Leadership
The Hill Physicians Board of Directors is comprised of 12 practicing physicians who are elected by our shareholders.
Our physician leadership includes more than 100 other physicians who serve on a variety of committees, providing important leadership and guidance on finance, membership, quality improvement, continuing medical education, information technology and peer review issues. Physician leaders also serve as medical directors and chiefs of service to oversee and guide services.
Board of Directors
Chairman: Bruce A. Bob, MD
Vice Chair: Elisabeth H. Renner, MD
Treasurer: Robert C. Feldman, MD
Secretary: Harpreet S. Grewal, MD
Leland G. Dobbs, MD
Peter M. Gannon, MD
Sean P. Hennessey, MD
Thomas F. Long, MD
Dean J. Nickles, MD
Alvin M. Sockolov, MD
Robert T. Wendel, MD
Joshua S. Adler, MD (Ex-officio)
Bruce A. Bob, MD
Chair
Bruce A. Bob, MD, has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1993. He is board-certified in OB/GYN, specializing in laser microsurgeries and advanced gynecological laparoscopy. He has practiced in Sacramento since 1976, and as a solo practitioner and in a four-member group practice since 1994. He also serves on the Executive Committee and is Regional Medical Director for Sacramento.
Dr. Bob began his medical practice at New York Medical College and completed his residency in 1974 at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento, California. Dr. Bob has served on the executive committees of Mercy General Hospital and the OB/GYN department at Sutter Memorial Hospital. From 1989 through 2000, he served as an assistant clinical professor of OB/GYN at the University of California at Davis Medical Center.
Elisabeth H. Renner, MD
Vice Chair and Primary Care Medical Director
Elisabeth Renner, MD, is a primary care medical director for Hill Physicians and chair of the Membership Committee. A member of Hill Physicians since 1991, Dr. Renner became chief of the primary care panel in 1995 and primary care medical director in 2002.
Dr. Renner served her residency at Merrithew Memorial Hospital in Martinez, California from 1988 through 1991, and worked with medical groups in Berkeley and Oakland before beginning a solo practice. She has been a partner in a family practice in Concord, California since 1999. Dr. Renner serves on the active staff at John Muir Medical Center-Concord Campus (previously Mt. Diablo Medical Center). She also chaired the hospital’s family practice department before joining the utilization review committee.
Robert C. Feldman, MD
Treasurer
Robert C. Feldman, MD, is a board-certified cardiologist and has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1984. He serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Finance Committee.
Dr. Feldman received his medical degree in 1975 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He began his cardiology practice in 1978 as a postdoctoral fellow in cardiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, becoming a physician specialist in cardiology in 1981. In 1983, Dr. Feldman became a clinical instructor at the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Harpreet S. Grewal, MD
Secretary
Harpreet S. Grewal, MD, is a board certified family practitioner and a member of Hill Physicians since 2004. He serves on the Executive Committee and the Membership Committee.
Dr. Grewal received his medical degree at the Government Medical College Patiala in Punjab, India, and came to the United States in 1981. He first served as a resident in family practice at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Grewal has been in private practice in Tracy, California since 1985. He serves on the Board of the San Joaquin Medical Society.
Leland G. Dobbs, MD [back to top ]
Leland G. Dobbs is boarded in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease and has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1989. He has been in practice in Oakland as part of a six-member Pulmonology medical group since 1979. Leland serves on the Finance and Investment Committees and is Specialty Chief for Allergy, ENT, and Pulmonology in the East Bay.
Peter M. Gannon, MD [back to top ]
Peter M. Gannon, MD, is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Neurology, practices in a three-member group in Stockton, was on the board of Delta IPA and has been a member of Hill Physicians since 2004 when Delta joined Hill Physicians. He currently is a member of the Quality Improvement Committee, a San Joaquin Specialty Chief for Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics and is a graduate of the Hill Physicians Leadership Program.
Peter obtained his medical degree from Irvine College of Medicine in 1972, served his internship from 1972-73 and a residency in Internal Medicine from 1973-75 at Oakland Highland Hospital. He completed his residency in Neurology at LAC-USC medical Center 1978-81.
Sean P. Hennessey, MD
Sean P. Hennessey, MD, is a board certified family practitioner and has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1994. He joined the Board of Directors in 1998. He serves on the Provider Grievance Committee and Peer Review Committee and is chief of primary care for the Solano region.
After receiving his medical degree from the University of Iowa in 1982, Dr. Hennessey served his internship and residency in family practice at the Broadlawns Medical Center in Iowa. In 1985, after becoming board certified, Dr. Hennessey joined a private practice in Vallejo, California.
Prior to Hill Physicians, Dr. Hennessey was a board member of the Solano County IPA and served as chairman of numerous committees. In addition, he has been an active leader at Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo and a board member and CMA alternate delegate for the Solano County Medical Society. Today, he is a senior partner at the Associated Family Practice in Vallejo.
Thomas F. Long, MD
Thomas Long, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and chief medical officer of Hill Physicians. Dr. Long serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Quality Improvement Committee. He has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1992.
Dr. Long completed his residency at the Hospital for Sick Children, Kauikeolani Children's Hospital, then began his pediatric practice in 1972 at Stanford University Medical Center as an American Cancer Society fellow in pediatric oncology. He has been a full-time community-based pediatrician since 1979, when he opened his own practice in San Ramon, California.
From 1990 to 1992, Dr. Long served as chief of pediatrics for San Ramon Regional Medical Center. He was president of the California Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics from 1997 to 1999. Today, Dr. Long is the managing partner of the San Ramon Valley Primary Care Medical Group.
