New and Noteworthy Services

Joseph Karam, MD, appointed to top Trauma Services position
at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center

Joseph A. Karam, MD, MBA, FACS, has been appointed to the new position of Medical Director, Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center.

Dr. Karam will oversee Kaiser Permanente’s first Adult Level II Trauma Center, which will provide an enhanced level of life-saving care to victims of traumatic injuries in the south area when it opens later this summer. Dr. Karam will be responsible for enhancing the South Sacramento Medical Center’s state-of-the-art surgical critical care program, developing continuous performance improvement and trauma readiness activities, and advancing key trauma prevention opportunities throughout the community.

Dr. Karam joins Kaiser Permanente from Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he has served as Medical Director, Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Services, for the hospital’s Level I Trauma Center since 2004. He received his bachelor’s degree from The University of Scranton and medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He completed general surgery residencies in Pennsylvania at Hahnemann University Hospital, Polyclinic Medical Center, and Geisinger Medical Center. He completed fellowships in trauma and critical care at Allegheny University Hospital in Philadelphia, and in gastrointestinal surgery research at Hahnemann University. Dr. Karam earned his master’s in Business Administration from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Kaiser Permanente is the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care organization and serves more than 650,000 members in Greater Sacramento. Approximately 11,100 employees and more than 1,100 physicians provide medical care and service to Greater Sacramento members.