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 employees 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, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).