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The Right Job and Right Location, at the Right Time
PROFILE
The Right Job and Right Location, at the Right Time
“I picked the right job with hospital administration,” said Christopher Gessner, president and CEO of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH). “I like working with people, and I enjoy being part of complex teams.” In February 2019, Gessner took the reins at UCH, to lead the hospital and oversee growth in other Denver-area UCHealth facilities.
“My wife and I were about to become empty nesters, so we decided that if we were ever going to leave Pittsburgh, which had been home for the past 21 years, now was the time. We are excited to begin a new adventure in Colorado,” said Gessner.
“We have outstanding quality care at UCH, and I am focused on creating consistency in all our locations throughout the metro region,” he said. “What ensures consistency is the combination of teamwork, evidencebased practices and technology, so every patient has access to highquality health care.”
Gessner joined UCH after 18 years at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the last five of which he served as the president of both Children's and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital.
“I really enjoyed running the behavioral health service line for UPMC and learned a great deal. The importance of integrating medical and behavioral health care to achieve the best clinical outcomes became very evident.”
“Behavioral health was an area where we could be innovative because there were huge problems that we could address.” Gessner brings these lessons and ideas to Colorado, where he remains committed to behavioral health.
In his first year, Gessner is working closely with physicians and nurses. At UCH, every practicing physician is a member of the CU School of Medicine faculty, creating a unique partnership between research and clinical care. “I love working with health care providers. This campus has incredibly talented people engaged in research and patient care,” he said. “The focus on translational research here at CU Anschutz sets us apart from our peers and allows us to provide the best possible care to all of our patients.”
At UCH, Gessner is focused on building strong teams. “I think that teams are built on trust, and that starts with transparency. If you open up and let people see your vulnerabilities, you can increase trust and achieve results together,” he said. In hospital administration, trust is central to efficiency. “One of the issues that physicians have with hospitals is the speed with which they make decisions. Physicians are used to performing a test, getting results and moving forward with a plan. In administration, the decision making process and feedback loop is typically much longer and that can be frustrating for clinicians. My goal is to ensure that our hospital administration is highly responsive.”
Gessner is excited about the opportunities in the ever-evolving field of medicine at a growing academic medical campus. “My biggest fear is that I get stale — I don’t want to ever get complacent,” he said.
The CU Anschutz Medical Campus is creating the health care of tomorrow, combining the expertise of basic science, translational research and clinical care. “For me, there is no better feeling than being part of a team or organization that has a far bigger impact on people’s lives than I can myself.”
