Gift of Life Donor Program has announced the addition of two new highly accomplished community leaders to its Medical Advisory and Policy Board (MAPB). They will support and guide its mission to save and heal lives through organ and tissue donation. Gift of Life is the non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware for 50 years.
Gift of Life Medical Advisory and Policy Board. New members of the MAPB were elected to represent important constituencies across our community:
Hospital Administrator: Charles Barbera, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP, President & CEO, Reading Hospital – Tower Health System, West Reading, Pa.
Dr, Barbera, who is board certified in emergency medicine, was named to Becker’s Hospital Review 2023 list of “Physician Leaders to Know” for his dedication to improving and optimizing healthcare in our community. Dr. Barbera has more than 25 years of experience in senior clinical and executive roles within the Tower Health system.
As president and CEO of the 714-bed Reading Hospital, he oversees hospital operations, clinical outcomes, employee and physician engagement, and community service. Dr. Barbera played a pivotal role in developing Reading Hospital’s trauma center, community paramedic program, pediatric emergency department, psychiatric emergency department, and telemedicine efforts.
He has received the Berks County Medical Society William J. Alexander Award for Contributions to Medicine and Community Service and has served as president of the Pennsylvania College of Emergency Physicians and the Berks County Medical Society.
Voluntary Health Organization: Brian W. Frazee, President & CEO, Delaware Healthcare Association (DHA), Dover, Del.
Mr. Frazee’s unique blend of experience spans political, policy, advocacy, and association leadership. In his role as president of DHA, he works with the First State’s hospitals, health systems, and healthcare-related organizations to tackle complex challenges facing healthcare and to advance the well-being of Delaware’s communities through innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
He most recently served as Vice President of Government Affairs for the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), where he led advocacy efforts on behalf of Maryland’s 60 hospitals and health systems for eight years.
Prior to joining MHA, Frazee served as Director of Public Policy for the Maryland Association of Community Services, an association of more than 100 nonprofit providers supporting people with developmental disabilities.
He also served as an Associate with an Annapolis-based lobbying firm, worked in the office of a Maryland Senate Chairman, and managed the Southern Maryland Democratic Coordinated Campaign in 2010. His leadership in Maryland’s advocacy community led him to being elected President of the Maryland Government Relations Association.
MAPB members provide expertise and guidance to Gift of Life in recommending policy on a variety of initiatives related to increasing donation opportunities and enhancing relationships with hospital partners.
“We welcome our new board members and look forward to benefitting from their deep knowledge of the healthcare system as we work together with hospital partners to advance an even stronger culture of donation within our region,” said Richard D. Hasz, Jr., MFS, CPTC, President and CEO of the Gift of Life Donor Program.
Medical Advisory and Policy Board Officers
Chair: Peter Lalli, PhD, Director, HLA, Atrium Labs, Director, Donor and Product Testing Laboratory, Eurofins Labs Director, Director, Histocompatibility Laboratory, Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Vice Chair: Michael Marvin, MD, Chair, Department of Transplantation and Liver Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center.
Gift of Life Governing Board
The Governing Board will continue its oversight and direction of the strategic and operational initiatives of the organization. Gift of Life board members have expertise in hospital administration, transplant surgery, critical care medicine, business, science and community activism. The board’s focus is to advance the life-saving mission of Gift of Life.
Governing Board Officers
Chair: Warren R. Maley, MD, Nicoletti Family Professor of Transplantation Surgery Surgical Director, Live Donor Liver Transplantation, Jefferson Health.
Vice Chair: Linda Barrasse, MD, Donor Mom, Cardiologist with Lankenau Heart Group, Main Line Health.
Immediate Past Chair: Barbara Wadsworth, DNP, MBA, RN, FAAN, FNAP, FACHE, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Main Line Health.
Treasurer and Secretary: Margaret A. Belfield, BSN, MSN, Former Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, AtlantiCare, member of Geisinger Health System.
Honorary Chairman and Co-Founder: Clyde F. Barker, MD, Chairman Emeritus, Department of Surgery and Transplant Surgeon, Professor of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Co-Founder, Greater Delaware Valley Society of Transplant Surgeons.
