After an extensive national search, Michael Elliott, Pharm.D., MSHA, FACHE, has been selected as the inaugural chief operations officer of VCU Health System, effective May 15.  The new position is responsible for integrating the academic health system’s organizational strategic plan with its operations. 

Elliott joins VCU Health from Centra Health in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he currently serves as senior vice president and chief transformation officer. In this role, Elliott is responsible for leading the southern Virginia health care market, strategy, business development, community health, government relations, external affairs and the Centra Foundation. At Centra, he successfully developed and launched the Community Health Department, focused on community benefit and health equity, and coordinated a community collaborative to execute regional COVID-19 vaccination efforts and education. 

“Implementing this new COO role at the system level is a pivotal step as we continue to develop equitable, high-quality, cost-effective and integrated clinical programs across all our hospitals and clinics,” said Art Kellermann, M.D., senior vice president for VCU Health Sciences and CEO of VCU Health System. “Dr. Elliott has a strong record of improving the performance of integrated health systems that span the entire continuum of care, which made him stand out among a talented pool of candidates from across the country. As a VCU alum, he is no stranger to our organization and reflects our longstanding commitment to give outstanding care to our patients, steadfast support to our team members and an excellent education to our learners.”

Prior to his current role, Elliott served as Centra’s senior vice president and health system chief operating officer between 2015 and 2020, while serving as interim president and CEO of Centra Health System during one of those years. Over the course of his tenure as a senior executive with Centra, the health system achieved several notable accomplishments and improvements, including increased revenue, the implementation of a five-year, $100 million master facilities plan and improved patient satisfaction scores.

Elliott previously excelled in several roles at Sentara Health, where he started as a clinical pharmacist and progressed through several leadership roles for more than a decade.

“Operational excellence matters because it allows us to expand services into more communities,” Elliott said. “VCU Health is continuing an exciting journey of growth, and I am excited to strengthen our operational efficiency to better serve our patients, team members and the community at large.”

Elliott holds a doctorate in pharmacy and master’s degree in health administration from VCU.

He serves on several professional and community boards and committees, including the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and the American Hospital Association Community and Population Health Advisory Committee, among others.

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