Physician-Leader Appointed Executive VP, Chief Operating Officer
Following a comprehensive national search, Cedars-Sinai has appointed Jeffrey A. Smith, MD, JD, MMM, as executive vice president of Hospital Operations and chief operating officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Smith, who will assume his new position in August, succeeds Mark Gavens, who announced his retirement last year.
"Dr. Smith's extensive leadership experience in academic medical center management, along with his clinical experience as a physician, will be crucial to Cedars-Sinai's success in the years ahead," said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai. "He is highly regarded for his innovation, collegiality and deep understanding of healthcare operations in both academic and community settings."
Smith is currently executive vice president and chief operating officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, the 781-bed flagship academic medical center for the UMass Memorial Health Care system, which is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In that role, he has been the institution's senior operational leader, responsible for all clinical and support services. Smith also led initiatives to improve clinical quality, efficiency, patient flow and patient experience, and oversaw a $200 million campus-renovation project.
Prior to that, he served in leadership positions for 10 years at Aurora Health Care, a 15-hospital health system in Wisconsin. His system roles included serving as executive vice president and interim chief clinical officer, where he was responsible for the Aurora Research Institute, medical education, patient safety and clinical informatics.
Smith received his medical degree from the University of Miami and was chief medical resident at the University of North Carolina Hospital and Clinics. He practiced internal medicine from 1999 to 2007 as a clinical associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine-Milwaukee Clinical Campus. He also earned a juris doctor degree from Marquette University Law School and a master's degree in medical management from Carnegie Mellon University. Smith also attained his Lean Black Belt Certification.
Photo: Jeffrey A. Smith, MD, JD, MMM, newly appointed executive vice president, Hospital Operations, and chief operating officer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.