1-17-2023
Richard P. Lofgren, M.D., MPH, FACP, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of OU Health, Oklahoma’s only fully integrated, unified academic health system of hospitals, clinics and centers of excellence. He became the inaugural President and Chief Executive Officer of OU Health in March of 2022.
As President and Chief Executive Officer of OU Health, Dr. Lofgren leads the overall health system, reporting directly to the OU Health Board of Directors. He is responsible for the strategic vision, clinical and operational direction, strategic growth, quality and safety, financial performance and ongoing integration of OU Health.
Dr. Lofgren is a board-certified internal medicine physician and administrator with nearly 40 years of experience in healthcare with a particular interest in healthcare delivery redesign, operational efficiencies, performance improvement and applied health services/quality research. He is a national thought leader within academic healthcare and is an expert in health system transformations and redesign, with a proven track record as a CEO of uniting hospitals, clinics and centers into a single enterprise with a single purpose.
Dr. Lofgren came to OU Health from UC Health, the University of Cincinnati, Ohio’s affiliated health system, where he was president and CEO. UC Health encompasses more than 11,000 employees, physicians and advanced practice providers, two hospitals, the Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care, Lindner Center of HOPE and more than 30 outpatient service locations in three states.
In addition to his expertise as a President and CEO, Dr. Lofgren has considerable experience in the tripartite mission of academic healthcare. As an academic physician, Dr. Lofgren served as a tenured faculty member while at University of Kentucky, Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Pittsburgh. Throughout his career, he has earned 14 awards for teaching excellence in academic healthcare and created two different health services research centers aimed at improving healthcare outcomes for veterans. Dr. Lofgren has been a funded researcher and has numerous publications and scholarly contributions spanning his 40 year career.
Dr. Lofgren received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, completed his residency and chief residency at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he also received a master of public health.
Chair of the Day
Jennifer Schultz, MBA, is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and External Relations for OU Health, Oklahoma’s comprehensive integrated academic health system. Schultz has led marketing, communications and external relations at OU Health since 2018.
In her role, Schultz leads and develops enterprise-wide strategies to create a unified marketing and growth-oriented presence for OU Health. She oversees all functions relating to marketing – marketing strategy, public relations, advertising, market intelligence, internal communications, community partnerships, community health improvement planning and brand management.
Schultz has spent nearly all of her 18 years of experience in marketing and business development within healthcare. She is one of a small handful of sitting marketing executives in the healthcare industry who brings marketing, communications and business development experience with a breadth and depth of knowledge with executive experience within hospitals, clinics, health insurance, telehealth, population health, senior care, an NCI cancer center, free standing children’s hospital, academic healthcare, for-profit and non-profit healthcare delivery and clinical service lines.
Prior to moving to Oklahoma City for her role at OU Health, Schultz worked at Avera Health, a fully integrated health system in the Upper Midwest where she served as the vice president of marketing. Schultz holds a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication and public relations from Southwest Minnesota State University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
A transplant to the Oklahoma City area, she is a passionate supporter of the arts, mentoring young professionals, and community engagement work. Schultz has been a member of the Rotary 29 Downtown Club since December 2019, a board member at the OKC Philharmonic, a board member at the OKC Innovation District, a board member at Allied Arts and serves on the marketing and communications committee of the Oklahoma Contemporary.