Newtown’s Dr Michael Walker Leading Cancer, Surgical Training

DANBURY — Newtown resident Michael J. Walker, MD, has assumed two new medical leadership roles at Danbury Hospital, where he presently serves as Chief, Section of Thoracic Surgery, and chairs both the Lung Cancer Tumor Board and the Transplant Committee.

The first of his new added positions is medical director, oncology service line where his duties will include constructing plans and strategies to develop new cancer programs, assessing medical and technological advances for investment, and partnering with physicians and others to define the optimum scope and depth of cancer services.

As medical director, Dr Walker will also lead the multidisciplinary cancer team to assure quality and patient safety in all aspects of cancer care. He will direct the development and reporting of quality measures and will chair or serve on all related quality boards and committees.

“As medical director of the oncology service line, Dr Walker will bring together the various disciplines involved in cancer care to strengthen — and develop new — centers of excellence within the service line,” said Lisa Sutton, service line executive for medicine and oncology. 

Dr Walker’s also will serve as assistant director of the Danbury Hospital / Sound Shore Surgical Residency Program. In this position, Dr Walker will administer all aspects of the surgical residency program, including supervision and evaluation of residents. 

He will also lead the project to revise the program.

“As assistant director of the surgical residency program Dr Walker will oversee all aspects of the residency,” said Pierre F. Saldinger, MD, chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Carmen and Peter Buck chair in surgical oncology at Danbury Hospital. “He will especially focus on teaching and testing our resident physicians for core competencies. This is an important task for our growing program which supports large parts of our surgical activity.”

Dr Walker earned his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and served his residency at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia.  He completed a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Washington. 

He is board certified in both general surgery and thoracic surgery. 

Dr Walker holds an appointment as a clinical assistant professor of surgery at New York Medical College.  He has been an attending surgeon at Danbury Hospital since 1995.