Academic medical centers are a crucial part of the healthcare delivery system. AMC COOs are committed to streamlining operations to offer excellent patient care using research and innovation.
The COOs heading academic medical centers and health systems across the nation are tasked with leading operations, expanding service lines, allocating resources and more.
Note: This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of included leaders, hospitals, health systems or associated healthcare providers. Leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Leaders are presented in alphabetical order.
Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.
Jay Anderson. COO of The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center (Columbus). In July 2021, Mr. Anderson assumed the role of chief operating officer for The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. He is the driving force behind the vision, strategy and performance for all clinical enterprise operations. Resource allocation, service line efficiencies, and affordable and accessible patient care all fall under his jurisdiction. A seasoned health system leader, he brings expertise in performance improvement, quality and operations. Immediately prior to joining Ohio State, Mr. Anderson served as president of DeKalb, Ill.-based Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital and Sandwich, Ill.-based Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital. He spent 20 years at Northwestern Medicine, taking on increasingly senior roles.
Sheila Antrum. Senior Vice President and COO at UCSF Health (San Francisco). Ms. Antrum ensures that patient service operations across the health system align with UCSF's vision and strategic objectives. She oversees the implementation of UCSF Health's affiliations, finances, and quality and safety initiatives across the system's locations and affiliates. Nursing, clinical services, facilities, supply chain, major construction projects, pharmaceutical, women's services and perioperative services report to her. She has been with the University of California system for more than 20 years, most recently serving as chief nursing officer and patient care services officer at UCSF Medical Center.
Michael Ash, MD. COO and Executive Vice President at Nebraska Medicine (Omaha). Dr. Ash oversees information technology, information security and operations of inpatient, ambulatory and procedural areas for Nebraska Medicine. He has more than 20 years of experience in health information technology, holding positions at Cerner Corporation, including chief medical officer and vice president for physician strategy and innovation. He also practiced as an internal medicine physician. Dr. Ash has been granted a dozen technology patents ranging from health forecasting to management of complex order sets.
Richard Azar. COO at UCLA Health (Los Angeles). Mr. Azar is responsible for patient care support operations at UCLA Health’s four hospitals and clinical service lines. Since becoming COO in 2018, he has led multiple initiatives to enhance patient access, including the acquisition of a closed hospital and a medical office building that is being converted into a new behavioral health campus. He oversaw the launch of UCLA Health’s first 24/7 Patient Flow Command Center and the development of technology to streamline access for patients requiring transfer to UCLA Health. In addition, his team supported the formation of specialty care service lines across the network and the launch of a homeless healthcare mobile clinic infrastructure. He joined UCLA Health in 2006 as director of transition planning.
Joe Camillus. COO of Boston Medical Center. Mr. Camillus is responsible for daily operations, hospital service growth, digital adoption, health center integrations, value-based care efforts, and more in his role as COO at Boston Medical Center. His contributions have included ambulatory access expansion, Epic implementation and partnership expansion. Mr. Camillus is founder of the LEAP program, a leadership training program for people of color within the organization. He has also led efforts to build clinical and housing opportunities for patients with substance use disorders as well as the opening of BMC Brockton Behavioral Health Center.
Mary Cassai, BSN, RN. Executive Vice President and COO of the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York City). Ms. Cassai has more than 16 years of healthcare leadership experience, having worked her way up the chain of command after starting as a nurse. Under her leadership, HSS continues to progress in advancing operational excellence and patient care.
Michael Chicarelli, DNP, RN. COO of University of New Mexico Hospital (Albuquerque). Dr. Chicarelli was tapped as University of New Mexico Hospital's COO in 2018. Before stepping into his current role, he was interim CEO for over a year. Prior to that, he was the hospital's administrator of professional services, a role in which he oversaw a majority of the non-nursing departments and developed a deep understanding of the hospital's operational needs. Dr. Chicarelli's career at the hospital began in 1997, when he joined as an emergency department nurse and subsequently transitioned into roles like executive director of emergency services and assistant chief nursing officer.
Mike Condrin. Interim Chief Administrator for UC Davis (Calif.) Medical Center and COO of the UC Davis Health Hospital Division. Mr. Condrin is interim chief administrator for UC Davis Medical Center and COO of UC Davis Health Hospital Division. He is responsible for inpatient care systemwide, including UC Davis Medical Center and UC Davis Children’s Hospital, an acute care academic medical center. He handles the system's operational, logistical, patient support services, nursing, medical staff clinical operations, facility operations and supply chain management.
