UHealth CEO to retire. University of Miami president to lead health system temporarily
Edward Abraham, chief executive of the University of Miami Healthcare System, or UHealth, announced on Friday that he will retire effective May 31 after less than three years in the top job.
Abraham, a pulmonary medicine and critical care specialist, first joined UM as dean of the Miller School of Medicine in July 2017. He was recruited from Wake Forest University, where he had been dean of the medical school.
In January 2018, Abraham was appointed CEO of UHealth, where he oversaw the academic medical system’s network of hospitals and clinics in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Collier counties. His appointment as CEO followed the August 2017 departure of past CEO Steven Altschuler, who stepped down 18 months into his contract to “pursue other interests in biotechnology.”
UHealth did not immediately respond to a request to interview Abraham. In a prepared statement announcing the change, Abraham said the coronavirus pandemic presented “an opportune time” for UM President Julio Frenk to lead the institution.
Frenk is a physician and former minister of health of Mexico. He is a past executive at the World Health Organization, and the former dean of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University.
“President Frenk, as CEO, will be providing his leadership on all fronts,” Abraham said. “Being part of the University of Miami, the Miller School of Medicine, and the UHealth system has been enriching, rewarding, and personally gratifying.”
Frenk’s duties as UHealth CEO are expected to continue only until July 1, according to the UHealth announcement, which said that a process to guide the search for a new CEO will be developed “immediately.”
Among Abraham’s successes as CEO are the consolidation of hospital licenses across the system’s hospitals, including Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and UHealth Tower, a 560-bed hospital.
Abraham also navigated UHealth through financial challenges, including skyrocketing expenses and dwindling patient admissions at UHealth Tower, and then led a turnaround fueled by a growing demand for cancer care and a rise in outpatient clinic visits. Among the most successful outpatient facilities in the system has been the Lennar Foundation Medical Center on UM’s Coral Gables campus.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 5:26 PM.
