L+M Physician Friday -- Dr. Robert Lincer

Dr. Robert Lincer, a Norwalk-based general surgeon who has worked as a “locum tenens” surgeon at L+M for the past two years, has been named the new Chief of Surgery at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Lincer was the unanimous choice of L+M’s Surgical Chair Search Committee, which started in the summer with an initial field of 30 applicants.

Dr. Lincer’s resume includes undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University and training in general surgery at New York University-Bellevue Medical Center, where he served as chief resident. He also completed a fellowship in surgical oncology (with a concentration in hepatobiliary surgery) at Memorial-Sloan Kettering.

Dr. Lincer was an attending surgeon at Stamford Hospital from 1989-2008, and he has practiced at Norwalk Hospital for the past six years. He is also pursuing an MBA in healthcare from Yale.

Dr. Lincer officially begins his duties in January, but he’s already hard at work behind the scenes.

“I’m going to hit the ground running,” Dr. Lincer said in a recent interview. “I’ve been working at L+M for the past two years so I understand the community and I am aware of what some of the issues are. I’ve already established many relationships here and I’ve already built some trust, so I think we’re off to a good start.”

Dr. Lincer’s broad view for the department is simple.

“We’ve got to innovate to deal with the coming changes in healthcare,” he says. “If we’re doing what everybody else is doing, then we’re just another hospital. If we’re doing everything better and differently, then this becomes a place where people want to come to get their care, and that’s really the challenge.”

L+M President and CEO Bruce D. Cummings said that Dr. Lincer brings “strong academic, clinical and experiential qualifications,” to the job. He added that Dr. Lincer has already established “an excellent rapport with and secured the confidence of his medical and surgical colleagues as well as the perioperative and med-surg nursing staffs” during his time as a locum tenens surgeon at L+M.

“With his collegial manner; understanding of what is required of general surgeons in a community hospital; and, his subspecialty interest in surgical oncology, Dr. Lincer will be a welcome and valuable addition to our medical and leadership ranks,” Cummings said.

Dr. Lincer said he looks forward to advancing, improving and expanding L+M’s surgical capabilities, especially in the areas of breast, vascular, bariatric and robotic surgeries. He wants to use technology to its fullest, expand the use of Physician Assistants, and also “Surgical Navigators” to help patients have the best possible experience.

Another area of interest for Dr. Lincer is the Emergency Department, where he envisions enhancing trauma services so that fewer patients have to be transported to Yale-New Haven.

He said he looks forward to meeting people in the community, particularly primary care doctors, so he can hear their ideas on how the hospital can “best care for our patients.”

“I’m always accessible and available to the community,” Dr. Lincer says. “I want to get our doctors and our physician assistants out into different roles so we’re recognized as a part of the community.”

Dr. Lincer said he is very excited by the potential he sees in his new position. “I think healthcare is going to change dramatically over the next 10 to 15 years and I want to be part of creating that change,” he said. “I understand the economics and administrative pieces of healthcare and, with my clinical skills, this position is a great opportunity to put it all together.”

To learn more about Dr. Lincer, click here.