January 4, 2018
Ranee Guard
Summit Medical Group has promoted Ranee Guard to the position of chief operating officer (COO).
Guard joined Summit Medical Group in 2012 as director of Integrated Health Services and has served the organization as vice president of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services since 2013. In that role, she oversaw Summit Central Laboratory, four diagnostic imaging centers, eight physical therapy facilities, Summit Sleep Services, three Summit Express Clinics, clinical trials and the Occupational Health and Wellness program.
In her new role as COO, Guard will continue overseeing Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services, along with overall operations for Summit Medical Group and its more than 50 primary care offices.
“Ranee has excelled in providing operational leadership, development of business and marketing strategy and oversight for our organization,” Summit Medical Group CEO Ed Curtis said. “She is a proven leader, with innovative techniques and creative problem-solving abilities that strengthen our organization, thus leading to better patient experience and outcomes.”
Prior to joining Summit, Guard served as chief operations and development officer for KDL Pathology in Knoxville; director of business development for Geneuity Clinical Research Services & Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, Inc. (MPLN); and as a scientist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Guard earned her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Guard is a member of the Association for Molecular Pathology, American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Science Advisory Board and Executive Women’s Association, among other professional affiliations. She is a board member of HealthCare 21 Business Coalition and InterFaith Health Clinic and is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Knoxville.
Guard resides in West Knoxville with her husband, Mark Guard. Her daughter, Emma Taylor, and son, Jacob Taylor, are both graduates of Webb School of Knoxville and currently attend University of Georgia.
About Summit Medical Group
Summit Medical Group is East Tennessee’s largest primary care organization with more than 300 providers at 55 practice locations in 14 counties. Summit also consists of four diagnostic centers, mobile diagnostic services, eight physical therapy centers, three express clinics, central laboratory and sleep services center, as well as Summit Inpatient Services, which delivers superior care for hospitalized patients. Summit provides healthcare services to more than 260,000 patients, averaging over one million encounters annually. For more information, visit www.summitmedical.com.
