November 24, 2015

Dear University of Miami Community,

Almost three months ago, I announced my decision to move forward with the search for a new chief executive officer of UHealth–University of Miami Health System. The position description was made public, and an advisory committee with representatives from the most relevant areas was assembled under the chairmanship of Provost Thomas LeBlanc. Today I am delighted to announce the appointment of Steven Altschuler, M.D., as the new CEO of UHealth and senior vice president for health affairs of the University of Miami. Dr. Altschuler is an eminently recognized and respected physician and health care administrator who served as president and CEO of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and The Children’s Hospital Foundation for the past 15 years.

As senior vice president for health affairs and CEO of UHealth, Dr. Altschuler will be responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the academic health care system, which includes the University’s hospitals, faculty practice plan, and clinics, and will report directly to me. Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., will continue to serve as dean of the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and will report to Provost LeBlanc on all academic matters and to Dr. Altschuler on all matters related to the clinical services provided by the faculty.

I am deeply grateful to Dean Goldschmidt for his decade of leadership in building UHealth and overseeing the impressive growth of the University’s health care operations, while also improving the quality of research and education at the Miller School of Medicine. Dean Goldschmidt has expressed his desire to focus now on the academic mission of the school and to continue leading the strategy to achieve ever higher levels of excellence.

Dr. Altschuler led CHOP’s transformation from a traditional academic medical center into a world leader in pediatric health care, research, education, and advocacy for children, with strong ties to the University of Pennsylvania. With approximately 14,000 employees, including nearly 1,200 full-time physicians and researchers at 50 different care sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the organization’s foundation, hospital, and affiliates had approximately $5.4 billion in assets and $115 million in charitable contributions in fiscal year 2015. Research expenditures were approximately $340 million, and the hospital supported the clinical and research training of 135 residents and 275 fellows. Since 2003, with the exception of only two years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked CHOP the No. 1 children’s hospital in the nation.

Dr. Altschuler was associated with CHOP as a postdoctoral fellow in 1982, becoming an assistant physician in 1984 and serving as chair of the Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of CHOP from 1997-2000.  He also was a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania from 1985-2000. Since retiring from CHOP in June 2015, Dr. Altschuler has been board chair of Spark Therapeutics, a leading gene therapy company that is a spinoff of the Center of Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at CHOP. He received his B.A. in mathematics from Case Western Reserve University and his M.D. from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He was an intern and resident at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston before serving as a postdoctoral fellow at CHOP.

I am confident that Dr. Altschuler’s appointment will help to consolidate the position of UHealth as the premier academic health system in South Florida, while expanding even further its service outreach and scientific influence throughout the Americas and beyond. He will provide strategic leadership to align our clinical and research investments in today’s exciting and challenging health care delivery environment.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Altschuler to the University of Miami family and in thanking Dean Goldschmidt for his leadership and continued service.

Julio Frenk