Wendy Horton
Senior Vice President and President of Adult Services at UCSF Health
Wendy Horton, MBA, PharmD, FACHE, is a nationally recognized healthcare leader with deep experience in top academic medical centers. She serves as the Senior Vice President and President of Adult Services at UCSF Health, one of the nation’s top 10 hospitals. Throughout her career, she has guided strategic growth, operational performance, and patient-centered initiatives while remaining committed to advancing the well-being of the communities she serves.
A consistent advocate for healthcare innovation and quality, she focuses on improving care delivery, advancing efficiency, and applying technology to enhance both patient and staff experiences.
Her distinctive background as a clinical pharmacist, combined with her leadership in highly ranked medical institutions and an emphasis on safety and operational excellence, has established her as a respected and influential voice in modern healthcare.
Professional Career
UVA Health
Before joining UCSF Health, she served as CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center and System COO of UVA Health, a $4.5 billion health system with over 17,000 team members and 1,200 faculty in Charlottesville, Virginia. During her five-year tenure, she played a key role in statewide expansion by forming strategic partnerships and acquisitions, including collaborations with UVA Community Health, Riverside Health System, the Virginia Congenital Cardiac Consortium, and the Sentara Martha Jefferson stroke partnership. She also advanced pediatric behavioral health initiatives and strengthened integration across clinical, financial, and operational systems to ensure cohesive, sustainable care delivery.
Under her leadership, UVA Health doubled in size, expanding access and reach across Virginia. She introduced workforce development programs, including an "earn-while-you-learn" model, and championed population health initiatives to address the social determinants of health and improve community outcomes.
She also fostered a strong culture of safety and engagement by ensuring adequate staffing, transparent communication, and psychological safety across all levels. She created open forums such as Be Heard Breakfasts, Ask Me Anything sessions, town halls, weekly blogs, and clinical rounds to connect leadership with staff. She established the Center for Advanced Practice, providing a home for more than 700 Advanced Practice Providers, improving access to care and professional growth opportunities. Her leadership reduced the system’s reliance on travel nurses by more than 75%.
The Ohio State University
She served for three years as Chief Administrative Officer at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, part of a $4 billion academic health system that includes seven hospitals and 20 research institutes. In this role, she oversaw the onboarding of 13 department chairs and 16 division leaders, enhanced the organizational culture, strengthened faculty engagement, and increased diversity among both faculty and students.
Her administrative reforms reduced the time it took to recruit physicians from 76 days to fewer than 14 days—an 81% improvement. She developed and implemented a $340 million physician compensation plan that impacted 1,200 physicians across 18 departments. Within her first 90 days, she modernized administrative operations, led capital planning and design for two significant campus buildings, and helped increase research funding to $269.4 million, a 28.4% rise. Her leadership contributed to securing a $65.9 million HEALing Communities Grant, the largest in the university’s history.
University of Wisconsin
She spent 12 years at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, serving the final three years as Vice President of Operations. In this capacity, she brought her clinical, surgical, and operational experience to oversee the completion and commissioning of a new hospital. She directed professional, hospitality, business development, and support services, ensuring smooth operations and coordination throughout the organization.
Accomplishments
Her leadership and achievements have been widely recognized across the healthcare industry. In 2023, she was honored by Modern Healthcare as one of the Top Women Leaders in Healthcare. Under her guidance, UVA Health was consistently ranked the #1 hospital in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek, maintaining these top rankings through the challenges of the pandemic and other significant disruptions.
The organization was also named by Forbes in 2025 as one of America’s Best Employers for Women and received the LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader recognition from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Her commitment to excellence ensured “A” safety ratings for all UVA Health Medical Centers and earned the highest national trauma care award. The organization also received Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a distinction achieved by only 9% of hospitals nationwide in the U.S.
She was featured in the article “How 2 Pharmacy Leaders Became Hospital CEOs,” highlighting her transition from clinical pharmacy to healthcare leadership. She has also been recognized nationally for her leadership in pharmacy practice, her innovative workforce programs, and her “Earn While You Learn” initiative designed to build sustainable healthcare career pathways.
Board Positions and Memberships
She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Vizient AMC CEO Executive Advisory Council, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation.
Education
She holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Utah, and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Oregon State University. She is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), and a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. She is licensed to practice pharmacy in Wisconsin and Utah.
Wendy Horton continues to lead with purpose and integrity, driving healthcare innovation, operational excellence, and patient-focused strategies that strengthen care delivery and community health.
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