Leadership at UI Health Care

Denise Jamieson, MD, MPH, began as the University of Iowa vice president for medical affairs and dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine on Aug. 1, 2023. As vice president for medical affairs, she is responsible for integrated planning and operations for UI Health Care, which comprises UI Hospitals & Clinics; the UI Carver College of Medicine; and UI Physicians, the health system’s multispecialty physician group practice. 
 
As dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine, Jamieson leads Iowa’s only comprehensive allopathic medical school, which inspires, educates, and trains future health care providers, scientists, educators, and policymakers for Iowa and the global community.
 
Jamieson came to Iowa from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, where she served as chair of the school’s Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and chief of gynecology and obstetrics for Emory Healthcare. 
 
Jamieson’s scientific work focuses on emerging infectious diseases in pregnancy, including in the areas of influenza, Ebola, Zika, COVID, and maternal immunization. In addition, her work incorporates a population health perspective, with projects addressing health disparities and social determinants of health in the context of maternal morbidity and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
 
From 1997 to 2017, Jamieson worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she served in leadership positions such as leading CDC’s Zika emergency response as incident manager. Upon retirement from the U.S. Public Health Service as a captain in July 2017, she received the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award granted to an officer in the Commissioned Corps, for “notable contributions to reproductive health and public health practice.”
 
Jamieson serves on several American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) committees, including the Immunization, Infectious Disease, and Public Health Preparedness Work Group and the COVID Expert Work Group. She has been an oral board examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) since 2007, and she served on the ABOG board of directors from 2020 to 2023. In 2020, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
 
Jamieson received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Duke University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed postgraduate education in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California at San Francisco and as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer in the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bradley Haws, MBA, is chief executive officer (CEO) of UI Hospitals & Clinics and associate vice president of UI Health Care. 

As CEO of UI Hospitals & Clinics, Haws oversees the operational, strategic, and financial performance of Iowa’s largest hospital and the state’s only tertiary and quaternary medical center. As associate vice president for UI Health Care, Haws plays a key administrative role in advancing the organization’s tripartite mission of medical education and training, biomedical research, and patient care and service.  

Before his appointment as CEO, Haws served as chief financial officer (CFO) with Emory Healthcare, part of Emory University in Atlanta. He also served as CFO and associate vice president of UI Health Care from 2018 until 2021. 

Haws has held various leadership positions, including CEO of University of Virginia Physicians Group, and senior associate dean for finance and chief administrative officer of the University of Virginia School of Medicine.  

Before joining the University of Virginia, Haws spent 14 years with Intermountain Healthcare Inc. in Salt Lake City. He was the founding CFO of the Intermountain Medical Group and held that role for roughly 10 years.  

Haws earned BA and MBA degrees from Brigham Young University.  

As chief operating officer, Reyes oversees the management of patient care operations, ancillary services, and related support services at UI Health Care. Working with hospital leaders, department chairs, and others, she develops and monitors operational strategies that strengthen inpatient, outpatient, and surgical services within the clinical enterprise, which covers multiple medical campuses.  

Reyes has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience within health care and previously served as senior vice president and COO at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Reyes—a registered nurse who spent most of her clinical career in the oncology setting—has also held various senior leadership positions within safety-net hospitals, National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers, and the U.S. Navy.  

Joseph B. Clamon, JD, was named the associate vice president for legal affairs for University of Iowa Health Care in April 2014. In this capacity he serves as chief legal counsel, overseeing the full range of legal services for each component of UI Health Care.

Clamon came to UI Health Care from UnityPoint Health in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he served as in-house counsel, advising UnityPoint leaders on a broad array of health care issues. Prior to his role with UnityPoint Health, he was an attorney with the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery, specializing in health law and life sciences, and a judicial clerk for Judge Michael J. Melloy, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Clamon is currently an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. He previously held adjunct professorships in the Drake University Law School and Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Clamon is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. He is licensed in both Iowa and Illinois, and is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and Iowa Society of Health Care Attorneys.

Kimberly Hunter, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, joined University of Iowa Health Care in April 2021 as chief nurse executive (CNE) of UI Hospitals & Clinics. From March 2022 through November 2023, she assumed additional leadership responsibilities as interim CEO of UI Hospitals & Clinics and interim associate vice president for UI Health Care.

As chief nurse executive, Hunter leads the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care, providing administrative oversight to nursing services, care coordination, rehabilitation therapies, and respiratory care. Hunter fosters a commitment to evidence-based practice; shared governance; nurse recruitment, retention, and professional development; and team-based, interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the continuum of care. She also serves as associate dean for clinical practice in the UI College of Nursing. 

