John D. McConnell, MD, has served as CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., since 2008. He is the hospital's first-ever CEO.
Prior to joining Wake Forest Baptist, Dr. McConnell was executive vice president of health system affairs at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. In that position, he was responsible for UT Southwestern's university hospitals and clinics and the faculty physician practice. He joined UT Southwestern in 1984 as an urologist and has served as the organization's urology department chair, director of the prostate disease center and vice president for clinical programs.
During his tenure as urology department chair at UT Southwestern, the department was ranked in the National Institutes of Health's top 10 funding list.
Drawing on the time he spent at UT Southwestern, Dr. McConnell appreciates the close relationship Wake Forest Baptist has with Wake Forest University. "Close affiliation with a leading university, especially in such areas as mathematics, computer science, engineering, business and law, is vital to a medical center with a vision of greatness," he has said. "The complexity of healthcare and the challenge of translating research advances into improved patient care require expertise not traditionally found in an academic medical center."
Outside of time spent leading Wake Forest Baptist, Dr. McConnell contributes to the Winston-Salem community. For instance, in 2012, he was named chairman of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. "The economic success of our region, as always, will be driven by a healthy and growing business community," he said.
Dr. McConnell earned his medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill., and completed his surgical internship and urology residency at UT Southwestern.
If you have additional information or updates for this profile, or would like to recommend a leader to be profiled in the future, please contact Lindsey Dunn, editor in chief, Becker's Hospital Review at ldunn@beckershealthcare.com.