UC Health is the academic health system affiliated with the University of Cincinnati, serving the Greater Cincinnati region through patient care, medical education and research. Centered on the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, it brings together clinicians, researchers and educators to deliver specialized care while advancing clinical research and training the next generation of healthcare professionals.
UC Health is the region's only adult academic health system. How have expectations of organizations like yours changed over the past decade?
Academic health systems have always been rooted in a tripartite mission: training the next generation of healthcare professionals, conducting research and advancing the science that underpins clinical care. What's changed most is that we've evolved from being hospital-centric and inpatient-focused into broader academic health systems. Alongside emergency departments, trauma centers and transplants, there's now an expectation that we're actively engaging with the communities we serve and helping improve their overall health. It's about helping people stay healthy while still being there when they need the most complex care.
That shift has shaped my priorities since arriving three and a half years ago. As we enter our third century of service, we'll continue to deepen our expertise in trauma, complex cancer care and transplantation while embracing our responsibility to improve community health. We recently launched a pilot called Cincy Sweats, designed simply to get people moving. You don't typically associate that with a tertiary trauma center, but it's another indication that we're helping people before they need a hospital.
UC Medical Center has invested in modernizing its emergency and critical care capabilities. What were the biggest priorities behind those developments?
The first priority was modernizing our facilities for today's care. The technology available in acute and trauma settings is completely different from what existed 20 years ago, and many older facilities weren't designed to support it. At the same time, demand has grown as more patients are transferred to our Level 1 Trauma Center because they need that higher level of care. We wanted to expand our capabilities while creating the best possible environment for patients and caregivers.
The other priority was creating a resource for others. Our Emergency Preparedness and Response Center can expand emergency department capacity during mass casualty events or periods of extraordinary demand, but day to day it's used as a training and simulation center where emergency response teams from across the country learn from our experience before taking those lessons back to their own communities.
Healthcare is becoming increasingly collaborative, yet hospitals are still competing for patients, physicians and resources. How do you strike that balance?
The health systems in this community have a long history of working together to solve some of our biggest challenges. Organizations like Cradle Cincinnati, which focuses on infant mortality, and the Health Collaborative bring health systems together to address community health needs and emergency preparedness. We've also worked closely together on challenges like cybersecurity, sharing lessons learned when neighboring health systems have faced major disruptions.
At the same time, we're competitors. There are things we do here that others don't—or don't want to—and they rely on us for that expertise. Competition pushes all of us to improve quality, safety and service, and ultimately that's good for patients.
The University of Cincinnati, UC Health, Cincinnati Children's and GE HealthCare recently launched the Imaging Research and Development Center. What opportunities do you see emerging at the intersection of imaging and AI?
When I started in healthcare, a radiologist might review 30 or 40 studies a day because they were manually pulling films onto light boxes. Today, even without robust AI, that same radiologist can review 200 or 300 studies because technology has transformed how images are captured and compared. The next step is using AI to help determine which studies are needed and focus attention on the images that matter most. I see AI as augmentation rather than replacement.
Partnerships like this are critical because they help turn research into better patient care. We recently opened our Blood Cancer Healing Center, which includes a dedicated Phase I clinical unit to move promising discoveries into first-in-human trials. One example is the pancreatic cancer vaccine, where we conducted some of the first human trials in the United States. With around 800 clinical trials underway each year, our goal is to ensure patients can access emerging therapies close to home.
UC Medical Center serves as the region's leading trauma, stroke and complex care referral center. Are you seeing patients arrive with more complex needs than they did a few years ago?
Without question, the patients in hospital beds today are generally sicker than they were five or 10 years ago. That's partly because we've become much better at caring for people outside the hospital. Digital tools connected to our electronic health record reduce unnecessary clinic and emergency department visits, while expanded home-based care means the patients who remain in the hospital are those who are most critically ill.
We're also investing in predictive tools that identify high-risk patients earlier, allowing pharmacists, nurses and physicians to intervene before emergency care is needed. At the same time, we're strengthening support after patients return home to reduce readmissions and help them recover more quickly.
You've spoken a lot about prevention and helping people stay healthier for longer. Looking ahead, where do you think healthcare will make the biggest difference over the next decade?
One of the biggest challenges we still face is that the healthcare system largely rewards treating illness rather than keeping people healthy. At the same time, advances in gene and cell therapies are transforming care while raising important questions about how those treatments are funded. We'll continue investing in areas where we can have the greatest impact, including neurosciences, trauma, cancer and our nationally recognized work treating LAM, a rare lung disease.
What excites me most is our growing ability to combine technology with prevention. Through our Osher Center for Integrative Health, we're bringing together traditional medicine with nutrition, movement and mindfulness, while our partnership with Kroger has shown that combining everyday shopping data with support from dietitians, pharmacists and nurses can reduce cardiovascular risk. Alongside advances in AI, gene editing and personalized medicine, those partnerships will help solve problems that seemed unimaginable a decade ago—and, just as importantly, help people stay healthier long before they need a hospital.
