UM Health System CEO stepping down

Who: Dr. Ora Pescovitz, 57

Leaving role as: Executive VP of medical affairs at the University of Michigan and CEO of the University of Michigan Health System, as of June 1.

Filling the position: UM plans to name Dr. Michael M.E. Johns interim executive VP for medical affairs while it conducts a search for a permanent successor. Johns was most recently chancellor at Emory University, where he led the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Pescovitz, the first woman to hold her position at UM, said she is not seeking a second five-year term and declined interviews.

Achievements: In a blog post, Pescovitz listed a number of areas where UM has made strides, including attaining its highest-ever patient-satisfaction scores, strengthening its balance sheet so it has more than $3 billion in cash to deploy on strategic investments, and boosting its efforts in population health management, physician recruitment and fundraising. The system in December also signed a letter of intent to affiliate with Allegiance Health, Jackson, Mich.

Previous roles: Pescovitz served as executive associate dean for research affairs at the Indiana University School of Medicine as well as president and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis. She has been president of the Society for Pediatric Research, president of the Lawson Wilkins (North American) Pediatric Endocrine Society and chair of the March of Dimes Grants Review Committee.