UCI Health focusing on fundamentals for 2026
President and CEO Chad Lefteris shares his mindset heading into new year
IN THE NEWS: The end of every calendar year allows hospital and health system leaders to reflect on how best to remain nimble to meet today’s complex healthcare environment.
Chad T. Lefteris, president and CEO of UCI Health, spoke with Becker’s Hospital Review about his focus and mindset moving into 2026.
“Despite the volatility facing healthcare and higher education across the country, we’re focused on the fundamentals we can control. This means supporting our people, stewarding our resources wisely and staying grounded in our mission to deliver exceptional care.”
Lefteris oversees all clinical and patient-serving operations of the six-hospital, 1,461-bed academic health system, including UCI Health — Orange, its flagship medical campus, and UCI Health ― Irvine, the UCI Health Community Network, which includes in Fountain Valley, Lakewood, Los Alamitos and Placentia, affiliated physicians in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,461-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Health — Orange, its flagship hospital, the UCI Health — Irvine acute care hospital and 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 Health — Orange 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).