UI Hospitals & Clinics CEO to depart
CEO Suresh Gunasekaran announces his departure for the top post at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Health.
PRESS RELEASE - University of Iowa Health Care today announced the upcoming departure of University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO Suresh Gunasekaran, who has been tapped for the top post at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Health.
Gunasekaran, who holds an MBA, joined UI Health Care in November 2018 and earned kudos for skillfully leading the hospital through one of the most tumultuous periods in its history.
“Suresh has made remarkable, positive contributions in his three years as CEO of University Hospitals & Clinics to advance our academic medical mission, not the least of which is his courageous, decisive leadership throughout the pandemic,” says J. Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, Vice President for Medical Affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean, Carver College of Medicine. “Suresh’s legacy will serve Iowa, our patients, faculty, and staff for decades to come—particularly in terms of advancing the state’s most advanced care and modernization of our health campus facilities. I know our strong hospital management team will continue to successfully lead us through this transition.”
Some of Gunasekaran’s most notable achievements during his time in Iowa include:
- Boldly leading the UI Health Care enterprise and community through the COVID-19 pandemic with clear, frequent communication of plans and actions
- Implementing free parking for patients with appointments at UIHC
- Advancing patient satisfaction, safety, and quality initiatives
- Consistently achieving a positive hospital margin for self-sustainability and growth
- Supporting key academic initiatives
- Securing a Certificate of Need for an expansion of the UIHC campus in North Liberty
Leading a planning effort for the modernization of the main hospital campus, including three new buildings: an inpatient bed tower, an academic and research building, and an on-campus ambulatory care center, which recently received permission to proceed from the Board of Regents.
“I am incredibly proud of what the team achieved during my years here at Iowa and that this strong hospital leadership team will continue to be successful,” says Gunasekaran. “It’s been an honor to serve the state of Iowa and its patient care needs both now and plan for future health care and medical education needs. Moving my family back to San Francisco to lead an academic medical center with such a storied history is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t let pass.”
UCSF consistently ranks among the nation’s top academic medical centers.
Gunasekaran will remain in his current position through the end of February; an announcement on an interim CEO appointment is expected soon. A national search for the next UIHC CEO is planned, with details to be announced in the coming weeks