Douglas C. Appleby

About Douglas C. Appleby

As an Executive Healthcare Operations Leader, I bring 30+ years of experience building and scaling high-performing cardiothoracic programs across academic, community, and global health environments. I specialize in strengthening clinical quality, optimizing surgical operations, and aligning physicians, staff, and systems to deliver consistent, measurable outcomes. I am driven by mission-centered leadership that elevates patient care, advances organizational performance, and creates sustainable impact at scale. Key Achievements Include: Built and led one of South Carolina’s most respected cardiothoracic programs, founding a competitive surgical group, expanding services across multiple hospitals, and growing regional cardiac surgery volume to 300+ annual cases. Advanced clinical excellence and surgical education at the University of Utah, training residents and fellows while directing M&M, journal review, and global surgery initiatives. Strengthened access to complex cardiac care in underserved regions globally, serving as long-term faculty for Tenwek Hospital in Kenya and delivering high-impact mission work across Africa and Central America. Launched and optimized cardiovascular service lines across multiple health systems, leading start-up programs, robotic and minimally invasive initiatives, multidisciplinary clinics, and critical-care protocols that improved quality, operations, and patient outcomes.Contact me through this profile if you wish to connect.

Experience

1. Cardiac Surgeon (Per Diem on Call)

   Prisma Health

   Jan 2021 — Present · Greenville, SC, US

   Deliver high-acuity cardiothoracic surgical care for the busiest heart surgery program in South Carolina, routinely managing complex, multi-hour cardiac procedures in a high-volume tertiary-care environment.• Serve as a trusted senior surgeon providing critical on-call coverage that ensures continuity of advanced cardiac services amid significant workforce shortages and reliance on locums and travelers.• Enhance clinical operations by offering front-line insight into OR workflow, staffing challenges, quality issues, and patient through-put to support system-wide improvements.• Maintain deep alignment with surgical partners and clinical teams while leveraging a flexible model that enables ongoing leadership development, global mission work, and transition into executive healthcare roles.

Education

• Medical University of South Carolina

  Doctor of Medicine - MD

• Medical University of South Carolina

  Doctor of Health Administration

• University of South Carolina

  Bachelor of Science - BS