Dr. Mark Thoelke, original founder of the Division of Hospital Medicine in 2000, current Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, was promoted to Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine on July 1, 2017.
Dr. Thoelke’s numerous accomplishments include the development of the Division of Hospital Medicine inpatient hospitalist program, building co-management hospitalist programs in oncology and bone marrow transplant units, developing medicine consultative services for surgical services at Barnes Hospital and The Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis, hospitalist directed procedure service for Barnes Hospital, and designing a Short Stay Unit to improve patient flow and efficiency for patients in the emergency room at Barnes Hospital.
In addition, Dr. Thoelke founded the Evening Grand Rounds CME program and was involved in multiple hospital committees and quality and safety improvement initiatives at Barnes Hospital, where he was recognized as a Patient Safety and Quality Star. Dr. Thoelke has been involved with the Internal Medicine Redesign Team, the House Staff Selection Committee, and the Mentors in Medicine program at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2004, he was awarded “Teacher of the Year” by the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Thoelke served as President of the Society of Hospital Medicine St. Louis Chapter from 2000-2004. He was part of the inaugural class with distinction for Fellow of Hospital Medicine in 2009, and the inaugural class for Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine in 2010. He served as the Associate Editor for the Journal of Hospital Medicine from 2008-2011 and continues to serve as reviewer for the Journal of Hospital Medicine. In 2016, he received the prestigious Society of Hospital Medicine Clinical Excellence Award which is awarded in recognition of one exemplary hospitalist in the nation dedicated to the field of hospital medicine.