Michael Ugwueke, DHA, FACHE, is Executive Vice President and COO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare System in Memphis, TN. He is an accomplished healthcare executive with over 26 years of experience and a track record of developing partnerships with physicians, associates and community leaders to address healthcare needs in the community.
In his current role, Dr. Ugwueke oversees a network of seven hospitals – one children’s hospital and six for adults. “Part of my role is to look for ways to operationalize our seven hospitals as one by means of standardizing clinical practices and operations across our entire system,” said Dr. Ugwueke in a recent interview.
“I also look for ways to remove duplications in order to reduce costs. We take our ministry with the Methodist church very seriously. We use a Robin Hood principle in a way to take payments from hospitals on our wealthier areas to aid our facilities that operate in poorer areas.”
Dr. Ugwueke is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, and regularly presents at national conferences in the areas of operational efficiency, Baldrige criteria, change management and strategic planning.
Dr. Ugwueke serves on the Board of Memphis Academy of Health Sciences, a state charter school, as well as the Central Board of Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis and the American Heart Association Greater Southeast Area. He is very active in the Memphis community.
With a proven track record of leadership, Dr. Ugwueke offers this wise insight:
“I was once told that a visionary is someone who can see in the dark. After all, once the lights come on, almost anyone can see the path ahead. Therefore, the true challenge of leaders is to decipher what the new road will look like and how to successfully guide your team to respond to the challenges ahead.”
Congratulations, Dr. Ugwueke, for being a “BlackDoctor.org Top Blacks in Healthcare” 2014 honoree!
