Southaven, Miss., March 14, 2005 – Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto recently named Bradley Wolf, M.D., its new medical staff president; Jacinto Hernandez, M.D., its new medical staff vice president; and Tapan Thakur, M.D., its new medical staff secretary.

As president, Wolf has several duties, including acting as a liaison among the hospital medical staff, the medical staff leadership council and the medical executive committee and coordinating and overseeing all hospital medical staff functions and activities.

Hernandez’s responsibilities as vice president include enforcing the medical staff bylaws and procedures and serving as a member of the medical executive committee.

As secretary, Thakur’s responsbilities include enforcing the medical staff bylaws and procedures, as well as serving as a member of the medical staff leadership council. The physicians will serve two-year terms, and Hernandez will become president of the medical staff after Wolf’s term ends.

“Drs. Wolf, Hernandez and Thakur are very strong leaders, in addition to being very gifted physicians,” said Randy King, CEO and administrator of Baptist DeSoto. “As Baptist DeSoto has transformed from a small community hospital to a large, high-level care facility, these three physicians have provided invaluable knowledge, leadership and support. We are lucky to have them on our medical staff.”

Baptist DeSoto is a 199-bed hospital that offers diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitation services. Construction is under way on a 400,000-square-foot, 10-story bed tower that will add 140 beds allow the hospital to offer all private rooms. The project will add a new and expanded emergency room, more operating suites and new, advanced equipment. In December 2002, the hospital opened the Baptist DeSoto Outpatient Diagnostic Center and Women’s Center within the hospital. In 2001, the hospital completed an expansion project that nearly doubled its size, expanded its labor and delivery services and added open-heart surgery and radiation therapy.

For more information, please call (662) 349-4000 or visit http://desoto.baptistonline.org.

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