The University of Virginia Medical Center has appointed Robert “Bo” Cofield, DrPH, MHA, FACHE, as associate vice president for hospital and clinics operations. Cofield will take up his position January 21.
Cofield comes to the Medical Center after ten years serving in a variety of roles in the University of Alabama (UAB) Health System. For the past three years, he was the chief operating officer of UAB Highlands Hospital, a 219-bed acute care hospital. He has also served for the past eight years as associate vice president of the University of Alabama’s 908-bed teaching hospital. He is involved with many professional and community leadership and healthcare activities and has been a board member for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama since 2000.
Cofield holds a Doctor of Public Health, Health Systems Management and a Master of Health Administration from Tulane University. He also is no stranger to Virginia and UVA, having received his Bachelor of Arts from Hampden-Sydney College and attending UVA’s Summer in Spain program as an undergraduate student.
“Dr. Cofield’s background is a perfect fit for our philosophy of delivering high-quality patient care,” said R. Edward Howell, vice president and CEO of the UVA Medical Center. “His extensive experience at UAB will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow and expand our services.”
Cofield said that in his new role, he plans to continue emphasizing quality patient care operations and recognizing good service. “UVA is known to be an organization that manages the primary aspects of academic medicine — clinical care, education and research – very well,” he said. “I’ve focused my career on bringing the benefits of academic medical centers to communities, and I’m looking forward to continuing this in central Virginia.”
