new officers elected for Dayton Children's professional staff

New officers of Dayton Children’s Hospital professional staff step into their new roles on July 1, 2022, serving a two-year term.

• Gregory Toussaint, MD - chair
• Merrilee Cox, MD - chair-elect
• Vipul Patel, MD – past chair
• Abiodun Omoloja, MD - chair, department of medicine
• Claire Beimesch, MD - chair, department of surgery

Gregory Toussaint, MD, is a pediatrician at Cornerstone Pediatrics in Springboro. He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Assistant Dean for Clinical Skills Education at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. He served as director of inpatient pediatrics at Dayton Children’s and director of medical student education. He served as a pediatrician in the Air Force for 26 years with assignments around the world, including three tours as commander of a forward-deployed combat support hospital.

Merrilee Cox, MD, is the chief medical safety officer for Dayton Children’s, a pediatric hospitalist and an assistant professor in pediatrics at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. She started at Dayton Children’s in 2007, following a career as a pediatrician in the United States Air Force.

Abiodun Omoloja, MD, is a board-certified pediatric nephrologist as well as the chief medical informatics officer at Dayton Children's Hospital. He is also a professor of pediatrics at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Claire Beimesch, MD, is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. News & World Report top ranked orthopedics division at Dayton Children’s Hospital, specializing in cerebral palsy and gait analysis. 

Vipul Patel, MD, ends his tenure as the chair of the professional staff, serving for the next two years as past chair. He is the Laurence P. Harkness Critical Care Endowed Chair & chief, division of intensive care at Dayton Children's.

“We are very fortunate to have these incredibly talented, committed and caring physicians lead our medical staff,” said Adam Mezoff, MD, CPE, vice president and chief medical officer at Dayton Children’s.

The professional staff at Dayton Children’s is made up of more than 350 physicians and is an independent, organized medical staff that provides oversight of the quality of care, treatment and services delivered by practitioners who are credentialed and privileged at Dayton Children’s. The organization is also responsible for:

• Ongoing evaluation of the competency of practitioners who are privileged
• Defining the scope of privileges that will be granted to practitioners
• Providing leadership in performance improvement activities within the organization