Team Spotlight:
Stefan Muehlbauer, MD, PhD, FACEP | Chairman of Emergency Medicine, St. Francis Hospital, Progressive Emergency Physicians (PEP)
March 6, 2023
Stefan Muehlbauer, MD, Ph.D., FACEP is a passionate physician leader and an esteemed member of the Progressive Emergency Physicians (PEP) clinical leadership team. Dr. Muehlbauer serves as the Associate Chief Medical Officer and the Chairperson of Emergency Medicine at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in Long Island, New York, a 364-bed tertiary care facility. Dr. Muehlbauer received his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he was also a fellow of the Medical Scientist Training Program and earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. His doctoral research centered on the mechanism and role of cell death in septic shock and systemic inflammation, with a focus on anthrax toxin. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he was recognized with the Clinical Excellence Award, the highest honor granted to a graduate of the program. Dr. Muehlbauer brings to the PEP team an exceptional clinical acumen for not only standard emergency medical presentations but also an acute understanding of virology. His expertise has been particularly advantageous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Muehlbauer’s administrative and departmental leadership drives PEP to achieve alignment and deliver high-quality care with excellent outcomes.
Clinical Leadership Experience in Emergency Medicine
Dr. Muehlbauer is currently an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook University. He has previously served as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at North Shore University Hospital, where he was appointed to the core academic faculty. He also served as the Emergency Medicine Clerkship Director and Emergency Department Sepsis Champion. Prior to that, he held an appointment to the academic faculty at Harvard Medical School where he was an attending physician at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Muehlbauer also held an appointment as a Basic Science Investigator at the Center for Vascular Biology Research at Harvard Medical School.
Interview with Dr. Muehlbauer
Q: When did you decide to become a physician?
I wanted to be a doctor as a child, and I knew that I wanted to be a scientist. Unable to make up my mind, I did MD/Ph.D. so that I could do “both.” Once I started working on the wards in medical school, I found the satisfaction of working with patients toward improving their health and comfort so satisfying, that I knew clinical medicine was my future.
Q: What is your favorite part about working with PEP and ECP?
Being part of a partnership that values our patients, and our practices is my favorite part of PEP/ECP. This differentiates us from every other job that I have had prior to joining PEP. We benefit from the resources and talent of our larger network, but day-to-day, I work with a true private practice. My colleagues are committed to our patients, our hospital, and to each other.
Q: What do you find most challenging about your job?
Not every medical condition can have a good outcome. Even as I gain experience with years of practice, delivering bad news about a diagnosis or outcome remains the toughest part of my job.
Q: Outside of work, how do you like to spend your time?
Fishing, cooking, and spending time with my wife and kids – when I’m lucky, I’m doing all 3.
About Progressive Emergency Physicians (PEP):
Headquartered in Long Island, New York, PEP is an emergency medicine group with a unique ownership model that attracts clinicians seeking a culture of accountability and innovation necessary to meet the evolving demands and challenges facing emergency medicine today. Combining clinical, operational, and academic excellence, PEP delivers best-in-class care and economic performance. PEP’s democratic partnership-driven culture promotes alignment, accountability, and innovation. PEP substantial academic experience includes management of a large Emergency Medicine residency program as well as a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program and additional fellowships in Emergency Ultrasound, Observation Medicine, and Administration and Leadership. Currently, PEP staffs and manages seven hospital emergency departments, treating approximately 300,000 patients annually. The company also staffs and manages Observation Units in five of these client hospitals. PEP also operates fellowship programs for physician assistants and emergency department discharge programs staffed with EMTs. PEP offers a variety of additional programs to support emergency department and hospital throughput, quality metrics, and risk management.
About Emergency Care Partners (ECP):
Headquartered in Pensacola, Florida, ECP is a leading provider of emergency medicine and emergency department management services for hospitals across the U.S. with current operations in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. ECP currently sees more than 1,200,000 patient visits annually across operations at 45 sites of service, supported by a clinical workforce of 900+ physicians and mid-level providers. ECP employs a differentiated model relative to other platforms in the industry, highlighted by the ability to maintain ownership through its physician partnership model and for regional/local groups to maintain their branding and clinical autonomy while benefitting from ECP’s resources.
To learn more about Dr. Muehlbauer, ECP, or PEP, please fill out our contact form.