BREAKING: UC Health names first ever Chief Operating Officer

UC Health has named Peter N. Gilbert, an academic medical center executive who has held leadership positions at Johns Hopkins, the University of Kentucky and the University of Maryland, to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO).

Gilbert is currently COO and senior vice president at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), Maryland's only public health, law, and human services university.  His previous positions include serving as UMB's vice president for planning and accountability, as associate dean for administration and finance at the UK College of Medicine, and as a senior financial manager and an assistant administrator for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics.  He has a master's degree from Loyola University in Maryland.

UC Health President and CEO Richard Lofgren, MD, said that Gilbert's broad and deep experience developing and managing integrated clinical enterprises at several of the country's leading academic medical centers will be an asset for UC Health, which is the region's only academic medical center.

"Pete has had hands-on responsibility for a very wide range of academic medical center functions, from planning to finance to human resources, IT, facilities and more, directly related to the successful management of both the medical school and medical center operations," noted Dr. Lofgren. "His leadership acumen and his ability to work closely and collegially with faculty physicians, senior executives, line managers and front-line employees will be a tremendous asset to UC Health."

"Pete Gilbert will be a welcome addition to the partnership between UC Health and the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and the entire Academic Health Center.  We could not ask for someone better prepared or experienced to bridge efforts between academic medicine and the clinical operation," said William Ball, MD, Senior VP for Health Affairs and Dean of the College of Medicine.

Dr. Lofgren said that UC Health created the position of COO to provide strong and supportive operations leadership for all of the system's clinical services and programs. This includes hospitals, clinics, ambulatory services, post-acute services and all system-wide support functions.

"We are at an important point in the development of UC Health, working closely with the College of Medicine leadership and our own senior team, to integrate our services to maximize our performance and efficiency."

Gilbert commented that joining the UC Health team was a remarkable opportunity.  "As the only academic medical center in this region, UC Health serves as the leading referral center for the most complex and serious conditions.  The system provides the people of Cincinnati and the surrounding area with highly specialized, advanced care from a team of expert physicians and a dedicated staff.  Being part of this organization, with its rich history, solid strategy and great people, will be a privilege."

He said he and his family are looking forward to the move to Cincinnati, "a city we came to know well and enjoy when we lived only an hour-and-a-half away in Lexington."  He and his wife, Francine, have three children, Nick, a junior at the University of Maryland; Katherine, a freshman at Gettysburg College, and Meredith, a seventh grader.