DO named incoming CEO of Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center

When Larry Goodman, MD, the CEO of the Chicago-based Rush University System for Health, retires, he will leave the health system in good hands.

Omar Lateef, DO, will split Dr. Goodman’s role with another physician. Dr. Lateef will become CEO of Rush University Medical Center. Currently, Dr. Lateef serves as the chief medical officer for the system and the medical center and senior vice president of medical affairs for the medical center.

Ranga Krishnan, MD, will become CEO of Rush’s health system.

Dr. Lateef is a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist who has held several leadership positions during his time at Rush. He is passionate about delivering equitable care to diverse patient populations.

“Everyone should want to create community-based health care programs,” he told a crowd at the AOA’s LEAD conference in January. “You should want to improve the health of those who don’t have the resources that you have.”

Education, socioeconomic status, and geographic location are some of the biggest drivers for early mortality from treatable diseases, Dr. Lateef noted at LEAD.

“The fight for equity must be one that a system believes in,” he said. “If strategic leaders in a hospital are invested in change, then you can drive change, and at Rush, we’ve managed to drive that change.”

Rush is the recipient of Vizient’s Quality Leadership Award, ranking in the No. 2 spot out of 99 academic medical centers.

The health system’s mission is to “improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research, and community partnerships.”

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