Ohio State names John J. Warner as the next Wexner Medical Center CEO and executive VP
After more than a year of searching, Ohio State University announced Friday that Dr. John J. Warner will take over as the Wexner Medical Center's CEO and university executive vice president.
Warner comes to Ohio State by way of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he has been CEO of the UT Southwestern Health System and executive vice president for health system affairs since 2018. As part of his role, Warner oversees UT Southwestern’s clinical enterprise, which includes more than 100,000 inpatients and approximately 4 million outpatient visits each year.
"This is an exciting time to be joining such an esteemed and respected academic medical center and university. Few institutions have such a bold vision combined with the comprehensive breadth and depth of programs and a strong focus on improving health equity," Warner said of OSU Wexner. "The opportunity to make a lasting impact alongside this community of exceptional faculty, staff and learners is both inspiring and exciting. I can’t wait for our work together to start."
Warner will officially join the university on April 1, pending formal approval by the Ohio State board of trustees at its February meeting.
His appointment comes 15 months after the Wexner Medical Center's previous CEO, Dr. Harold L. Paz, left Ohio State to become executive vice president for health sciences at Stony Brook University in New York City. Jay Anderson, Wexner Medical Center chief operating officer, and Dr. Andy Thomas, chief clinical officer and senior associate vice president of health sciences, have been co-leading the hospital system.
Last May, Ohio State's Board of Trustees' talent and compensation committee reported it had narrowed down its pool of finalists. Some eight months later, they have announced their choice.
"We are excited to welcome Dr. Warner to Ohio State. The breadth of his knowledge and experience will be critical to serve the Wexner Medical Center’s mission of exceptional patient care, innovative research and educational excellence, and to create world-class health care solutions to improve people’s lives," said Ohio State Board of Trustees Chair Hiroyuki Fujita.
As CEO of UT Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics, Warner he played a key role in the planning, design and opening of the 460-bed William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. That hospital recently expanded to include more than 750 beds.
Warner is a cardiologist who earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University and practiced medicine for more than 20 years. He also received a master's degree in 2011 from the physician executive business administration program at the University of Tennessee.
Throughout his tenure, Warner has received a number of awards and recognitions for his work to advance patient satisfaction and improve the quality and safety of hospitals and health systems.
UT Southwestern earned regional and national distinction for quality of care and patient experience under his leadership. Clements University Hospital has been ranked the No. 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth, and the second-best hospital in Texas for six years running by U.S. News & World Report.
Since the hospital opened, UT Southwestern Medical Center has twice received the Rising Star Award for top performance in quality, safety and patient-centeredness from Vizient, a benchmarking organization for academic medical centers.
Warner has earned the American Heart Association’s Gold Heart Award, the Association’s Distinguished National Leadership Award and was named a Super Doctor by Texas Monthly Magazine from 2007 to 2022.
"Dr. Warner’s record of exemplary leadership, service and vision will help the medical center continue our momentum as one of America’s top-ranked academic health centers," said Leslie Wexner, who chairs the Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees. "We are delighted to welcome him to the university and to Ohio."
Warner will begin his time at Ohio State as the Wexner Medical Center is expanding its reach in the Columbus area and statewide.
The Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care New Albany opened in 2021 and its Outpatient Care Dublin opened in 2022. The James Outpatient Center — a 385,000-square-foot cancer-focused facility that includes central Ohio’s first proton therapy treatment facility — is set to open this fall. Construction continues on the hospital's massive Inpatient Hospital Tower, the largest single facilities project ever undertaken at Ohio State, and it is scheduled to open in 2026.
"Working in academic medicine is a great privilege, and I am honored by the trust the Board of Trustees has placed in me to help propel Ohio State forward and lead a world-class medical center committed to advancing transformative health care that improves the lives of the people we serve across central Ohio, the nation and the world," Warner said.
Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.
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@sheridan120
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State names John J. Warner as the next Wexner Medical Center CEO
