New Hanover Regional Medical Center officials recently announced that vascular surgeon and current chief of the hospital’s medical staff, Philip Brown, has accepted the position of NHRMC chief physician executive.

Brown will begin in the position on Jan. 1. Brown’s hiring will coincide with the retirement of Sam Spicer, the current vice president of medical affairs.

As chief physician executive, Brown will oversee care quality, care transformation and physician leadership within the organization, officials said.

In a news release, Brown said that he’s excited to be part of NHRMC’s “ongoing transition from regional medical center to comprehensive health system.”

“I look forward to developing and promoting physician leadership throughout the medical community, and to helping the organization’s leaders navigate the rapid and continuous changes in health care,” Brown said.

Jack Barto, NHRMC president and CEO, said in the news release that to better incorporate doctors’ unique skills, many hospitals are further developing their relationships with physicians and how they engage with them.

Hospitals and doctors work together to ensure that advancement and standardization of quality care are aligned with a focus on what is the best for each patient, Barto said.

He said that New Hanover Regional has already taken numerous steps to move toward physician integration in key leadership positions, with initiatives such as engaging physicians in lean management and starting a Physicians Leadership Academy for physicians who want to learn management skills.

“We have many exciting and diverse efforts underway to integrate with physicians and engage the skills they bring to the care of our patients,” Barto said. “With Phil in this leadership role, we will be able to best align these efforts so they are even more effective.”

Brown has practiced in Wilmington since 2004. He finished undergraduate work at University of North Carolina Wilmington in 1988, and then gained his medical degree at the Brody School of Medicine in 1995 at East Carolina University.

Brown completed a residency at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, then a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2001-02. The next two years, he served on the academic faculty at ECU.

Brown is former president of the New Hanover-Pender Medical Society and will continue as co-director of the Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership, a leadership college provided by the N.C. Medical Society Foundation.

Spicer continues in a part-time capacity with the organization, hospital officials said.

He will assume a position leading Physicians Quality Partners, NHRMC’s accountable care organization, working toward a population health approach to improving patient quality while controlling costs, officials said. He will serve in the role until his retirement in 2016.