Lisa Colombo, DNP, MHA, RN, will be joining UMass Medical School as its next executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine. Dr. Colombo is an exceptional, mission-driven health care leader with extensive experience in a variety of academic health care settings and private sector companies. Her career has been rooted in patient care, operational management and quality improvement at public and private academic health systems; she has also held high-level positions in health care management consulting. She will begin at Commonwealth Medicine on October 1.
Of her appointment, Colombo said, “I am honored and excited to join Commonwealth Medicine and to support the mission and vision of improving the health and well-being of those served by public programs. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to translate my knowledge and skill in health care operations across the continuum and work alongside the tremendously talented and committed staff.”
Colombo currently serves as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, a role in which she has driven operational improvements to enhance quality of care and patient experience while achieving efficiency and cost savings. For a decade, Colombo has taught doctoral level courses in the Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) and since 2017 has advised GSN leadership by serving as associate dean for clinical practice. As president and CEO of UMass Memorial-Clinton Hospital from 2015 to 2017, Colombo successfully managed the merger that resulted in UMass Memorial-HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital. She developed and executed a strategic plan that grew key business lines, increased patient volume, improved operations and employee performance, and stabilized leadership and operational processes.
Earlier in her career, Colombo was a founding partner and principal consultant at Healthcare Management Partners, LLC in Milford, a private consulting firm with its core business in physician practice management. Her extensive academic health care management experience includes roles as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center; corporate vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing officer at UMass Memorial-HealthAlliance; vice president of patient care and chief nurse at Milton Hospital; executive director of ambulatory operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; director of inpatient nursing at New England Baptist Hospital; vice president of clinical services at Evocare/American HomePatient; and vice president of patient services at the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Massachusetts.
Colombo earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, a Master of Health Administration at Clark University and a Bachelor of Science in nursing at Worcester State University.
In her new role, Colombo will succeed Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, who is stepping down in August after a distinguished career that has included seven years at the helm of Commonwealth Medicine. Murphy, who joined the medical school in 2006, noted that “Lisa’s extensive experience in operations and patient care, coupled with a consistently evident commitment to mission and sustainability, will serve Commonwealth Medicine and our clients very well into the future.”
Between August and October 1, John C. Lindstedt, executive vice chancellor for administration and finance at UMass Medical School, will support Commonwealth Medicine on an interim basis.
“No matter what role Lisa has assumed within our health care system, the patient has always been at the center of every decision she makes,” said Eric W. Dickson, MD, FACEP, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care. “Though we will all miss working with Lisa every day, she is a wonderful choice to lead the next chapter for Commonwealth Medicine.”
Colombo was selected following a rigorous and competitive search process that attracted numerous highly-qualified candidates from across the country, each with extensive senior-level experience in business and/or government, an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, and a passion for public service. “Though the experience of each candidate considered to lead Commonwealth Medicine was distinct, each was extraordinarily impressive and accomplished,” said Deborah L. Harnois, associate vice chancellor for human resources, who chaired the search committee.
UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division provides consulting, programmatic development, and operational support to public-sector and private organizations. We draw on the academic knowledge and public health service expertise of Massachusetts’s only public medical school to provide comprehensive, innovative health care and policy solutions – with the goal of improving outcomes while controlling costs.