Children’s University Medical Group (CUMG)

Children’s University Medical Group (CUMG) is the non-profit pediatric group practice established to support the academic, research and clinical missions of its corporate members, University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) and Seattle Children’s Hospital (Seattle Children’s). CUMG faculty members are committed to preventing, treating and eliminating pediatric disease while training the next generation of pediatric physicians.

• Physician members

  CUMG employs the physician members who are appointed UWSOM pediatric faculty physicians, and provide services across the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region, as well as other approved clinical sites of practice.

  Search for CUMG Physician Member

• Clinical practice sites

  CUMG physicians have the opportunity to provide care at sites of practice approved by the CEO of Seattle Children’s and the CEO of UW Medicine, who is also the executive vice president for medical affairs and dean of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

  General sites of practice

  All CUMG physicians are able to provide care at the following general sites of practice:

  • Seattle Children’s Hospital
  • Harborview Medical Center
  • University of Washington Medical Center

  Other sites of practice

  Physicians interested in providing care outside of the major institutions listed above may request permission through a site of practice request. Types of sites may include:

  • Summer camps
  • School athletic events
  • Telepsychiatry
• Leadership

  CUMG President Dr. Jack Salerno chairs the board of directors, whose role is to manage the affairs of CUMG, subject to the approval of the corporate members. The board is comprised of 14 voting CUMG physician members and advised by the non-physician representatives from Seattle Children's, UWSOM and CUMG administration.

  Niurka Vazquez, Executive Director, leads the business operationsand collaborates with Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington School of Medicine representatives to advance CUMG goals.

• Board of directors

  The CUMG board of directors is comprised of 14 voting CUMG physician members. Eleven are appointed due to their leadership roles within Seattle Children's and UWSOM, and three are at-large members elected by CUMG faculty members. There are also three non-voting ex-officio physician members appointed to the board by the corporate members because of their particular expertise.

  The board is advised by non-physician representatives from Seattle Children’s, UWSOM and CUMG administration. The role of the board is to manage the affairs of CUMG subject to the approval of the corporate members.

  Faculty members:

  • Jack Salerno, MD – Cardiology, CUMG President
  • J. Elaine-Marie Albert, MD – Critical Care, CUMG Vice President
  • Andre Dick - MD, MPH, Surgery, CUMG Secretary/Treasurer
  • Bhawna Arya, MD – Cardiology
  • Mark Cain, MD – Urology
  • Jeremy Geiduschek, MD – Anesthesiology
  • Kenneth Gow, MD – General Surgery
  • Ramesh Iyer, MD – Radiology 
  • Soo-Jeong Kim, MD – Psychiatry
  • Steven Lee, MD – General Surgery
  • Ndidiamaka Musa, MD – Cardiac Critical Care
  • Stephanie Randle, MD, MS – Neurology
  • Leslie Walker-Harding, MD – Pediatrics
  • Burt Yaszay, MD – Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

  Ex-officio members

  • Joseph Flynn, MD – Nephrology, Chair, PEBC
  • Evelyn Hsu, MD- Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chair Finance Committee
  • Anne Slater, MD – Emergency Medicine, Women’s Faculty Council

  Administrative member representatives

  • Suzanne Beitel – Seattle Children’s SVP, Chief Financial Officer
  • Sheryl Forrester – Compliance Officer
  • Mandy Gill - UW Medicine Faculty Business Planning Officer and Associate Vice President for Medical Affairs
  • Ruth McDonald, MD – Seattle Children's VP and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Chief Medical Operations Officer
  • Jeff Ojemann, MD – Interim Chief Medical Officer
  • Mike Tribble – CUMG Legal Counsel
  • Niurka Vazquez – Executive Director
• Board committees

  There are several committees led by board members that focus on specific aspects of CUMG business.

  CUMG/UWP Joint Retirement and Benefits Committee

  The CUMG/UWP Joint Retirement and Benefits Committee, led by Dr. Howard Jeffries, provides oversight of the CUMG and UWP practice plan benefits packages, including evaluating and making recommendations to adopt, terminate or modify retirement and other benefits plans to ensure competitive offerings.

  Finance Committee

  The CUMG Finance Committee, led by Dr. Evelyn Hsu, is responsible for providing oversight, advice, and recommendations to the CUMG Leadership Group and Board regarding key CUMG financial activities including, but not limited to, the annual audit, annual budget, finance-related policies, investments, and contracted administrative services.

  Physician Education, Billing and Compliance Committee

  The Physician Education, Billing and Compliance Committee assures that there is a fully compliant structure of education, billing, coding, documentation and compliance and provides CUMG members the opportunity to bill for the full services they provide. This committee, led by Dr. Joseph Flynn, acts as advisors to the board on compliance issues, recommends compliance policies and procedures and coordinates compliance efforts with Seattle Children’s and UWSOM.

• Administrative member services

  The CUMG administrative office provides group practice operations services in support of the CUMG faculty members, Seattle Children’s and UWSOM, including:

  • Payroll and benefits for faculty that receive pay through CUMG
  • Coding and charge capture for professional fees
  • Clinical practice compliance training and audits
  • Oversight of payor contracting and enrollment through Seattle Children’s
  • Financial reporting and budgeting, collaborating with Seattle Children’s and UWSOM

  Payor contracting and professional fee billing are provided through Seattle Children's and UW Physicians (UWP).

• Provider forms

  CUMG Member Notification Form

  This form should be used when a new CUMG provider will practice only at Seattle Children's or when a CUMG or UWP provider changes status as it relates to work at Seattle Children's. Download the CUMG Member Notification Form (PDF).

  Employment Verification

  For employment verification, please email us the request and authorization. An original signature is required for all verification requests.

  License Renewal Reimbursements

  CUMG reimburses for medical and DEA license renewals for members, associates and some limited associates with administrator approval. The policies vary between academic departments. Questions about whether renewals are covered should be directed to your UW department administrator. You may also want to review the CUMG Administrative P&P: License Renewal Reimbursements Policy (PDF).

  It is the professional responsibility of each CUMG member to keep his or her medical license current. CUMG is responsible for reimbursement of fees paid in accordance with departmental policies.

  Reimbursement process

  1. Pay out-of-pocket to renew your license.
  2. Complete the new online License Reimbursement Request Form and submit it to CUMG Payroll with proof of payment (cancelled check, online receipt, credit card/bank statement, etc.).
  3. Reimbursements received with approval by the 18th of the month will be processed with the regular monthly payroll. Payments will be paid either through direct deposit or, if this is not on file, a live check mailed to your home. We strongly recommend setting up direct deposit for these payments.
  4. Reimbursement is identified on your pay stub in the “Deductions” section and will appear as a negative amount.

  Professional liability

  CUMG faculty members can access the University of Washington’s self-insurance program, which provides protection from professional liability claims arising from the negligent acts or omissions of the University of Washington. To request a faculty member’s certificate and claims history, click here.