations, including South Parkway East Kiddie Learning Center, Inc. and The Peyton Company Realtors, Inc.
Stuart Wilkinson, Vice President of Human Resources
Stuart Wilkinson has served as UT Medical Group's Vice President of Human Resources since 1998. His diverse experience includes employment in industries such as specialty chemicals, tobacco (Brown and Williamson), supermarkets, and food (Kraft). He also spent three years as a consultant to health care and Fortune 500 organizations.
Born in England, Wilkinson came to the U.S. in 1976 when he was transferred by his employer to Chicago, Illinois. He later moved to Memphis and served as Vice President of Human Resources for Entergy Integrated Solutions, a subsidiary of the electric utility company Entergy Corporation. Wilkinson has a teacher's certificate from Loughborough University in England and a master's degree in organizational behavior from Illinois Benedictine University.
