WesternU alum named chief medical officer at Long Beach Memorial

Susan Melvin, DO, a 1984 graduate of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific at Western University of Health Sciences, has been named the Chief Medical Officer at Long Beach Memorial, among the West’s two largest hospital campuses.

Melvin, who also is a clinical professor at WesternU, will serve as the bridge between Long Beach Memorial’s 1,200-member medical staff and management. She succeeds Gainer Pillsbury, M.D., who held the position for 16 years.

Melvin had served as Long Beach Memorial’s Associate Chief Medical Officer for the past year. From 1998-2011, she was president and CEO of Memorial Family Medicine, and director of the family residency program. She also served at the MemorialCare Health System level as a member of the six-hospital system’s board of directors, and was chair of the Physician Society from 2009-2011.

In addition to her duties at WesternU, Melvin is a clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine. In 2006, she was appointed to the Osteopathic Medical Board of California by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and was reappointed to a second three-year term in 2009.

Melvin is board certified in family medicine; is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians; holds a certificate of added qualifications in geriatric medicine, is a member of the American College of Physician Executives; and completed the University of Southern California Management Development Program. She completed her residency at Riverside General Medical Center, where she was chief resident in family medicine. She began her career in 1987, as police surgeon for the city of Long Beach.