University of Maryland Medical Center Names Ron V. Cummins, Jr. Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Cummins Has More Than 20 Years' Operations and Business Development Leadership Experience

Following a national search, Ron V. Cummins, Jr., has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), the academic flagship of the 13-hospital University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). As COO, Cummins will oversee the daily operations of the medical center's Downtown and Midtown campuses and serve as a key member of UMMC's executive leadership team.

"I believe his proven track record in operations and business development make him an excellent choice to serve as our new COO," said Bert F. O'Malley, MD, UMMC's President and Chief Executive Officer. "This key position has the accountability to lead the development and execution of strategies and initiatives to deliver safe, high-quality and cost-effective services for our patients, faculty, staff and visitors."

Cummins previously served as Vice President of Operations at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, the academic flagship of Penn State Health, where he provided strategic leadership for a diverse portfolio which included surgery, otolaryngology, anesthesiology, neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pharmacy, food services, environmental and linen services. During his tenure, the medical center significantly improved its Member Score Percent Rank from 49th to 96th nationally in Vizient, an organization that analyzes operational performance for university health systems.

Additionally, Cummins served as one of four medical center COVID-19 incident commanders during the pandemic, led transitions to new pharmacy distribution, medical surgical supply distribution and food management programs; accelerated the growth of the specialty pharmacy program; and collaborated with Penn State College of Medicine to create a pipeline for aspiring diverse medical students.

"UMMC is an outstanding academic medical center, and I am honored to join the team," Cummins said. "I am energized by the opportunity to collaborate with our talented staff, faculty and community partners to achieve UMMC's full potential as a great place to work and leader in providing value-based care to Maryland and the region."

Previously, Cummins held various business development and leadership positions in the private sector with Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson and Baxter Healthcare.

In his more than 20 years of operations and business development leadership experience, Ron has created a culture for cross-functional teams to overcome complex challenges to deliver value and results," Dr. O'Malley said. He noted that Cummins has a broad base of knowledge and experience in clinical operations, operating and capital budget planning, patient safety, process improvement, physician relations, healthcare information technology and business development.

Cummins earned an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and his bachelor's degree from Hampton University.

About the University of Maryland Medical Center

The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is comprised of two hospital campuses in Baltimore: the 800-bed flagship institution of the 13-hospital University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) — and the 200-bed UMMC Midtown Campus, both academic medical centers training physicians and health professionals and pursuing research and innovation to improve health. UMMC's downtown campus is a national and regional referral center for trauma, cancer care, neurosciences, advanced cardiovascular care, women's and children's health, and has one of the largest solid organ transplant programs in the country. All physicians on staff at the downtown campus are clinical faculty physicians of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The UMMC Midtown Campus medical staff is predominately faculty physicians specializing in diabetes, chronic diseases, behavioral health, long term acute care and an array of outpatient primary care and specialty services. UMMC Midtown has been a teaching hospital for 140 years and is located one mile away from the downtown campus. For more information, visit www.umm.edu.

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