Anthony Costello. COO and Executive Vice President at Westchester Medical Center Health Network (Valhalla, N.Y.). Mr. Costello serves as COO for WMCHealth's Valhalla and Poughkeepsie campuses, as well as HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley campuses in Kingston and Margaretville. He is responsible for professional and ancillary services, clinical service lines, supply chain, support services, design and architecture, construction, capital planning, real estate and Advanced Physician Services, WMCHealth's 600-member physician practice. He has been at WMCHealth for 25 years and has held a number of critical operational positions during that time.
Thomas Crawford, PhD. System COO at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston). Dr. Crawford has been system COO and an associate professor at MUSC Health since 2020. He served as the system's interim COO and an assistant professor beginning in 2019. He has been with the system since 2015, beginning as an administrator with the system. Previously, he spent three years as president and CEO at Springfield (Vt.) Hospital and six years as COO at the University of Florida Prostate Disease Center. He has experience developing systemwide strategic initiatives that contributed to enhanced market positioning, consistent bottom-line profitability and growth, advancing clinical and financial performance by driving operational efficiencies, enhancing the quality and safety of care delivered, and improving clinician and employee morale contemporaneously.
Bryan Croft. Executive Vice President and COO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). Mr. Croft was promoted to executive vice president and COO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in June 2023. He was tapped for the role after serving as senior vice president of operations for Cedars-Sinai, and before that as vice president of operations. During his 13 years with Cedars-Sinai thus far, he helped plan for a new facility in Marina del Rey, Calif., guided the operational response to Covid-19, helped create and grow new clinical programs, drove outreach efforts and more. He came to the system from Houston Methodist Hospital, where he was vice president of operations. Prior, he held the same position at Honolulu-based The Queen's Medical Center.
Kelly Cullen. Executive Vice President and COO of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Ms. Cullen's manages key constituent partnerships as well as all clinical strategies for Tampa General Hospital. In addition, she partners closely with the USF College of Nursing to create and optimize workforce pipeline strategies for their students. Ms. Cullen is also responsible for emergency and disaster preparedness, and coordinates with community stakeholders, local and state government, and EMS to ensure facilities are prepared to continue care management in the event of an emergency. She has been instrumental in numerous hospital efforts to improve patient care safety, quality and efficiency, such as the implementation of the CareComm command center, which led to a decrease in the hospital's average sepsis mortality to well below the national average. Previously, Ms. Cullen served as director of operations at BayCare Health System.
Ron V. Cummins, Jr. Senior Vice President and COO of University of Maryland Medical Center (Baltimore). Mr. Cummins is senior vice president and COO for UMMC, a role in which he oversees daily operations and drives strategic initiatives. His ultimate goal is the delivery of safe, high quality, affordable patient care. He brings to his role 20-plus years of operations and business development leadership experience, spanning clinical operations, budget planning, patient safety, process improvement and physician relations. In addition, he is adept at health information technology, mergers and acquisitions, labor relations, strategic planning, major contract negotiations and more.
Krista Curell. Executive Vice President and COO of UChicago Medicine. Ms. Curell was promoted to executive vice president and COO of UChicago Medicine in August 2023, following two years serving as chief transformation and integration officer. She also had taken on the chief administration officer role preceding her recent promotion. Her current role's primary agenda is maintaining a coordinated, cohesive and comprehensive strategy for system growth. To do so, she leads daily operations while maximizing the impact of all care site operations. Ms. Curell's career at the University of Chicago Medical Center began in 2001.
Rowell Daniels, PharmD. COO of UNC Hospitals (Chapel Hill, N.C.). In 2020, Dr. Daniels stepped into the chief operating officer role for UNC Hospitals, a public, academic medical center. Prior to taking on the role in a permanent capacity, he served as interim COO for seven months. He has worked within the UNC Health System for 25 years, primarily in pharmacy services leadership roles.
Cynthia Dold. COO at UW Medicine (Seattle). Ms. Dold has been with UW Medicine for nearly 11 years, taking over the role of COO in 2023. Previously, she spent a year as the system's interim president. She has also held roles at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Public Health Seattle & King County. Ms. Dold has extensive experience in operations management, strategic planning and team leadership. She is highly skilled in navigating periods of accelerated growth for small- to large-scale organizations, directing cross-functional teams to ensure achievement of short- and long-term objectives. She is experienced in evaluating existing operations to identify inefficiencies, redundancies and risks, innovating process improvements to optimize workflow, maintain internal controls and drive profitability.
