UMMS Selects Veteran Healthcare Leader As System’s New Chief Administrative Officer

Following a nationwide search, the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) has named Richelle Webb Dixon, FACHE, a veteran of more than 20 years in hospital operations, ambulatory care, medical education and community advocacy in a variety of settings, as the System’s new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Webb Dixon, who will also hold a Senior Vice President title, will be replacing Jon Burns, who is retiring this summer following a lengthy career in healthcare administration, including the last 18 years with UMMS.

Webb Dixon will serve as a key executive on the System’s Senior Leadership Team with responsibility for providing leadership, direction and operational effectiveness, working collaboratively with the UMMS executive management team in planning and executing initiatives both at the corporate and local hospital levels. 

“Richelle has a proven track record of creating effective teams, innovating operations to improve productivity and effectiveness, encouraging staff to embrace organizational priorities, demonstrating a commitment to advancing diversity and equality in healthcare and leading healthcare transformation initiatives,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and CEO of UMMS. 

With a strong operational background and track record of improving productivity and efficiency. Webb Dixon most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Froedtert Hospital, a 700+-bed academic medical center that’s the flagship hospital of Froedtert Health, which is affiliated with the Medical College of Wisconsin and includes eight hospitals, more than 2,000 physicians and more than 45 health centers and clinics. Her responsibilities included planning, development and oversight of the day-to-day operations of Froedtert Hospital, leading new operational initiatives; establishing best practices, operational standardization and optimization; and integrating health system initiatives. Webb Dixon also collaborated closely with the Medical College of Wisconsin to advance its academic mission by fostering a learning environment that supports the educational and research experiences.  

Prior, Webb Dixon worked in a variety of healthcare operations leadership roles for 17 years for Catholic Health Initiatives/CommonSpirit, one of the nation’s largest hospital and healthcare systems, operating 142 hospitals and more than 700 care sites across 21 states. Her positions included serving as System Vice President of Administration; System Vice President, Operations Integration and Structure; Vice President, Ambulatory Service Line; Assistant Vice President, Clinic Operations; National Director, Strategy and Operational Support and National Director, Advocacy and Community Health. 

At UMMS, Webb Dixon’s responsibilities will be far-reaching, including oversight of key operational areas such as Logistics, Information Services and Technology, Clinical Informatics, Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing, Corporate Operations, Data and Analytics, Innovation Center, Clinical Engineering and UMMS Real Estate Construction and Facilities.

“I am excited and humbled to join the University of Maryland Medical System, an organization whose mission and vision resonates deeply with my passion for creating a meaningful difference in the lives of people and communities we serve,” Webb Dixon said. “UMMS is uniquely positioned to transform the delivery of equitable health care and I am eager to join a team of talented professionals who share a common goal: to improve health outcomes and enhance the quality of care for all.”

A Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Webb Dixon is a graduate of the University of Michigan, earning a Master of Health Services Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She also served as a national board member of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives and is a past national president of the National Association of Health Services Executives.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Nursing and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.