Milford hospital's medical staff president is in his third go-around. What he wants to do

MILFORD — When asked what he enjoys doing when outside the hospital, Dr. Albert Crimaldi simply responded, "Coming to it."

His colleagues appear to enjoy having him, too. For the third time, Crimaldi, 75, was recently elected to serve as president of Milford Regional Medical Center's medical staff. He previously served in the position from 1991-94 and from 2005-09.

As president of the medical staff, Crimaldi is responsible to the Board of Trustees for the quality and efficiency of clinical services and patient care; overseeing physician credentialing; assigning medical staff representation on committees; communicating and representing the viewpoints, needs and concerns of the medical staff to hospital administrators; and running all general medical staff meetings.

'Cornerstone of health': While many community hospitals struggle, Milford Regional soldiers on

Crimaldi has also served as chair of Milford Regional's Department of Medicine and is currently division chief of gastroenterology — the treatment of digestive disorders affecting such areas as the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver. In an interview with the Daily News, Crimaldi said that while he was in training to become a gastroenterologist, he was exposed to patients who were among the sickest of the sick.

"At the time, the University of Pittsburgh was a major center and remains a major center for organ transplants," he said. "In particular, liver transplants. That's part of the job of a gastroenterologist. I like to consider myself a general gastroenterologist, one who tries to care for those and then cordon off those patients who need further, sub-specialty case (treatment) to my colleagues."

Crimaldi has served 'in almost every key leadership post'

Crimaldi has also been site coordinator for the University of Massachusetts Internal Medicine Residency program and has twice been voted Teacher of the Year by the UMass Internal Medicine residents at Milford Regional Medical Center. He is a former chairman of Milford Regional’s Board of Trustees, serving as a trustee for 19 years.

He has been affiliated with Milford Regional since 1987.

“Dr. Crimaldi has served in almost every key leadership post as a physician and board member, and we are thrilled to have him return to serve as president of the medical staff once again,” said Edward J. Kelly, president and CEO of Milford Regional Medical Center, in a prepared statement. “We are pleased as an administration to be working closely with him in this capacity.”

'Right partner, right deal': Hospital officials say Milford Regional, UMass Memorial may attain affiliation by fall

Peter Smulowitz, chief medical officer at Milford Regional, added that Crimaldi has “proven to care teams and patients to be a trusted and compassionate clinical leader."

“He’s a highly regarded practitioner and leader, and will thrive once again as president of our medical staff," Smulowitz said.

Crimaldi takes position as hospital pursues new corporate affiliation

Crimaldi described to the Daily News his plans for his current tenure, which include leading the way during the changing face of Milford Regional Medical Center. Last year, the hospital and UMass Memorial signed a nonbinding agreement, called a letter of intent, that will allow the organizations to explore a potential corporate affiliation.

Earlier this year, the two hospitals agreed to a corporate affiliation.

"I think, given the circumstances of the planned affiliation between Milford and UMass, we need to be certain that the voice of the medical staff is heard strongly and that the medical staff feels as though they are included in all of the discussions," Crimaldi said.

Earlier: UMass Memorial and Milford Regional Medical Center take step toward affiliation

Crimaldi also noted that Milford Regional has a long history in town, and that an affiliation of any kind is a major change for the community. He added that the medical staff is looking to emphasize that Milford Regional is a community hospital.

"We want to make sure that the medical staff is heard, and through us, the community has heard that we maintain all of our services and hopefully expand many of them," Crimaldi said.

The medical staff is hoping the affiliation with UMass Memorial Health will give it additional resources to maintain its physical plant with capital spending and expanded capabilities so that it can perform services locally.

"We'd love to see them be able to use this hospital going forward," Crimaldi said. "We have a very diverse population that we service and I think most of the fun is to help those people who need it most. That's it."

As president of the medical staff, Crimaldi succeeds Dr. Jeanne McCoy, a pediatrician.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Albert Crimaldi will be Milford hospital's medical staff president