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Quick Facts:
Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY – Dr. Lance Watson, a longtime local emergency medicine physician, will assume the role of chief medical officer for Mercy Oklahoma City Communities effective July 7.
Watson will oversee a clinical team that includes 750 integrated and aligned physicians and providers among the 4,000 Mercy caregivers in the Oklahoma City metro.
“This is truly a dream opportunity to lead the talented, compassionate and dedicated clinicians we have on our team here at Mercy in Oklahoma City,” said Dr. Watson. “I am very honored to be in this position. I look forward to working with all of our caregivers across the community in striving to advance innovation and quality of care for all of our patients at Mercy.”
About Dr. Watson
Dr. Watson, currently Mercy Oklahoma City’s department chair for emergency medicine, has spent his entire 16 years as a physician with Mercy. He brings a wealth of knowledge about how Mercy works to his new role, along with connections across the local and national health care community.
He was the top choice among a group of national candidates.
“We were fortunate to have such a high level of interest in this position from many deserving candidates, and we’re so pleased that Lance rose to the top of the list and accepted the challenge to lead our clinical team,” said Bennett Geister, president of Mercy Oklahoma City Communities. “Everybody who knows Lance recognizes not only his expertise as a medical professional but his innate leadership skills and compassionate heart.”
Dr. Watson is a native Oklahoman, graduating with honors from East Central University in Ada with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He went to medical school at the University of Oklahoma, with a residency at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas.
He first joined Mercy as an emergency medicine physician in July 2009, serving as Oklahoma City’s emergency department medical director since 2014. He has been the physician operations leader for emergency medicine across all of Mercy’s multistate footprint since October.
Dr. Watson grew up in Grandfield, Oklahoma. He and his wife Heather have been married for 22 years and have four children.
