Chairman Elected to UHC Member Board of Directors

CHICAGO, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UHC announces the election of Douglas Strong as chairman of its Member Board of Directors. UHC is an alliance of 119 academic medical centers and 291 of their affiliated hospitals. Strong is chief executive officer of University of Michigan Hospitals & Health Centers.

"We are delighted to have Doug lead our board, and we look forward to learning from his vast experience," said Irene M. Thompson, UHC president and chief executive officer. "Doug's profound understanding of health care will be crucial to guiding our collaboration with our academic medical center members."

"I am honored to be elected as chairman of UHC's Member Board of Directors," said Strong. "I intend to uphold the proud tradition of advancing academic medical centers' leadership in improving health care quality and efficiencies."

Strong will serve a 1-year term as chairman of the Member Board of Directors and will also chair the UHC Governing Board, Membership Committee, and Executive Committee, which oversee the management of UHC's business affairs.  

Strong joined University of Michigan Health System in 1998 and became director and chief executive officer of University of Michigan Hospitals & Health Centers in August 2006 after serving in that role in an interim capacity since October 2005. Prior to joining University of Michigan Health System, Strong spent more than 20 years in various leadership positions at other academic medical centers. He holds a master of business administration in health care administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a master of arts from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences.

About UHC

UHC, formed in 1984 and located in Chicago, Ill., is an alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers, which are focused on delivering world-class patient care. UHC fosters collaboration with and among its 119 academic medical centers and 291 affiliated hospital members through its renowned programs and services in the areas of comparative data and analytics, performance improvement, supply chain management, strategic research, and public policy. UHC helps its members achieve excellence in quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness. For more information, visit uhc.edu.

SOURCE UHC