GAMSS Announces Karen Claxton as New President

GAMSS Announces Karen Claxton as New President


Vidalia, GA —The Georgia Association for Medical Staff Services (GAMSS), an organization of medical staff and credentialing services professionals, is pleased to announce Karen Claxton, CPMSM, CPCS, of Meadows Regional Medical Center, as the new President.
“GAMSS has been an invaluable resource for me over the past thirteen years, and it is my honor to be elected to serve as President. Our association is made up of wonderful professionals that I admire and enjoy working with,” Claxton said.

Claxton has been a GAMSS member since 1998. Her leadership roles within GAMSS have included region representative, Bylaws Chair, Education Chair, Treasurer, President Elect and Program Chair. Also a member of the National Association for Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) since 1998, she has served on the NAMSS Website Task Force and the Conference Planning Hospital Team. She attended Brewton Parker College and obtained dual certification in 2004. Her GAMSS leadership experience coupled with her national association involvement provides a unique background and perspective that Claxton will bring to her presidency.

“As a Board, we will continue the tradition of excellent educational and networking opportunities for Medical Staff Professionals in Georgia. We will strive to ensure our members are recognized for the important role they play in patient safety and risk management,” Claxton said.

Claxton currently serves as the Manager of Medical Staff Operations at Meadows Regional Medical Center, where she has worked for over 13 years. In this role, she is responsible for initial credentialing and privileging of physicians and allied health professionals, focused and ongoing professional practice evaluation, review and update of Bylaws, Rules & Regulations, and policies in addition to ensuring compliance with requirements of other regulatory bodies. She serves as system manager for credentialing and quality software, manages activities of all medical staff committees and supervises the reappointment process of physicians and allied health professionals.

“Karen does an incredible job in Medical Staff Services at Meadows”, according to Alan Kent, President & CEO. “She is passionate not only about serving our patients and organization but also about her profession. She is clearly the best Manager of Medical Staff Operations I’ve had the privilege to work with in any hospital, large or small.”

The Georgia Association for Medical Staff Services (GAMSS) is a non-profit professional organization established in 1981 by a group of medical staff services professionals working to promote credentialing activities throughout the state of Georgia. With approximately 250 members, GAMSS has grown to include hospital, managed care, group practices and other various aspects of the healthcare profession. Members work with medical staff and administrative leadership in areas such as credentialing, privileging and other quality assurance and improvement projects.