Dean J. Nickles, MD
Dean J. Nickles, MD, is board certified in internal medicine and critical care medicine. He has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1984 and on the Board of Directors of Hill Physicians since 1996. He practices in Oakland in a 15-member primary-care group. He has served as Chief Internal Medicine in the Oakland region since 1999 and is also a member of the Quality Improvement Committee.
Dr. Nickles served his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and continued as the center’s director of the intensive care and coronary care units through 1981. He went on to become a clinical instructor at the schools of medicine at Texas Tech University and Stanford University.
Dr. Nickles has served as the chair and president of several East Bay hospitals, including his most recent roles at the Alta Bates Medical Center, Summit Campus, in Oakland. Beginning in 1990, he became a partner at the Associated Internal Medicine Medical Group, also in Oakland. Dr. Nickles remains a practicing physician and the director of utilization management and clinical resource management at Alta Bates.
Alvin M. Sockolov, MD
Alvin M. Sockolov, MD, is board-certified in Family Practice, and practices in a four-person group practice in Sacramento that includes his brother, Ron. Alvin has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1996. He currently serves on the Executive and Provider IT Committees, Provider Compensation Subcommittee of the Finance Committee and is the Primary Care Medical Director for Sacramento.
Dr. Sockolov completed his residency at the Medical Center at the University of California at Davis, where he became the chief resident of family practice in 1982. In 1983, he was certified as a diplomat by the American Board of Family Practice. He remains a clinical preceptor at the UC Davis School of Medicine. He is on the active staff of the family practice departments at Mercy General Hospital and the Sutter Community Hospitals in Sacramento.
Robert T. Wendel, MD
Robert T. Wendel, MD, is a board certified ophthalmologist and has been a member of Hill Physicians since 1993. He joined the Hill board in 2011 and also serves as specialty chief in ophthalmology. Dr. Wendel is president of his medical group, Retinal Consultants.
Dr. Wendel completed his ophthalmology residence at The University of California, Davis Medical Center. Following this, he was a Fellow in retinal diseases and surgery at Barnes Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis. Upon completion of his retinal training, he returned to Sacramento and joined Retinal Consultants, an eight-member medical group, where he has been in practice since 1985.
He helped pioneer the development of surgery for a previously untreatable condition, the macular hole, for which they received the Founders Award in 1998. He is past program director and president of the ALTA California Ophthalmology Association, he served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Retina Specialists, and received the Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists in 1997. He teaches residents at the Sutter and Mercy Health systems.
Joshua S. Adler, MD
Josh Adler, MD joined the board of Hill Physicians January 2010. He is Chief Medical Officer of UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Children's Hospital. As Chief Medical Officer, he oversees the quality, safety, and effectiveness of medical care and the integration of patient care, education and research. He also oversees care coordination, clinical resource management, compliance, medical staff affairs, quality assurance and risk management. Prior to taking his current position as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Adler served for seven years as the Medical Director of Ambulatory Care at UCSF, overseeing 95 ambulatory care practices. Dr. Adler, a board-certified, practicing internist and a professor of clinical medicine at UCSF, directs the UCSF Pathways to Discovery Program, which fosters scientific, leadership and advocacy skills among all UCSF trainees.
He earned a medical degree at UC San Diego Medical School and completed a residency in internal medicine at UC San Francisco, followed by a chief resident year at the San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center. In the VA system, he served as Assistant Chief of Medicine, Assistant Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Officer of the six-hospital Sierra Pacific VA Network. At the San Francisco VA, he directed the implementation of an electronic medical information system.
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Committees of the Board
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Executive Committee
Bruce Bob, MD, chair
Elisabeth Renner, MD, vice chair
Robert Feldman, MD, treasurer
Harpreet Grewal, MD, secretary
Thomas Long, MD, chief medical officer
Dean Nickles, MD
Alvin Sockolov, MD
Membership Committee
Elisabeth Renner, MD, chair
Harpreet Grewal, MD
Patrick Joseph, MD
Joseph Marino, MD
Philip Rich, MD
Amir Sweha, MD
Bryan Wong, MD
Peer Review Committee
Dean Nickles, MD, co-chair
Sean Hennessey, MD, co-chair
Provider Review Subcommittee
Sean Hennessey, MD, chair
Michael Bleecker, MD
Robert DeBruin, MD
Colleen Hogan, MD
Thomas Imperato, MD
Alan Kawaguchi, MD
Donald Rice, MD
Bakul Roy, MD
Michael Wynn, MD
Thomas Long, MD, Ex-officio
Quality Improvement Subcommittee
Dean Nickles, MD, chair
Peter Gannon, MD
Richard Gould, MD
Raissa Hill, MD
Thomas Long, MD
Patrick O'Malley, MD
Greg Pottorff, MD
Michael McNamara, MD, Ex-officio
Nominating Committee
Elisabeth Renner, MD, chair
Richard DeFelice, MD
Harpreet Grewal, MD
Patrick Joseph, MD
Nathan Schultz, MD
Finance Committee
Robert Feldman, MD, chair
Greg Coe, MD
Leland Dobbs, MD
R. Scott Foster, MD
Michael Gaddini, MD
David Kosh, MD
Robert Rowley, MD
Continuing Medical Education Committee
Robert Rowley, MD, chair
Eric Chapa, MD
Lori Danze, MD
Richard Gould, MD
Paul Kramer, MD
Thomas Long, MD
Provider I.T. Committee
Alvin Sockolov, MD, chair
John Chiu, MD
Roy Greenberg, MD
Frederic Newman, MD
Mitchell Seitz, MD
Leslie Tim, MD
Paul Wheeler, MD
Careen Whitley, MD