Dr. Gary A. Feldbau, MD, has been named medical director of Group Health Cooperative and president and chairman of the board for Group Health Permanente, the state’s largest multi-specialty medical group.

In his new role, Feldbau, who is actively involved with the Group Health Community Foundation, will manage and lead more than 1,000 doctors and other health professionals who care for nearly 600,000 people in Washington and North Idaho, including 1-out-of-every-10 Washington residents.

Feldbau has spent his entire clinical and administrative career with Group Health, starting as a family physician in 1975 at Group Health’s Olympia Medical Center. He has held a number of physician leadership positions, including medical director of the Puget Sound Regional Division.

Dr. Don Rappe, MD, chair of the committee that conducted a national search for the position, described Feldbau as having the best balance of skills the medical group was seeking.

Feldbau is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Other affiliations include: American College of Physician Executives, Group Practice Improvement Network, American Medical Group Association, Permanente Federation Venture Advisory Group, and Permanente Federation Medical Directors.

Feldbau, who specializes in family practice, has a BS degree in biology from City University of New York and an MD from the University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium. He did post-graduate work at McGill University in Montreal and completed his residency in family medicine at the University of Oregon.