Stern to lead UChicago Medicine's Care Network

Leslie Stern has been named president of the University of Chicago Medicine’s Care Network, effective April 1, 2019, as the health system continues to increase provider access for its patients and the communities it serves.

Reporting to John Flynn, MD, dean of clinical affairs and chief physician, Les will work closely with University of Chicago Medical Center President Sharon O’Keefe, senior leadership and the organization’s shared services to expand the Care Network, which includes its Care Network Medical Group and Care Network Affiliated Physicians.

Stern's areas of focus will include expanding the primary and specialty care base in the South Suburbs, as well as further aligning Ingalls Memorial into the Care Network. This will allow patients greater access to the medical and surgical specialty practices in Harvey, Flossmoor, Tinley Park, Calumet City, Crestwood and South Holland.

"In addition to driving growth for the Care Network, Les will be responsible for helping to ensure that high-quality service and care continue to be provided by physicians and their teams in our communities," Flynn said. "We are excited to have Les help us strengthen the presence of and access to our health system."

Stern is a seasoned executive leader with nearly 25 years in the health care industry. He has extensive experience in hospital-based and ambulatory provider operations as well as practice management.

Most recently, he worked for Insight Health Partners as a consultant providing leadership and project management to physician practices with a focus on operations improvement and efficiency. From 2013 to 2018, he served as chief operating officer at Presence Medical Group in Chicago, where he oversaw all aspects of clinic and provider operations such as access, revenue cycle, clinical quality, patient satisfaction and clinic flow. Prior to that, Stern held strategic leadership roles at HealthEast Care System in St. Paul and Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.