UCI Health Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President Nathan Shinagawa takes a selfie during the substantial completion event for UCI Health — Irvine on Sept. 19, 2025.
UCI Health leaders named to OCBJ’s OC500 list
President and CEO Chad Lefteris, COO Nathan Shinagawa named recognized for ushering in health system's growth era
Orange, Calif. — Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health, and Nathan Shinagawa, chief operating officer and senior vice president, have been recognized as two of Orange County’s most influential figures on the Orange County Business Journal’s annual OC500 list.
Lefteris was recognized for helming the expansion of UCI Health into one of California’s largest academic health systems, bringing high-quality care to more people throughout the region than ever before. That includes next month’s opening of UCI Health — Irvine, the nation’s first all-electric acute care hospital that will completes the $1.2 billion medical campus.
“We are extraordinarily proud of this state-of-the-art facility and the visionaries who have worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition,” Lefteris recently told the OCBJ.
Shinagawa was recognized for overseeing the growth of the health system in both co-workers and net revenue, which was $2.2 billion last year .
The 2024 acquisition of four community hospitals in Fountain Valley, Lakewood, Los Alamitos and Placentia expanded the workforce at UCI Health to more than 12,000 individuals. The number will grow with the opening of the new complex in Irvine and the completion of the UCI Health Rehabilitation Hospital in summer 2026.
Shinagawa recently said, “It’s awe-inspiring to see how far we have come!”
About UCI Health
UCI Health is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.