Board of Directors

Kote R. Chundu, M.D.
President & Chief Executive Officer

In January 2010, Dr. Chundu was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of District Medical Group, formerly known as Medical Professional Associates of Arizona, (MedPro). From April 2005 through December 2009, Dr. Chundu was Chairman of the Board of MedPro. Dr. Chundu is the Medical Director of the Arizona Children's Center and the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Maricopa Medical Center since October 2000. Dr. Chundu joined Maricopa Medical Center in 1992 as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Prior to this, he was the Associate Director of the Pediatric ICU at Children's National Medical Center, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesia at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

He received his medical degree from Guntur Medical College in India in 1981, and completed a pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. He also completed a pediatric critical care fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D. C. in 1989. He is board certified in Pediatrics, Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

As Clinical Professor of Pediatrics with University of Arizona, Dr. Chundu supervises the teaching of students and residents and is a steering committee director of the integrated pediatrics residency program at Maricopa Medical Center and Phoenix Children's Hospital. Dr. Chundu has developed numerous research projects and is the author of many published articles. He is well-known for his presentations and lectures on both a local and national level.

David Wisinger, M.D.

I have been working at MIHS and with DMG since 1989 and have had the chance to work at FHC's, MMC, nursing facilities and now as interim Chief Medical Officer for MIHS. As a generalist who sees patients essentially daily and as a holder of leadership positions in the largest clinical department at DMG I am keenly aware of the numerous issues affecting the membership such as what it takes to provide clinical services, teach residents, adhere to billing and compliance regulations, develop new business and address concerns of employees.

I have always looked at sitting on the DMG Board from the point of view as a generalist whose job is to provide members of DMG the tools to be the most productive and capable physicians providing patient care and teaching. I have always been willing to effect changes, either in personnel or operations, to ensure adherence to our mission and I will continue to do so.

Dean V. Coonrod, MD, MPH, OB/Gyn Department Chair.

In this capacity, Dr. Coonrod is appreciating the many opportunities this department offers him; he is enjoying resident recruitment for the Phoenix Integrated Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, a program offered by Maricopa Integrated Health System and Saint Joseph Hospital and Medical Center. This year we were very happy to hear from the RRC that we were accredited for 5-years. He also continues to serve in his role as the Director of the Ob/Gyn Research Department. Currently he is a principal investigator for a large international multi-center randomized trial, named the Twin Birth Study (TBS). The TBS compares "planned vaginal birth" to "planned C-section". In addition, Dr. Coonrod is working in partnership with Arizona State University as Principal Investigator for numerous studies, including Familias Sanas "Healthy Families", an intervention study that aims to increase Latino mothers' access to inter-conception care as a means of enhancing the overall well-being of the mothers and their children. In this partnership, he is also involved in the Mujeres en Accion "Women in Action for Their Health" study; an evaluation of the physical and psychosocial impact of a weekly walking program for Hispanic women ages 45-70. Colleen Keller, PhD, RN-C, FNP is the principal investigator for this grant with the ASU College of Nursing who also works part-time in the department. This year ASU was awarded a large NIH grant "Coregulatory Processes and Postpartum Depression in Mexican-Americans," he serves a co-investigator for that grant, along with Susan Yount, CNM, PhD. Dr. Coonrod has been active in the area of preconception care. He is the recipient of two grants on this topic, notably one awarded by the March of Dimes Community Chapter Grant, and through this grant has established an Internatal Care Clinic to provide care between pregnancies for women who have experienced an adverse pregnancy outcome. He was also named to the National Select Committee on Preconception Care, the CDC's initiative to improve preconception care for women. He is an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine. Dr. Coonrod is active in his work with family violence; serving on the Arizona State Governor's Commission to prevent violence against women as well. He also continues to serve as Medical Director of the AZ Well Women Healthcheck Program. Most recently he was the recipient of ASU's Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC)'s Leadership Award for outstanding leadership in clinical partnership in health disparities research.

Phyllis Biedess

Phyllis is an experienced health care executive who is considered to be an expert re: the Arizona Medicaid market. Phyllis is a results-driven leader who ensures that her organization remains focused on its mission, maintains a strong bottom line, and is a good community partner. Several specialty health care focus areas for Phyllis are: managed care, long term care, public health, and alternative/ integrative medicine.

