This press release contains dated information and should be used for background only.
Irene M. Cumming, president and chief executive officer of The University of Kansas Hospital, has been elected as chair of the Board of Directors of the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC).
UHC is an alliance of the clinical enterprises of the major academic health centers across the country. As an idea-generating and information-disseminating enterprise, UHC helps its members pool resources, create economies of scale, improve clinical and operating efficiencies, and influence the direction and delivery of healthcare in the U.S.
Cumming has served on the UHC Board of Directors for 8 years before assuming the new post at the group's January Board meeting.
"I am very pleased to serve in this role for UHC. Academic medical centers, such as the University of Kansas Hospital and its affiliated Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, serve a very important role in introducing new knowledge and technology to the delivery of healthcare and training the next generation of healthcare providers. UHC has been very effective in developing a collaborative model for academic medical centers to work together to improve operations and quality, to meet the changing marketplace demands and to ensure that they continue to serve a very important role in the national healthcare system."
Dr. George Farha, Chairman of the Board of the University of Kansas Hospital Authority, and a professor emeritus at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, said the board supported Cumming in assuming this UHC role and were very pleased that her appointment brings national attention to the University of Kansas Hospital.
"The success of Irene Cumming and her leadership team here has attracted the attention of academic medical centers across the nation. Her election will only increase the awareness of what has been accomplished here and the foundation that has been built for success in the years ahead," said Dr. Farha.
Irene Cumming has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Kansas Hospital since 1996. Ms. Cumming has served in leadership roles at other academic health systems and as an audit partner in a major accounting firm with national responsibility for services to healthcare entities.
In addition to her specific responsibilities as CEO of the University of Kansas Hospital, Irene serves on numerous local and national governing bodies and task forces. Locally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, the Board of Directors of the Community Blood Center, the Board of Directors of the Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the local and midwest American Heart Association Boards of Directors and the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County.
On a national basis, she serves on the Administrative Board of the Council of Teaching Hospitals of the Association of Academic Medical Centers and serves on multiple national committees addressing workforce and health professional matters, fraud and abuse, and strategic and financial matters related to academic medical centers.