Dr. Ramanathan Raju
Category: Medicine
Ramanathan (Ram) Raju, MD, MBA, FACS, FACHE is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal healthcare system in the nation. Dr. Raju was appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in January 2014 to lead the 37,000 employees of this $6.7 billion corporation, which includes 11 acute care hospitals, five nursing homes, six large diagnostic and treatment centers, more than 70 community-based health centers, a large home care agency, and one of the New York area’s largest providers of government-sponsored health insurance, MetroPlus Health Plan, the plan of choice for nearly half a million New Yorkers. Last year, HHC facilities served 1.4 million New Yorkers — including more than 475,000 uninsured.
Prior to accepting the role of President and CEO at HHC, Dr. Raju was the Chief Executive Officer for the Cook County Health & Hospitals System (CCHHS) in Chicago, Illinois, and the third largest public health system in the country. During his tenure there, Dr. Raju turned the financial status of the system around, improving the cash flow by over 100 million dollars. His proposed healthcare delivery model fetched the much coveted 1115 Waiver to the Social Security Act, enabling the creation of CountyCare, an Illinois Medicaid program to provide coverage for low-income adults in Cook County, and leading to health coverage for more than 82,000 Cook County residents.
Dr. Raju began his medical career at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn and went on to serve as the COO and Medical Director at HHC’s Coney Island Hospital. In 2006, he became the HHC Chief Medical Officer, Corporate Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President.
Dr. Raju attended Madras Medical College to earn his medical diploma and his Master of Surgery degree. He underwent further training in England and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. Raju is also a physician executive, having obtained an MBA from the University of Tennessee and CPE from the American College of Physician Executives. Dr. Raju is the recipient of numerous national recognitions. In 2013, he was named Business Leader of Color by Chicago United. Modern Healthcare Magazine named him one of the top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare two times in a row, and one of the 50 most influential Physician Executives in Healthcare in 2013. Also in 2013, Becker’s Hospital Review designated him as one of 20 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Follow on Twitter.