New leaders at UI Health to enhance patient-centered care

Jodi Joyce

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System has recruited four top health care executives to its leadership team.

The appointments include Jodi Joyce as associate vice president for quality and patient safety, Dr. Jaewon Ryu as associate vice president for professional practice and chief medical officer, Airica Steed as chief experience officer, and Dr. Robert Winn as associate vice president for community-based practice and director of the UI Health lung cancer program.

“We are very fortunate to have recruited an outstanding leadership team to focus on patient satisfaction, quality and patient safety, and the needs of our community to accomplish our goals,” says Dr. Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, vice president for health affairs at the University of Illinois. “We aspire to be the best at delivering accessible, personalized health to the people of Illinois and solving the health-disparities challenges that so adversely impact at-risk populations. The expertise of our new team leaders will drive our success in these efforts.”

Dr. Jaewon Ryu

Joyce, 51, who holds B.S.N., R.N. and M.B.A. credentials, brings experience in leading large-scale improvement in processes and outcomes. Her patient-centered approach traces to the beginning of her career as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. She was vice president for quality and patient safety at Legacy Health, a nonprofit integrated delivery system with six hospitals and more than 50 primary and specialty care clinics based in the Portland, Ore. metropolitan area, and earlier held a number of leadership roles within Kaiser Permanente. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow in 2011.

Ryu, 39, a physician and attorney, served on the executive leadership team at Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic States, where he led many key initiatives driving higher quality and more efficient care and shaped strategies related to government programs and health reform and policy. He also worked in the federal health care sector as a policy adviser at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was a White House Fellow and served as special assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Earlier in his career, he worked in the national service program AmeriCorps. He is a specialist in emergency medicine.

Airica Steed

Steed, 35, who is an R.N., M.B.A. and Ed.D., has experience leading large-scale operational and cultural change, customer service and program management. She came to UI Health from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill., where she was vice president of professional services and operations excellence. In this role, she led a system-wide effort to enhance service for patients, families, associates, and physicians. She was a senior management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Sibery Group and held previous positions at Picis, Inc. and VITAS Healthcare, Inc.

Winn, 48, comes to UI Health from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he practiced at the university hospital and the VA Medical Center in Denver. A specialist in pulmonary and critical care with a primary interest in lung cancer, he has led and served on a number of diversity committees to develop the next generation of physician-scientists. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, scholarship, leadership and diversity service.

Dr. Robert Winn

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System provides comprehensive care, education and research to the people of Illinois and beyond. The UI Health System includes a 495-bed tertiary hospital; the University of Illinois at Chicago Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Applied Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Jane Addams College of Social Work; 22 outpatient clinics located in Chicago; 12 federally qualified health centers throughout the city; and Colleges of Medicine and affiliated health care facilities in Urbana, Peoria and Rockford.

For more information: The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System