Key executive appointments announced at UK HealthCare

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2024) — University of Kentucky Co-Executive Vice Presidents for Health Affairs (EVPHA) Eric N. Monday and Robert S. DiPaola sent the following message to the UK HealthCare community on Wednesday.

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We are very pleased to announce that Chris DeSimone and Tim Slocum have accepted the positions of Executive Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, respectively.
 
Dr. DeSimone will begin his work as Executive CMO immediately, transitioning from the acting role he has been in since last year. Mr. Slocum will start his duties with UK HealthCare in January as he and his family join us from Tennessee.
 
Both bring to these critical leadership positions extensive experience, a record of working with teams to accomplish strategic objectives and a willingness to take on big challenges.
 
We received very positive feedback from so many of you who interacted with both of them during the interview process.
 
Chris DeSimone appointed Executive Chief Medical Officer

Dr. DeSimone is a native Kentuckian, who went away to school for his undergraduate career, earning a degree in art history from Boston University, before returning home.

Many of you know him from his more than 25-year association with the University of Kentucky, starting as a medical student, resident and fellow and then progressing through a number of clinical and leadership positions at UK HealthCare.
 
He has been successful every step of the way, informed by an unwavering commitment to patient-centered care and guided by our north star of how we advance this state by making it healthier.
 
As a physician and professor in gynecologic oncology, Dr. DeSimone understands deeply our role in treating and healing patients but also being there for those we serve. He has always been present to celebrate with, or provide solace for, patients and their loved ones through the best of moments and the worst of times.
 
He’s brought the same sense of compassionate concern and enlightened leadership to numerous positions at UK HealthCare – whether in robotic surgery or perioperative services, among many others.
 
Over the last year as Acting Executive CMO, he has worked closely with our senior leadership team, and many others throughout our enterprise, to continue to improve and expand our capacity with respect to transfers, while fostering stronger collaborations with new and existing community partners.
 
He is focused intently on how we extend our commitment to patient-centered care in ways that enable us to continue to improve quality and outcomes. Such issues are central to our mission to advance the health of Kentucky. Dr. DeSimone is providing critical leadership on all these issues. We are excited to recognize his outstanding work and leadership through this appointment.

Tim Slocum appointed Sr. VP & Chief Operations Officer
 
Tim Slocum currently serves as a Senior Vice President of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare (MLH) and also as the President of Methodist’s flagship facility, Methodist University Hospital. MLH has had a longstanding affiliation with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
 
While at Methodist University Hospital, Mr. Slocum has helped lead efforts to significantly grow inpatient admissions, maintain outstanding scores from ratings agencies such as the Leapfrog Group for quality and safety outcomes, and achieve new volume records in critical specialty areas such as kidney transplantation.
 
He has a proven record, moreover, in working with teams from across a complex enterprise – nursing, human resources, marketing and others – to drive improvements in employee engagement and satisfaction as well as employee recruitment and retention.
 
These areas are also strategic points of emphasis for UK HealthCare as we grow our capacity – both in terms of infrastructure and the recruitment and retention of talent – to advance the health of Kentucky.
 
Prior to his time with the Methodist, Mr. Slocum served in leadership positions in the Atrium Health Navicent system in Georgia. He has degrees from both Mercer University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Our gratitude extends to so many

We want to thank Drs. Darwin Conwell and Tukea Talbert, who served as co-chairs for the search advisory committee for the Executive Chief Medical Officer, and Mark Birdwhistell and Gina Dugas, co-chairs for the Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer search advisory committee.
 
The co-chairs and the members of the committees did outstanding work over several months to recruit, interview and assess an excellent pool of candidates. We also want to thank Colleen Swartz, who has served the past year as Acting Chief Operations Officer.
 
We are gratified that outstanding leaders are attracted by the possibilities and challenges at UK HealthCare. We are firmly focused, as always, on our mission to advance Kentucky by improving the health of our state. We know you will join us in welcoming Dr. DeSimone and Mr. Slocum to these positions as we continue our collective efforts and our singular commitment to advancing the health of the state we serve.
 
Thank you for all you do to make that mission possible.
 
Co-Executive VP for Health Affairs
Robert S. DiPaola          Eric N. Monday