VCU Health names first COO

Virginia Commonwealth University’s inaugural chief operations officer is Michael Elliot, effective May 15, the system announced Monday.

“Operational excellence matters because it allows us to expand services into more communities,” Elliott said in a statement. “VCU Health is continuing an exciting journey of growth, and I am excited to strengthen our operational efficiency to better serve our patients, team members and the community at large.”

Elliott comes from Centra Health, where he is the senior vice president and chief transformation officer for Centra Health. In this role, he leads the health system’s strategy, business development, community health, government relations, and external affairs, as well as the Centra Foundation. Elliott developed and launched the system’s Community Health Department to focus on health equity and coordinated a community collaborative to carry out a regional COVID-19 vaccination and education campaign.

“Implementing this new COO role at the system level is a pivotal step as we continue to develop equitable, high-quality, cost-effective and integrated clinical programs across all our hospitals and clinics,” VCU Health System CEO Dr. Art Kellermann said in a statement. “Dr. Elliott has a strong record of improving the performance of integrated health systems that span the entire continuum of care, which made him stand out among a talented pool of candidates from across the country.”

From 2015 to 2020, Elliott served as Centra’s senior vice president and health system COO, and served as interim president and CEO for one of those years. Before that, Elliott served in several roles at Sentara Healthcare, where he started as a clinical pharmacist.

He holds a doctorate degree in pharmacy and a master’s in health administration from VCU. Elliott is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Elliott serves on several boards and committees including the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and the American Hospital Association Community and Population Health Advisory Committee.