Krista Curell Named to Becker’s 2026 List of Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know
Krista Curell, JD, RN, President of the University of Chicago Medical Center and System Chief Operating Officer of the University of Chicago Medicine health system, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2026 list of Women Hospital and Health System Presidents and CEOs to Know.
The recognition reflects Curell's leadership in expanding access to specialized care, strengthening community partnerships and leading an academic health system in making sustained investments that improve health across Chicago's South Side, the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana. Under her leadership, UChicago Medicine continues to advance initiatives that extend beyond hospital walls — from workforce development and violence recovery to cancer prevention, education and neighborhood partnerships.
Becker’s annual list recognizes women leading some of healthcare’s most complex organizations and advancing growth, access to care, organizational excellence and healthier communities. Becker’s selected 236 leaders for this year’s list through an editorial review and nomination process.
Curell was recognized for a leadership approach that combines strategic vision, clinical empathy and operational excellence with a deep commitment to patients, employees and the communities UChicago Medicine serves. Her portfolio includes executive oversight of the Urban Health Initiative, UChicago Medicine’s nationally recognized community health division. Partnering with neighborhood organizations, faith leaders and residents, the Urban Health Initiative works to address the social drivers of health through programs that connect patients to primary care, support survivors of violence, expand legal and social services, develop career pathways, and improve health outcomes in UChicago Medicine’s service areas.
“Krista is a thoughtful and principled leader whose decisions are grounded in our mission to improve health,” said Tom Jackiewicz, President of the UChicago Medicine health system. “She has helped position UChicago Medicine as a stronger partner to the communities we serve while leading remarkable growth across our health system. This recognition reflects her unwavering commitment to our patients, employees and neighbors.”
Strengthening community health
Curell's leadership is reflected in many of UChicago Medicine's most significant investments in community health and economic opportunity. She is helping guide development of the 575,000-square-foot AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion, scheduled to open in April 2027, which will expand access to world-class cancer care on Chicago's South Side. She is also helping lead development of a new clinical laboratory and education center in Washington Park in partnership with City Colleges of Chicago, creating healthcare career pathways for local residents while helping address critical workforce shortages.
Over the years, UChicago Medicine has been focused on strengthening the South Side’s access to the care they need. Investments included opening the Center for Care and Discovery for complex care in 2013, expansion of the adult emergency department in January 2018, and launch of a Level 1 adult trauma center in May 2018.
In the last reported fiscal year, UChicago Medicine invested more than $1.1 billion in community benefits, including charity care, community health improvement programs, health professions education, and community research. Guided by community partnerships and health priorities, these investments reflect the organization's longstanding commitment to improving health beyond traditional healthcare delivery.
Leading a growing academic health system
A licensed attorney and registered nurse, Curell brings clinical, legal and operational expertise to her leadership, along with firsthand insight into how organizational decisions affect patients, families and care teams. She has helped lead UChicago Medicine through a period of significant growth while fostering a culture centered on excellence, compassion and continuous improvement.
Curell became Health System COO in 2023 and President of the University of Chicago Medical Center in late 2025. She also serves as President of UChicago Medicine Crown Point, which opened in April 2024 in Northwest Indiana. In these roles, she oversees operations spanning more than 14,000 employees and 2,400 clinicians across hospitals, clinics and physician practices across Chicagoland and in Northwest Indiana.
“This recognition belongs to the extraordinary people at UChicago Medicine and to the community partners who work beside us every day,” Curell said. “The strongest solutions come from listening to our communities and patients, building lasting partnerships and creating opportunities that improve health for generations to come. I am honored to share this recognition with everyone committed to that work.”
Her previous honors include recognition by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Woman in Health Care and by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the nation’s COOs to Know. She is also a Daniel Burnham Fellow and serves on the board of Leadership Greater Chicago.