Brian Donley, MD. COO and Executive Vice President of NewYork-Presbyterian (New York City). Dr. Donley joined NewYork-Presbyterian as COO and EVP at the beginning of 2023. He joined the system from Cleveland Clinic, where he most recently served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic London. He is responsible for directing the strategy and operations of NewYork-Presbyterian and achieving the health care system’s operating targets and implementing its patient-centered strategic vision and culture across the enterprise. He has extensive expertise in clinical medicine and hospital operations, originally serving as an orthopedic surgeon.
John W. Doll. COO of RWJBarnabas Health (West Orange, N.J.). Mr. Doll assumed the chief operating officer role at RWJBarnabas Health in March 2022. The role entails leading daily operations systemwide. Mr. Doll was promoted to his current position after serving as chief financial and administrative officer. He first joined the health system in 2010 as vice president of financial management.
Lyndon Edwards. COO and Senior Vice President for Health Facilities at Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health. Mr. Edwards has oversight over daily operations for the six-hospital system, including service line development and configuration, collaboration with clinical teams to improve efficiencies, and leading patient experience initiatives. Under his leadership, LLU Medical Center and East Campus hospitals have received numerous awards for patient safety and quality.
Kelly Elkins. COO of MaineHealth (Portland, Maine). Ms. Elkins oversees MaineHealth's facilities and healthcare delivery operations, including its hospitals, outpatient services, home health services, medical group and community clinics, clinical support services and service lines, and IT planning. She has more than 20 years of healthcare experience.
Joel Fagerstrom. COO and Executive Vice President at St. Luke's University Health Network (Allentown, Pa.). Mr. Fagerstrom joined St. Luke's as COO and EVP in 2007. Before joining the system, he served as president and CEO at a hospital in Texas. He is in charge of managing operations for St. Luke's 12-plus hospitals and 300-plus outpatient sites.
Bernard Flores. Vice President of Operations at University Medical Center (New Orleans). Mr. Flores, vice president of operations for UMC, is known for his leadership skills and ability to foster a successful company culture. Prior to joining UMC, he was director of facilities support services at Houston Methodist Baytown. There, he created and fine-tuned processes to assess facility infrastructure, improve patient experience, train staff members and contractors in safety protocols, and more.
Fritz François, MD. Executive Vice President, Vice Dean and Chief of Hospital Operations at NYU Langone Health (New York City). Dr. François serves as NYU Langone Health's executive vice president and vice dean, as well as chief of hospital operations. In this role, he ensures care quality and patient safety across the system's Manhattan campus. Prior to his current role, he was chief medical officer for the system, as well as a professor in the division of gastroenterology within the department of medicine. He has more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and presentations to his name.
Marylin Galimi. COO of Upstate University Hospital (Syracuse, N.Y.). As the COO of Upstate University Hospital, the only academic medical center in Central New York, Ms. Galimi is charged with operational oversight, integration and optimization across the hospital. She is responsible for the achievement of all strategic and operational objectives. She also ensures that organizational resources are utilized in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible.
Kevin Giordano. Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Interim COO of Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston). Mr. Giordano is responsible for Brigham and Women's Hospital's day-to-day operations and helps guide both short-and long-term strategy. He oversees institutional performance, supports and advances clinical operations, evolves the research and education platforms, improves the patient experience, and executes systemwide integration initiatives. Since 2008, he has held a series of progressive leadership positions at the Brigham and its affiliated institutions.
Carol Gomes. COO and CEO of Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital. Ms. Gomes serves as CEO and COO at Stony Brook University Hospital. Formerly, she was the chief quality officer with administrative oversight for the department of continuous quality improvement, decision support services, clinical pathways and management engineering. She was also the associate director for quality management and associate director for neurosciences. She has worked in healthcare for over 30 years and actively volunteers to serve as a mentor for students pursuing healthcare administration and participates regularly as a panelist for the Future Healthcare Leaders "See You at the 'C' Suite" seminars.
Terry Hales, Jr. COO, Health Sciences System, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Mr. Hales has been with the health system since its creation in 2001. He has served in a variety of leadership positions, including vice chief financial officer, executive vice dean of the system's medical school and more.
Gina Hawley, DrPH. COO for University of Utah Health (Salt Lake City). As COO for U of U Health, Dr. Hawley handles systemwide operations and implements key strategies. Through a deep dedication to operational efficiency, she aims to provide quality care outcomes, high patient satisfaction levels and consistent financial wellbeing for the system. Before stepping into her current role, she served as vice president of professional and support services at Portland-based Oregon Health and Science University.