Hunter’s professional experience includes more than 30 years of health care management experience–including nearly 20 years of collective experience at Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. 

Hunter earned a Master of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2017, she earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Leadership from Chamberlain University. 

Hunter is credentialed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Nurse Executive Advanced–Board Certified. 

As chief administrative officer of Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Jim Leste, MS, FACHE, provides on-site leadership, which includes managing financial performance, clinical quality, and employee, physician, and community relations. He also serves as the executive leader for the UI Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) and Children’s and Women’s Services at UI Health Care.

Leste previously served as vice president of operations for Children’s Minnesota. He is board certified as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and has held various leadership positions within Children’s Minnesota over the last two decades—including vice president of support operations; senior director of surgical specialties; director of safety, security, and emergency management; among others.

He is a board member and past board chair of Life Link III, the largest consortium owned critical care air medical transport company in the country. He has also served in an adjunct faculty role at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota.

As chief administrative officer of the downtown campus, Miller provides on-site leadership, which includes managing financial performance, clinical quality, and employee, physician, and community relations.

Miller previously served as assistant director for support services for the clinical enterprise of UI Health Care. She was responsible for the service, quality, and fiscal performance of Environmental Services, Engineering Services, Food and Nutrition Services, Guest Services, University Employee Health Clinic, Project Art and Medical Museum, Patients’ Library, and space planning and utilization, spanning both children’s and adult services.

At UI Health Care, she has also been an senior project manager, administrative fellow, dietitian, retail manager, and dietetic intern in Food and Nutrition Services.

Jacqueline Nelson, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Children's & Women's Services at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She grew up in Clemons, Iowa, and has spent most of her career at UI Hospitals & Clinics and UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Rush University, Chicago; a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Arts in Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Iowa. She is certified with American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as Nurse Executive, Advanced.

Amy O’Deen, BSN, MHA, serves as Senior Assistant Director, clinical enterprise, UI Health Care. She joined the Hospital Administration team in 1983 and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Her current responsibilities include: neurosciences (neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry), ophthalmology, oral surgery and hospital dentistry, orthopedics and sports medicine, otolaryngology, pathology, radiology, and women’s health.

Amy also has devoted considerable time to a number of University of Iowa and community organizations throughout her tenure, including serving as chair of the UI Alumni Association Board; vice chair of the Iowa Women Lead Change Board; program committee chair for the Iowa Women’s Leadership Conference; vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Athletics; membership on the Boards of the Iowa Women’s Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, the Leadership Iowa Alumni Association, the Hawkeye Area Council—Boy Scouts of America; and service with the Johnson County United Way Allocations Committee, Go Red for Women steering committee, the Iowa City Noon Rotary, and the Carver Hawkeye Arena Enhancement Campaign. She was selected by the Corridor Business Journal as a “Woman of Influence” in 2013.

Kim Volk, MSN, RN is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer of UI Health Care's downtown campus.  Kim started her career as a staff nurse and served in various nursing leader roles with Mercy Iowa City for nearly 30 years.  Kim received her Master of Arts in Nursing Administration from Mount Mercy University and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Upper Iowa University

As Associate Chief Nursing Officer, Emily Ward works to ensure continued progress on initiatives and effective day-to-day clinic and inpatient operations.

Ward was the interim director of the Medical and Surgical Nursing Division and has been with University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics since 2007, beginning as a staff nurse in the Surgical and Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit. She then served as assistant nurse manager and nurse manager on the unit before moving onto the division leadership role.

Ward is a member of several professional organizations, including Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders, American Organization of Nurse Executives, and American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She received a bachelor of science in nursing from Millikin University and her DNP from University of Iowa College of Nursing as well as a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa.

Whisler was appointed administrative chief of staff in June 2019. In this role, she works closely with the CEO and hospital executives to promote alignment of institutional strategic initiatives and priorities across departments. She works with key enterprise stakeholders, including departmental executive officers, leadership in the Office of the Vice President for Medical Affairs and across campus, and external stakeholders.

She also previously served as interim chief administrative officer for UI Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital, from January 2023 through July 2024. In that role, she oversaw day-to-day operations as well as planning and management of pediatric care initiatives. She also served as the executive leader for the UI Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) and Children’s and Women’s Services at UI Health Care.

Whisler graduated in December 2006 with a dual Masters of Business Administration and Health Administration degrees from the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business and College of Public Health. She joined University of Iowa Health Care in 2008 as Manager of Strategic Business Planning. She then held roles as the clinical department administrator for the Emergency Department (2012-2015) and as clinical department administrator in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics (2015-2019).