Judy Rich Bio

Judy Rich

     Judy Rich has had a varied healthcare career since she received an undergraduate degree in nursing from New York’s Roberts Wesleyan College and a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Judy has held roles from staff nurse to CEO. She started her professional experience at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she specialized in neurosurgery and neurology. After moving to Palm Beach, Florida, Judy held management positions at St. Mary’s Hospital for 15 years. During her time in Florida she served on the Board of Connors Nursery, the first resident facility in the country for babies with AIDS.

     In 1998, Judy moved to the Wellmont Health System, in Kingsport, Tenn., as the vice president of Operations. In this four-hospital system, Judy contributed to the growth and overall success of the system while earning the Tennessee Level Three Quality Award. During her years with Wellmont, she launched the McKesson clinical documentation project while maintaining high patient and staff satisfaction scores.

     Judy moved to Tucson in 2003 to serve as the Chief Operations Officer for Tucson Medical Center. During that time Judy was appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano to serve on the Arizona State Board of Nursing. After leaving Tucson Medical Center, Judy joined The Bard Group in Boston as a Senior Consultant for the practice. In this role she worked in large academic medical centers (Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit, and others) with a focus on physician engagement.

     Upon returning to Tucson Medical Center in June 2007, Judy led the team in a financial turnaround as the President and CEO of the 650-bed nonprofit hospital. In addition to the financial turnaround, TMC has experienced significant improvements in patient, physician and employee satisfaction, surpassing all benchmarks in those areas. Revenue improvement and significant expense reductions have contributed to the financial success. The foundation for the improvement at TMC has been the creation of a transparent organization with front line involvement in hospital decision-making. TMC has launched a six-year strategy to rebuild and improve the current campus.

     Judy serves on the boards of the Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Association, VHA West Coast, EMERGE! Center Against Domestic Abuse and the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. She is a member of the Chairman's Circle of Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, or TREO, and is on the Executive Advisory Council of United Healthcare.