The UConn Health Board of Directors has named Anne Diamond the chief executive officer of UConn Health’s John Dempsey Hospital. Diamond has been serving as interim CEO since August 2013.
Since joining UConn Health four years ago, Diamond has been instrumental in improving the hospital’s performance in several key areas including quality, service, and patient satisfaction scores. The Joint Commission in 2013 rated UConn Health in the top third of hospitals nationally on key quality metrics. Patient satisfaction has improved in almost all hospital areas, and key measures of service, such as emergency department wait times, have improved dramatically.
Financial and operational performance has also improved as UConn Health has recorded over $50 million in cost savings over the past two years and hospital admissions and operating room cases are now at the highest levels they’ve been in the past four years.
Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, UConn Health’s interim executive vice president for health affairs, cited Diamond’s strong focus on safety and quality and also praised her for her leadership and ability to work collaboratively.
“Anne is an inspirational leader with a strong focus on quality and safety,” Agwunobi said, adding that she will lead a major transition in 2016 as construction is completed on UConn Health’s new hospital tower.
Diamond joined UConn Health in 2010 as associate vice president of clinical operations and became chief operating officer a year later. Following the resignation of Dr. Mike Summerer, Diamond was named interim CEO in August 2013.
Prior to arriving at UConn, Diamond worked for Salem Health, the parent organization for Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital in Salem, Ore., where she served as vice president for service lines and operations.
Diamond also worked for 10 years at the Electric Power Research Institute, an international not-for-profit organization based in Palo Alto, Calif., where she served in multiple roles including leading the health care research division.
Earlier in her career, Diamond worked at Maimonides Medical Center in New York, as director of the Safety/Radiation Safety Office. She also worked at the University Hospitals of Cleveland as a nuclear medicine technologist and research technologist.
Diamond earned her undergraduate degree in nuclear medicine technology from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa., and is a graduate of Concord School of Law, where she was awarded the Executive Juris Doctor Award for Academic Excellence.