Paul R. Hinchey, MD. COO of University Hospitals (Cleveland). Dr. Hinchey joined University Hospitals as COO in December 2022 after several months as interim COO. In his role, he is responsible for systemwide clinical operations. During his tenure, he has led the implementation of the organization's "Systems of Care" operating model, which has aided in the optimization of system resources such as operating rooms, procedural and diagnostic spaces, and intensive care units and medical-surgical beds. Other initiatives led by Dr. Hinchey include newly insourced hospitalist collaboration with nursing, transitional care and post acute teams as well as a systemwide operating room coordinating committee. In addition, he is currently overseeing clinical aspects of the system's EHR conversion to Epic. Previously, Dr. Hinchey was president of the community delivery network for University Hospitals.
Anne Horbatuck, RN. COO and Vice President of Ambulatory Services at UConn Medical Group (Farmington). Ms. Horbatuck has been with UConn Health for 41 years, becoming the system's COO in 2022. She has also served as vice president of ambulatory services for the system since 2016. Ms. Horbatuck began her healthcare career as a surgical staff nurse at UConn John Dempsey Hospital, later becoming a nurse manager of many inpatient units, served as the director of signature program and the Musculoskeletal Institute’s administrator and COO before being appointed vice president of ambulatory services.
Vince Jensen. Chief Clinical Operating Officer at City of Hope (Duarte, Calif.). Mr. Jensen serves as the system chief executive of the Medical Foundation and Physician Services for City of Hope, overseeing the academic practice plan and other physician services across the system. He also oversees the Southern California clinical network ambulatory operations. Mr. Jensen is currently COO, where he leads both inpatient and outpatient functions at City of Hope Duarte and Orange County campuses. He has over 30 years of healthcare experience in hospital, medical foundation and large health system settings. He has served in executive leadership roles for academic and nonacademic health care entities with a focus on clinical operations, managed care, health care finance, clinical growth strategy, and health care mergers and acquisitions. Prior to City of Hope, Mr. Jensen served as president and COO for Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Craig A. Johnson. Executive Vice President and COO of Northwestern Medicine (Chicago). Mr. Johnson is executive vice president and COO of Northwestern Medicine, an academic medical health system created in 2010 through the partnership between the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. He joined the system in June 2023 after serving as Northwestern University's executive vice president for five years. During that time, he was responsible for the university's financial, capital and operational resources and budgets. He has 23 years of experience working at the university.
Scott Jones. Interim COO and Chief Ambulatory Operations Officer at University of Illinois Hospitals & Clinics (Chicago). Mr. Jones has served as IU Health's chief ambulatory operations officer since 2019, and is currently serving as the system's interim COO. Previously, he spent 11 years at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America and 12 years at ECU Health. Mr. Jones is passionate about driving results through authentic leadership and relationship driven engagement of physicians, employees and market communities. He has a track record of successful leadership in both a large, complex not-for-profit teaching hospital and health system and in a private for-profit specialty hospital system.
Patrick Jordan. COO at Dartmouth Health (Lebanon, N.H.). Mr. Jordan joined Dartmouth Health as COO in 2017. He oversees the operations of a $2.6 billion organization and ensures the ongoing delivery of efficient and effective operations and shared services across health system, which includes the only academic medical center in New Hampshire, four other member hospitals in New Hampshire and Vermont, a visiting nurse and hospice organization serving New Hampshire and Vermont and a large community group practice, in multiple locations, in Southern New Hampshire. Previously, he served as COO of Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., where he oversaw 5,000 employees and $1.2 billion in revenue. Mr. Jordan is also a seven-year veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division and United States Army Special Operations community.
Brendan Kremer. COO at UC San Diego Health. Mr. Kremer is responsible for the clinical, financial and operational performance of the clinical service lines and UC San Diego's clinical practice and physician group. He works with leaders from experience, compliance, quality, strategy and finance to ensure that hospital and ambulatory operations are designed to meet the needs and requirements of patients, physicians, staff and the community. Since joining the system in 1999, he has held several roles, including chief administrative officer, administrative director, assistant director of professional services and senior financial analyst. In his time, he has led the opening of a 250-bed medical center, helped design and open an outpatient pavilion, implemented a joint ASC venture, driven operational initiatives to fruition, led the system through the Covid-19 pandemic and helped to implement a tiered escalation huddle structure.
