 In 1995, he was appointed senior vice president of the healthcare system, and, three years later, he was named the executive vice president and COO of Sentara Healthcare.In addition to his work with Sentara, Kern is a member of the faculty at the Medical College of Virginia and serves on numerous community, corporate, and academic boards.He was recognized as one of Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and as one of the 50 Most Influential Virginians by "Virginia Business".