UPMC-managed ISMETT Appoints New CEO

By: Wendy Zellner

LUCA_ANGELO_MDAngelo Luca, M.D., has been appointed chief executive officer of ISMETT, a leading transplant hospital managed by UPMC in Palermo, Italy. The ISMETT board of directors approved the appointment at its shareholders’ meeting on March 7.

Dr. Luca has been with ISMETT since its start in 1999, first as head of radiology services and then director of diagnostic and therapeutic services until his promotion to vice director of ISMETT in 2014.

He replaces Dr. Bruno Gridelli, a transplant surgeon who will join ISMETT’s board of directors and maintain his surgical privileges at the hospital, a public-private partnership between UPMC and the Region of Sicily. After serving as ISMETT CEO for seven years, Dr. Gridelli will focus full-time on his responsibilities managing and developing international projects for UPMC, especially establishing international research relationships.

“We wish to thank Dr. Gridelli for all his work during these years,” said a statement from the ISMETT board. “Under his direction ISMETT has become a center recognized at the international level and a leading institution in the field of organ transplants, high-specialty therapies and research. We are pleased with Dr. Gridelli’s decision to continue supporting ISMETT and to join the board of directors, where he will continue to provide important guidance.”

Formally known as the Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad Alta Specializzazione, ISMETT has performed more than 1,600 transplants since its opening  and tens of thousands of other high-specialty procedures, including cardiothoracic and cancer surgeries. ISMETT is the only hospital in Italy designed and intended exclusively for solid organ transplantation and highly specialized therapies. It treats more than 30,000 patients a year with severe organ disease and recently was accredited for the third time by Joint Commission International, the organization that certifies the safety and quality of care provided to patients in hospitals around the world.

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