UVA Health University Medical Center CEO to depart

UVA Health is losing another one of its top executives, as University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton has announced plans to leave in September to take a job at the University of California, San Francisco’s health system.

Horton is the third top executive to announce their departure from the Charlottesville-based health system within the last five months. She arrived at the medical center in March 2020 as the center’s chief operating officer at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven months later, she became the teaching hospital’s CEO, with responsibility for a facility with approximately 700 beds and roughly 9,000 employees.

“During her tenure as CEO of the University Medical Center, Wendy Horton has been an enormous driver of and contributor to the growth of our academic medical center as well as helping to progress UVA Health’s ambitious 10-year strategic plan,” said Dr. Mitchell H. Rosner, interim executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia, in a statement. “We wish Dr. Horton all the best as she takes on her exciting new role at UCSF Health.”

An interim leader will soon be named, Rosner said, with the expectation that the selected candidate will be in place by Horton’s departure in September.

“We are committed to a smooth leadership transition and will continue to rely on and support the many leaders and team members that provide exceptional care for our patients and families every day,” he said.

Horton did not immediately return requests for comment.

The health system’s website credits Horton for leading the UVA Health Medical Center in maintaining services during a pandemic staffing crisis, and for facilitating growth of the health system. Before joining UVA Health, Horton served as chief administrative officer of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and as vice president of operations at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.

UVA Health has seen a significant overhaul of its leadership in recent months. Earlier this week, the University of Virginia confirmed the planned departure of its medical school dean and UVA Health chief health affairs officer, Dr. Melina Kibbe, who has been at U.Va. since 2021.

Kibbe’s tenure took place amid tensions between UVA Health employees and senior leadership, with both her and former UVA Health CEO Dr. K. Craig Kent being the subjects of a 2024 “no confidence” vote by 128 physicians, who called for their resignations, accusing Kent and Kibbe of creating a “culture of fear and retaliation” that “compromised patient safety.” A letter from the physicians also accused UVA Health leaders of “excessive spending on C-suite executives and support” and “failure to be forthcoming on significant financial matters.”

Kent resigned as CEO of UVA Health in February, following a closed-session meeting of the U.Va. Board of Visitors. Kibbe remained in place, although a false letter of resignation made the rounds around the same period, forcing UVA Health head Dr. Mitch Rosner to state publicly that it was a hoax.

Kibbe is the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, UTHealth announced Monday. However, U.Va. did not disclose who will serve in Kibbe’s position when she leaves, nor what the timeline will be to hire her replacement.

Currently, U.Va.’s president, UVA Health’s CEO and U.Va.’s provost posts are all filled on an interim basis. U.Va President Jim Ryan resigned June 27 under pressure by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice. Former Provost Ian Baucom departed earlier this year to become president of Middlebury College.

Eva Hardy, a former state secretary of health and human resources, said she’s observed that the UVA Health system has faced “a string of issues.” She speculated the recent overhaul in UVA Health leadership may be somewhat related to the departure of Ryan.

“I’ve not seen such an overhaul of personnel from a major health system to this degree,” Hardy said. “Yeah, it’s, it’s almost like wiping the slate clean of everybody and the top positions. It’s unusual to have that many leave.”

She said the UVA Health system is at a critical point in determining who it will hire and what direction it wants to take going forward.

“How long is this going to take them to develop the kind of team, leadership team that they need? You know, they can’t just jump in and start the minute they arrive,” Hardy said. “It’s going to take them a while.”