New Members Added to Beebe Healthcare’s Board of Directors
The Beebe Healthcare Board of Directors is pleased to welcome its newest members: Jack Berberian, Khalil Saliba, and, most recently, James Spellman, MD.
The Board expresses its appreciation to retiring members R. Christian Hudson, Eric Sugrue, and Mouhanad Freih, MD, for their dedication and contributions.
“I want to thank Christian, Eric, and Dr. Freih for their vast contributions to Beebe, and welcome our new directors,” said Mike Meoli, Board Chair. “Their deep connections to Sussex County, both personally and professionally, will be invaluable as we continue to advance Beebe’s mission.”
Jack Berberian
Berberian joins the Board as a member of the Finance and Strategic Planning Committees. Throughout his career, he has successfully established and grown organizations, including Legal Zoom HBS, Inc., MedTix, LLC, and SecureNetMD, the region’s first healthcare IT company with an emphasis on EHR platforms. Many of SecureNetMD’s clients include major hospitals, leading medical facilities, and expanding campuses.
Berberian serves his communities in many capacities. He is a Commissioner of the DHRC and a member of the Unemployment Advisory Council to the Governor for the State of Delaware. He also serves as a Board Member for the USO, the Sussex County STEM Alliance, and the RBYCC Foundation.
Berberian takes Sugrue’s seat, who served for eight years and was Chair of the Compensation Committee.
Khalil Saliba
Saliba joins the Board as Chair of the Beebe Medical Foundation and as a member of the Executive and Strategic Planning Committees. The Lewes native is well-known throughout the community and Beebe. His father, Dr. Anis K. Saliba, who passed away in March 2024, served for 33 distinguished years on Beebe boards.
Saliba founded Saliba Action Strategies LLC in July 2000 to provide business interests, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations with targeted and personal representation in Washington, D.C. Previously, he served in the Bush Administration as a Special Assistant at the Department of Energy from 1991–1993, as a political aide to Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour from 1993–1995, and at The Wexler Group, a government affairs firm, from 1995–2000.
Saliba is active in a host of community organizations and currently serves on the Boards of the Greater Lewes Foundation and ACCESS, a nonprofit dedicated to developing affordable housing in eastern Sussex County. He was elected to the Lewes City Council in 2021 and also serves as Deputy Mayor.
Saliba takes Hudson’s seat, who served on the Board for six years and was Chair of the Beebe Medical Foundation prior to Saliba. He served on numerous committees.
James E. Spellman, Jr., MD
Dr. Spellman was appointed to the Board of Directors in April and is co-chair of the Quality and Safety Committee. An accomplished surgeon, researcher, and author of professional articles in medical journals and books, Dr. Spellman has been a member of Beebe’s Medical Staff since 1996.
Dr. Spellman has dedicated his career to the advancement of the surgical oncology field. He has helped build a program that was one of the first in the region to offer advanced procedures, allowing many patients to receive care locally. He paved the way for Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, Stereotactic Biopsy, and Sentinel Node Biopsy to be performed at Beebe. He has spearheaded numerous accreditations for programs developed at Beebe. Prior to coming to Delaware, Dr. Spellman was a member of the Department of Surgical Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute under the direction of Nicholas Petrelli, MD.
Dr. Spellman is a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist and is board certified in general surgery. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of The Society of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Spellman earned his medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He completed his residency at Stamford Hospital and his fellowship at the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago.
Dr. Spellman takes over for Dr. Freih after six years on the Board. Dr. Freih continues caring for interventional cardiology patients and advancing heart care in Sussex County.
“Beebe Healthcare is dedicated to caring for Sussex County during this tremendous time of growth and uncertainty in the healthcare landscape,” said David A. Tam, MD, MBA, CPHE, FACHE, President & CEO, Beebe Healthcare. “Beebe remains strong and ready to take on these challenges thanks to the support and guidance of our Board.”