• Director of Long-Term Care from 1978 – 1983 and reported to the Director of the Department of Health Services, Maricopa County.
• Director of Provider Management for AHCCCS in 1983-84.
• President and Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan health plan and of Arizona Physicians IPA, Inc., leading these organizations for a decade.
• In 1996, Phyllis served as President of The American Centers for Health and Medicine in Phoenix.
• Appointed as The Director of AHCCCS in April 1999 - 2003.
• In 2004/05, Phyllis served as the CEO for MIHS.
• Currently serves on the Board of Directors for DMG and APIPA, and consults with a variety of health care organizations.
• Holds her B.A. Degree in Sociology and Psychology from Carroll College, Milwaukee Wisconsin; and a M.S. Degree in Urban Planning from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

William Lund Putnam
Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Senior Vice President, USAA (Ret.)

Bill Putnam served from 2005 to retirement in 2011 as Senior Vice President, USAA Phoenix and Region Operations, responsible for the consistent, efficient and effective operation of the five major USAA offices remote from home office.

Prior to joining USAA in 2000, Bill served in the United States Navy as a cruiser destroyer officer from 1967 to 2000, retiring in the grade of Rear Admiral. While on active duty, Bill commanded a guided missile equipped destroyer during operations off Lebanon and Libya in 1985/1986; a destroyer squadron, remnants of the Kuwaiti Navy and Special Forces in the northern Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm; and the Abraham Lincoln (carrier) Battle Group from 1996 to 1998, while it conducted counterterrorism operations in the Arabian Gulf and beyond. Ashore, he served six tours in the Pentagon in program development, comptrollership and budget.

Bill is an alumnus of Stanford University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was a Sloan Fellow. He completed executive programs at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, the Maxwell School, Syracuse University, the Insurance Executive Education Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and was a Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Fellow at the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island.

Bill continues to serve as a board member on two non-profits, as a mentor to veterans, and on several community boards. Bill and his bride, Jan, live north of the Phoenix campus in Anthem where they focus on grandparenting and community service.

James M. Marovich

Mr. Marovich is a litigation and transactional attorney who practices in corporate and healthcare areas. Prior to entering the field of law, Mr. Marovich served for over twenty years as a hospital administrator, where he managed employee workforces from 150 to 2,000, coordinated risk management and professional liability programs, negotiated physician and management services contracts and oncall agreements, coordinated state and federal regulatory compliance programs, implemented corporate cost reduction and reorganization plans, developed improved patient care delivery models, ensured compliance with labor and employment laws, negotiated professional services contracts, reviewed regulations in connection with clinical studies, assessed risk management issues, and participated in government relations and lobbying. Throughout Mr. Marovich's career as a hospital administrator, he worked with hospitals and physicians on matters related to:

• Medical staff bylaws and rules and regulations
• Credentialing and peer review
• Union organizing activities in hospitals
• Hospital trademark and copyright issues
• Hospital computer compliance and software licensing issues
• Disposal of hazardous waste and disposal of nuclear medicine waste
• Hospital/physician contracts
• Service provider contracts
• Transfer agreements
• Leasing of space to physicians
• Food service, maintenance, and service contract negotiations

Ted Williams

Mr. Williams has lived in Arizona for forty years. He currently is the President/CEO of the Arizona Behavioral Health Corp. and the Arizona Foundation for Behavioral Health. He holds engineering and law degrees. Mr. Williams has worked for six governors in positions ranging from a Special Assistant to the Governor to the Director of Arizona Department of Health Services and Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation.

He worked as an Executive Vice President for Baptist Hospitals and Health System over various direct care hospital and emergency service programs. He is one of very few individuals to ever have been hired by both the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate at the same time when he was recruited to assist in the drafting of the original AHCCCS legislation.

Mr. Williams also worked as Associate County Manager for Maricopa County. In that capacity he was responsible for the Maricopa County Medical Center and all County health delivery programs. He also directed the Maricopa County: Public Health, Environmental Services, Social Services and Medical Examiner departments.

Mr. Williams is a Board member of:

• Arizona Senior Olympics
• North Phoenix Visions of Hope
• Pass member Magellan Governance Board
• Maricopa Consumers Advocates and Providers
• Arizona Coalition for Tomorrow
• Pro bono Consultant to MIHS

Allan Rawls

Dr Rawls has been a pioneer in the field of Developmental Genetics of skeletal muscle development and repair.

Dr Rawls presently is an Associate Professor, Dept of basic Medical Sciences-The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State University. Dr Rawls is also an Associate Professor at ASU School of Life Sciences.
J. Alan earned his PhD at Saint Louis University, Mo in 1993.
Postdoctoral fellowship at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Dr Rawls became a professor of Biology at ASU in 1997.

Currently, Dr Rawls has three ongoing laboratory projects: Examining the role of the protein Numb in myogenic progenitor cells; The role of Mohawk, a novel transcription factor, and is Investigating the role of Hox 3. Dr Rawls has authored numerous scientific publications.