CLEVELAND — Patti DePompei, the current president of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s and the MacDonald Women’s Hospital and the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Foundation Chair in Leadership and Innovation has announced her retirement.
Her retirement will be effective Jan. 1, 2025.
"While her strategic vision, leadership and advocacy will be greatly missed, I wish her only the best in her next chapter that includes a relocation to North Carolina to be near her family," said Cliff Megerian, CEO of University Hospitals, in a statement.
Officials say that under DePompei's leadership, UH grew its infant, pediatric, and young adult care under the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s brand, which led to many national accolades, including national 2023-24 recognition as a Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. It ranked among the nation’s top 50 children’s hospitals in all 10 pediatric specialties, including two in the top 10.
Over her 35 years at University Hospitals, she worked to eliminate healthcare disparities, improve the quality of maternal and infant care, and expand pediatric and maternal services across the region.
"Envisioned by Patti as a new model to meet the needs of our community, the UH Rainbow Ahuja Center for Women & Children opened in July of 2018 to address social determinants of health and specifically the disparate outcomes for Black/African American women and babies," said Megerian in a statement. "Since the opening of the UH Rainbow Ahuja Center, Cuyahoga County has shown improvement in infant mortality overall and more specifically for Black/African American infants. Patti and her team are proud of their role in contributing to these improved outcomes and committed to furthering equitable access to care and resources for families in our community."
According to officials, they will soon begin a search for her replacement.