Centennial, Colo. (August 7, 2024) – The CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region Cancer Network is pleased to announce the addition of Enterprise Medical Director of Surgical Oncology, Dr. Gretchen Ahrendt, who joins Dr. Eric Bernicker, Enterprise Medical Director of Medical Oncology and Dr. Elizabeth Ceilley, Enterprise Medical Director of Radiation Oncology, completing its physician leadership team. This team of oncology experts is led by Dr. Jeffrey Albert, Enterprise Executive Medical Director of Oncology.
“The CommonSpirit Health oncology team is committed to delivering the highest quality cancer care close to home for patients in the communities we serve in Colorado, Utah, Western Kansas, and across the Mountain Region,” Dr. Albert said.
Prior to joining CommonSpirit, Dr. Albert served as the Physician Executive for the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center program in Northern Colorado, where he led the development of that program. In addition to authoring dozens of publications and receiving numerous honors and awards throughout his career, he completed his master’s in public health in health care management at The University of Texas School of Public Health. Dr. Albert completed his internship and residency in radiation oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University before graduating from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ahrendt comes to CommonSpirit from the University of Colorado School of Medicine where she was the Director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program and Director of the Diane O’Connor Thompson Breast Center. She also previously served as the Division Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology and Co-Director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program at UPMC. Dr. Ahrendt has shared her expertise in numerous publications and is a six-time winner of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Doctors in Surgical Oncology. Dr. Ahrendt received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carleton College before earning her medical degree and completing all of her surgical training at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Bernicker joins CommonSpirit with decades of experience as a leader in medical oncology, most recently serving as the Director of Thoracic Medical Oncology at Houston Methodist Hospital. At HMH, he oversaw a significant expansion in clinical trials and is responsible for many publications and national presentations. He also served as Chair of the Cancer Committee as well as an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine for the Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Bernicker earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University before receiving his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He then completed his residency and hematology fellowship through the Baylor Affiliated Hospitals Training Program, and a fellowship in medical oncology from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Ceilley joined our organization in 2022 as a Radiation Oncologist. Prior to her work within our health system, she served as Radiation Oncology Site Lead at Banner MD Anderson Colorado, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado, where she also served as Cancer Committee Chair. Dr. Ceilley earned her medical degree from the University of Iowa School of Medicine before completing her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital.
This team partners with operational leaders Daniel Bodziony and Teresa Labovich, who serve as Regional Directors, and Timothy Osterholm, Chief Executive Officer of the Oncology Service Line. Together, the CommonSpirit Health Mountain Region Cancer Network is a leader within the region, having received multiple national accreditations for its multidisciplinary approach and comprehensive offerings for diagnosis, treatment and survivorship for cancer patients.
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About CommonSpirit
CommonSpirit Health is a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 by Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. The Colorado/Kansas/Utah Division includes 20 hospitals, 240 physician practices and clinics, emergency and urgent care centers, home care and hospice services, and Flight For Life® Colorado. With its national office in Chicago and a team of over 175,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit operates 142 hospitals and more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states. In FY 2022, CommonSpirit had revenues of $33.9 billion and provided $4.9 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs. Learn more at www.commonspirit.org.
