Sharon O’Keefe

Sharon O’Keefe is a nationally recognized leader on hospital operations, health care quality, patient satisfaction and employee engagement. She joined the University of Chicago Medical Center as President in February 2011 where she oversees a $1.1 billion clinical enterprise and connects the patient care mission of the medical center with the research and education missions of the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division.

A Chicago native, O’Keefe received her Sharon received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northern Illinois University, and as a Critical Care Nurse, earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University Medical Center. She advanced to senior administrative positions at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, and the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore. Her quality-improvement efforts led to national recognition, and she was appointed an examiner for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2005. After serving seven years as Chief Operating Officer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, she went on to become President of Loyola University Medical Center before taking on her current role at the University of Chicago Medicine.

In 2013 O’Keefe spearheaded the opening of the Center for Care and Discovery, one of the most advanced clinical and surgical centers in the country. In addition to CURE, O’Keefe serves on several prestigious boards including the Illinois Hospital Association Board of Trustees, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, the University Healthcare Consortium Board, and the National Institutes of Health Advisory Board for Clinical Research.