Thomas Jackiewicz Appointed President of University of Chicago Medical Center, COO of UChicago Medicine health system

Thomas E. Jackiewicz, MPH, FACHE, has been appointed the new president of the University of Chicago Medical Center and chief operating officer of the UChicago Medicine health system, effective Aug. 31, 2020.

Jackiewicz joins UChicago Medicine after serving as chief executive officer for Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California and a senior vice president for USC. He succeeds Sharon O’Keefe, who has served as UCMC President since 2011 and COO of the health system since 2017. O’Keefe announced last year that she planned to retire in July 2020.

His career has focused on executing ambitious and broad transformations in academic medicine and engaging physician leaders in organizational change. During his almost nine-year tenure at Keck Medicine, he grew USC’s medical enterprise from two for-profit hospitals to a $2.1 billion regional academic health system with internationally renowned physicians, care quality in the top quartile in the country and strong scientific research capabilities. Under his leadership, Keck Medical Center of USC was ranked No. 16 on the U.S. News & World Report 2019-20 Best Hospitals Honor Roll, and Keck Hospital of USC achieved Magnet recognition in 2018, the highest national honor for excellence in nursing and patient care.

Jackiewicz previously served in leadership roles in both medical schools and academic health systems at the University of California, San Diego, the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University School of Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center.

“Tom is the right leader to succeed Sharon and help us continue the University of Chicago’s legacy of advancing the forefront of medicine through outstanding patient-centered clinical care, scientific discovery and innovation, and continued growth as an academic health system,” said Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Chicago and President of the UChicago Medicine health system. “As a leader, Tom is committed to fostering a culture of collaboration among physicians, scientists, nurses, other clinicians and support staff.”

Jackiewicz emerged as the top candidate in a competitive national search because of his deep knowledge of academic medicine and experience with the tripartite mission of research, clinical care and medical education.

“I’ve admired UChicago Medicine and its pioneering approach to advancing clinical care through scientific research, and for educating the next generation of physicians and scientists,” Jackiewicz said. “I look forward to building upon this historic tradition to advance innovation and continue to extend access to UChicago Medicine’s outstanding medical care across Chicago, the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana.”

During his career at USC, Jackiewicz led Keck Medicine’s transformation into an academic health system in the highly competitive Southern California market. He is responsible for oversight of USC’s clinical activities, including the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the first comprehensive cancer centers established in the United States; USC Care Medical Group, the medical faculty practice; Keck Medical Center of USC, which includes two acute care hospitals: 401-bed Keck Hospital of USC and 60-bed USC Norris Cancer Hospital; USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, a 158-bed community hospital; and more than 67 outpatient clinics throughout Southern California.

Prior to joining USC in 2012, Jackiewicz served as chief executive officer of UC San Diego Health and associate vice chancellor and chief financial officer of UC San Diego Health Sciences. As CEO, he helped lead the San Diego health system during one of its most expansive periods of growth as it moved into the top 10 nationally for grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, opened the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and renovated UC San Diego Medical Center. In his earlier role as associate vice chancellor and CFO for health sciences, he was responsible for administrative and business oversight of a clinical enterprise with more than 900 faculty, the School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Earlier in his career, Jackiewicz served as director of fiscal operations for the clinical practices of the University of Pennsylvania and director of business and financial operations in Penn’s Department of Medicine, senior associate chair for finance and administration in the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, and chief operating officer at Columbia University Medical Center.

He earned his master’s degree in public health, health policy and management from Columbia University and his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. He is married to Carol Peden, MD, who serves as professor of anesthesiology and director for health system innovation at the Gehr Family Center for Health Sciences and Innovation at Keck Medicine of USC. Peden is also a senior associate tutor at the University of Oxford and an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

O’Keefe will retire on July 24 after a distinguished career of more than 40 years in leadership roles in some of the nation’s top academic medical centers. She helped lead the University of Chicago Medical Center’s transformation into the UChicago Medicine health system.

During O’Keefe’s tenure, UChicago Medicine built and opened the 1.2 million-square-foot Center for Care and Discovery; created a culture of high reliability and operational excellence that has resulted in 17 consecutive A grades for hospital safety from the health watchdog Leapfrog Group; acquired and integrated the Ingalls Memorial community health system; expanded outside of Hyde Park with the opening of ambulatory centers in Orland Park, the South Loop and River East; and opened a larger adult emergency department with a Level 1 adult trauma center.

Earlier in her career, O’Keefe served in leadership roles in some of the nation’s top academic medical centers, including Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, Barnes-Jewish Medical Center in St. Louis and Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago.