Lisa M. Colombo, DNP, MHA, RN, officially joined UMass Medical School on October 1, 2018 as executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine.
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.
“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,” Colombo said. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to translate my knowledge and skill in health care operations across the continuum and work alongside our organization’s tremendously talented and committed staff.”
Previously, Colombo served as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center, a role in which she drove 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’s of health administration at Clark University, and a bachelor of science in nursing at Worcester State University.