Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center's Dr. Layhong Soth Honored as Alteon Health Facility Medical Director of the Year

Layhong Soth, MD, director of hospital medicine at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, was recently selected as one of five 2020 Facility Medical Directors of the Year by Alteon Health, the industry-leading national medical group that has managed the Idaho Falls facility's hospital medicine program since June 2019.

The award honors medical directors from across Alteon's more than 125 clinical sites who demonstrated exemplary leadership and professionalism in 2020, mentoring their physicians and advanced practice providers while improving department performance amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his nomination, Alteon senior vice president of medical affairs for hospital medicine, Jorge Santibanez, MD, SFHM, noted that in the nearly two years since Alteon assumed management of the program at Eastern Idaho, Soth has invested heavily in broadening the scope of medical care available to the Idaho Falls community. He has championed the addition of new services, including gastroenterology and neurology, and expanded services beyond the hospital to include post-acute care and assisted living facilities. Soth has also led the integration of the Hospitalists into the internal medicine residency program and helped successfully launch the hospital's family practice residency program. As a result, the programs have been able to recruit high quality residents and Soth has retained some of the top graduates to join his team at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

"Dr. Soth is lighthearted and shows his leadership by working alongside the team, never asking for anything that he doesn't do himself," Santibanez said. "He takes ownership, sets the tone, walks the talk, and is a hard-working, top quality clinician."

Soth was one of five awardees selected by a panel of clinicians from Alteon's executive leadership team. The four other facility medical directors recognized for their outstanding service were:

• Ahmed Kardar, MD, director of hospital medicine, Southside Regional Medical Center (Petersburg, Va.) and Rappahannock General Hospital (Kilmarnock, Va.)
• Stephanie Dabulis, MD, chair of emergency medicine, CalvertHealth Medical Center (Prince Frederick, Md.)
• Michael Silverman, MD, FACEP, chair of emergency medicine, Virginia Hospital Center (Arlington, Va.)
• Mark Christensen, MD, director of emergency medicine, Cullman Regional Medical Center (Cullman, Ala.) and Highlands Medical Center (Scottsboro, Ala.)

"This achievement is only made possible through the great leadership provided by Alteon Health and working in an environment in which clinicians can prosper," Soth said.

Soth earned his medical degree from the Ross University School of Medicine in 2007 and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He joined Alteon Health in October 2014. Under his leadership, the hospital medicine program at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center has seen significant gains in throughput, with patients being admitted more quickly and being discharged earlier in the day. The department has also consistently achieved the hospital's high-quality standards, despite a steady increase in the number and acuity of patients amid COVID-19.

"I have worked with Dr. Soth on many busy days and respect his dedication and hard work ethic," Santibanez said. "We all know he is a unicorn and his skills and abilities are impossible to replicate."

About Alteon Health

With more than 1,700 clinicians serving more than 125 practice locations nationwide, Alteon is a leading provider of emergency medicine, hospitalist medicine, critical care, post-acute care, and virtual and home health services. The physician-led practice is equipped with 50 years of experience in providing high-quality, industry-leading, and patient-focused care in diverse medical markets. For more information, visit alteonhealth.com.