Raaj Kurapati. COO and Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis). Mr. Kurapati took over as COO and vice chancellor for UTHSC in 2023 after spending more than three decades in higher education. UTHSC has six hospitals and more than 3,100 students. Since 2018, he served as the executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer for the University of Memphis where he was responsible for all administrative and financial units of the university with prominence in civic, legislative, philanthropic, and community outreach activities, as well as overseeing all financial and operational activities. Before joining education in 2003, Mr. Kurapati held roles as an assurance and consulting senior professional at Deloitte and as a vice president and chief financial and compliance officer for a community bank.
Jonathan Kyriacou. COO of The Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City). Mr. Kyriacou is COO of The Mount Sinai Hospital. He was promoted to this role in July of 2022. He has worked within the Mount Sinai Health System since 2011. Before taking on the COO role, he served as vice president of hospital operations for The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Min Lee. COO of the University of Virginia Health Medical Center. In her role, Ms. Lee oversees the day-to-day operations of the medical center using her extensive experience in academic healthcare and healthcare operations. She is Lean Certified and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Lee Ann Liska. President and COO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.). Ms. Liska is responsible for all aspects of performance, ensuring patient-focused service, quality and safety, recruitment and retention, growth and finance and innovation throughout the facility. She has extensive experience in hospital operations, physician practice management and ambulatory services.
Tony Marinello. COO of University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas). Mr. Marinello has served as chief operating officer for UMC since 2017. He has held 15 executive leadership roles over his 25 years working in healthcare. Throughout his career, he has transformed underperforming healthcare facilities by relationship building within the community, prioritizing patient care quality, executing innovation initiatives, supporting process improvement at all levels and earning cost savings.
Quinn McKenna. COO of Stanford (Calif.) Health Care. Mr. McKenna has nearly 30 years of leadership experience in a variety of healthcare organizations. In his current role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of operational strategies that ensure the ongoing financial success of the organization and to fulfill its safety, satisfaction and quality priorities.
Joe Ness. COO of Oregon Health & Science University Healthcare (Portland). Mr. Ness first joined OHSU in 2013 as its vice president of professional and support services. He was appointed COO in 2017 where he has executive leadership responsibilities for professional services, nursing, regulatory services, Knight Cancer Institute’s clinical oncology services and major capital construction initiatives. Prior to joining OHSU, Mr. Ness was the senior vice president of operations at Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth, which operates 10 hospitals. He was also appointed Health System Pharmacist of the Year by Washington State Pharmacy Association.
Phil Okala. COO of Tufts Medicine (Burlington, Mass.). As chief operating officer, Mr. Okala ensures that Tufts excels in the execution of key strategic and operating priorities to ensure future growth and success. Under his leadership, Tufts continually innovates to better support its workforce and meet the needs of the consumers, partners and communities it serves.
Dipen Parekh, MD. COO at University of Miami Health System. Dr. Parekh is a professor and chairman of the urology department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. In 2017, he was also named chief clinical officer of the system. In 2020, he was named COO for the system, overseeing the health system’s operations while collaborating with many leaders on ambulatory strategy, inpatient clinical operations, optimizing the clinical care team model and advancing performance improvement efforts across the health system. In addition to his previous titles, in 2021 Dr. Parekh was named executive dean for clinical affairs at the Miller School of Medicine providing strategic counseling on enhancing the synergy between the system's academic and clinical missions. Dr. Parekh is also a board-certified, fellowship trained urologist specializing in urologic oncology using minimally invasive laparoscopic, robotic and traditional open approaches to treat prostate, bladder and kidney cancer and has performed over 5,000 robotic urologic procedures.
William "Bill" Peacock, III. Chief of Operations at Cleveland Clinic. Mr. Peacock is responsible for the Clinic's buildings and design, supply chain, clinical engineering, patient support services, protective services, hotels, international operations, marketing and philanthropy. Under his guidance, his department ensures every facility is designed and operating at optimal levels to address patients' needs.
Tammy Peterman, RN. Executive Vice President, COO and CNO for The University of Kansas Health System (Kansas City). Since beginning her career as a bedside nurse at The University of Kansas Hospital, Ms. Peterman has taken on several nursing and leadership roles. She served as chief nursing officer, executive vice president and COO of the hospital before taking on her current role as executive vice president, COO and CNO for the health system in 2018. She also serves as the president of the Kansas City Division. Her leadership has been transformational for the academic medical center's culture, driving initiatives that improve care outcomes, engage staff members, foster a healthy work environment, enhance safety and more. Thanks in large part to her guidance, the hospital has been recognized as one of the high-performing comprehensive academic medical centers by Vizient’s Quality and Accountability Study nine times, as of 2020.
Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN. Vice President and COO of Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis). Ms. Peters-Lewis oversees integration of clinical programs across BJC and drives growth, especially in ambulatory care. She oversees facilities and support services, laboratory and radiology operations, women and infants, orthopedics, heart and vascular services including the Heart Care Institute, neurosciences and ambulatory operations.
Jody Reyes, BSN. Senior Vice President and COO of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center. In her role as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Hershey Medical Center, Ms. Reyes propels the five-year strategic plan forward while increasing access to its specialized service lines. She has cultivated an expertise in academic medical center clinical and strategic operations, service line management and operations, quality and safety improvement, patient access, staff experience, population health and clinical nurse education. Ms. Reyes came to Penn State Health from the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, where she most recently served as the interim chief operating officer.
Brinder Singh. COO at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (Washington, D.C.). Mr. SIngh has been with the health system for more than 17 years and has held a variety of leadership roles. He has served as COO since 2021. Under his leadership, the hospital has stayed at the forefront of healthcare delivery while advancing healthcare and serving the community.
Nathan Shinagawa. COO of UCI Health (Orange County, Calif.). Mr. Shinagawa has 12 years of hospital leadership experience and 10 years of public service experience. He is responsible for acute operations of the UCI Health, the only academic health system in Orange County. In his role, he oversees operations for the 8,000-employee, $2 billion net revenue system. He leads construction of UCI Health Irvine's new $1.3 billion campus. He also handles ambulatory network expansion, which is growing from 17 current sites. Prior to joining UCI Health, he held several hospital COO roles over five-plus years.
Mark Stauder. COO at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Mr. Stauder joined Hackensack as its COO and president of the hospitals and health services divisions in 2019. He joined the system from Inova Health System, where he served as president and COO for 12 years. Mr. Stauder reports to Hackensack's CEO and works closely with regional presidents, administrators and the system's chief experience and people officer.
Christine Stesney-Ridenour. COO of the University of Toledo (Ohio) Medical Center. Ms. Stesney-Ridenour has more than 35 years of hospital leadership experience and has served in her current role since 2020. She has oversight of a range of hospital functions, including operating budgets, personnel management and strategic planning.
Sheldrick Streete, BSN, RN. Vice President of Hospital Operations at Baystate Health and COO of Baystate Medical Center (Springfield, Mass.). In his role, Mr. Streete is responsible for developing, leading, and executing key strategies for operations across the medical center and Baystate system. He oversees key clinical and operational support areas to develop, maintain, and implement objectives to achieve operational excellence, financial stewardship, implement efficient processes and prioritize capital needs across the health system.
Pamela Sutton-Wallace. Executive Vice President and COO at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health. Ms. Sutton-Wallce works closely with the presidents of the system delivery networks as well as with the Yale School of Medicine to advance high quality care throughout the region. Working directly with Yale New Haven's CEO, Chris O'Connor, she oversees strategic direction for the health system and all its entities.
April Taylor. Vice President and COO of The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore). In her role, Ms. Taylor works with physician and administrative leaders to drive operational excellence, helping to ensure that patient care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital is safe, accessible and of the highest quality. Under her leadership, the hospital consistently received top marks for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group, and improved its star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as well as its performance on the Vizient quality and accountability scorecard.
Monica Taylor. COO of University of Michigan Health-West (Wyoming, Mich.). Ms. Taylor oversees operations of all UM Health-West clinics and outpatient centers with a strategic vision and an emphasis on operational excellence. She specializes in staff leadership, organizational strategy, program improvement and network integration.
Michele Volpe. COO of Penn Medicine (Philadelphia). In her role, Ms. Volpe manages each of Penn Medicine’s six hospital CEOs and is responsible for a slate of efforts to further enhance operational efficiency and program integration across the more than 3,400-bed health system. Under her leadership, Penn Medicine has shaped new care models and facilities to deliver the highest-quality care to her community.
Matt Walsh. Executive Vice President and COO for Rush University System for Health (Chicago). In January 2024, following a nationwide search, Mr. Walsh became Rush University System for Health's new executive vice president and chief operating officer. In his new position, he has oversight of systemwide operations and aims to hit financial, quality, equity and engagement goals. He comes to the academic health system from Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger, where he served in the same role and proved expertise in propelling year-over-year growth, forming partnerships and improving patient experiences. Prior to his time at Geisinger, he held numerous leadership positions at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System over the span of 20 years.