Sparrow honors Carson City native as Physician of the Year

Published: October 14, 2021

LANSING, MI – Christopher Herald, M.D. -- born at Carson City Hospital, the son and grandson of Carson nurses, and who now leads the Emergency Department at Sparrow Carson Hospital -- is Sparrow’s Physician of the Year.

Paul Entler, D.O., Sparrow Health System Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement, received the Sparrow Physician Leadership Award.

They, along with five others inducted into Sparrow’s Physicians Hall of Fame, were honored during a recent Celebrating Sparrow Physicians dinner.

Sparrow is proud to recognize some of the more than 1,100 Sparrow physicians who are transforming care in the Mid-Michigan region. Sparrow physicians put the needs of our patients first everyday and are innovative national leaders caring for communities during the pandemic.

“I couldn’t be more impressed with the compassion and commitment of these leaders,” said Karen Kent VanGorder, M.D., Chief Medical and Quality Officer for Sparrow Health System.

Dr. Herald, of DeWitt, spent the past 15 years as a full-time physician and now Medical Director of the Sparrow Carson Emergency Department and has a special connection to the community.

Christopher Herald, M.D.

Christopher Herald, M.D. Sparrow Physician of the Year

“I think a career in healthcare has always been something I thought about when I was young because of this hospital really,” said Dr. Herald, speaking from the Sparrow Carson ED. “I was born in this hospital and living in Carson, which is such a small town, and having a great hospital facility like this in the community is really unique but it’s also a big part of the community.”

Dr. Entler, an Ohio native who now lives in DeWitt, is an internal medicine physician who has experience in a wide variety of areas, such as nursing home and dementia care, obesity care, wound and hyperbaric medicine, and hospital care. He has held a number of leadership roles at Sparrow and led efforts to improve quality and patient care.

Inductees into Sparrow’s Physician Hall of Fame can be nominated by colleagues or members of the community. This year’s inductees include:

  • Timothy Hodge, D.O., an emergency medicine clinician, educator, and leader.
  • Said Omar, M.D., the distinguished medical director of the Sparrow Hospital Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
  • Albert Ross, M.D., a founding partner of the Michigan Gastroenterology Institute and active in numerous Sparrow governance committees.
  • Rebecca Wolfe, M.D., an outstanding family medicine physician at Sparrow Medical Group North.
  • The late Paul Schluckebier, M.D., an OB/GYN whose passion for his patients and their families impacted countless lives.
Timothy Hodge, D.O., headshot for E.W. Sparrow Hospital Association

Timothy Hodge, D.O.

Said Omar

Said Omar, M.D.

Albert Ross, MD

Albert Ross, M.D.

Rebecca Wolfe

Rebecca Wolfe, M.D.

Paul Schluckebier MD

Paul Schluckebier, M.D.

To learn more about Sparrow physicians, go to Sparrow.org.

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Sparrow is Mid-Michigan’s premier healthcare organization and includes hospitals in Lansing, Carson City, Charlotte, Ionia, and St. Johns, as well as Sparrow Specialty Hospital, Physicians Health Plan, Sparrow Care Network, Sparrow Medical Group and the Michigan Athletic Club. Sparrow is affiliated with Michigan Medicine through the Sparrow Children’s Center and with Michigan State University’s three human health colleges. Through these partnerships and the dedication of our 10,000 Caregivers, Sparrow pursues a vision to be nationally recognized as a leader in quality and Patient experience. For more information, visit sparrow.org.