Speaker
Omar B. Lateef, DO
Omar B. Lateef became president/CEO of Rush University Medical Center in May 2019. Prior to this, he served as CMO. As of July 1, 2022, he has been serving in the systemwide role of president/CEO of RUSH, while continuing to serve as president/CEO of Rush University Medical Center. Under his leadership, the medical center has received national attention for its ongoing, effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included building a forward triage, deploying early testing, accepting critically ill patient transfers, especially from communities hit hardest by the pandemic, and being one of the first health systems to offer antibody testing. In recognition of Dr. Lateef’s role in Rush’s response to the crisis, Modern Healthcare named him to its 2021 list of “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.” A nationally recognized leader in the measurement of healthcare quality, Dr. Lateef has worked with physicians and analysts at Rush and from academic medical centers across the nation to evaluate the driving factors and methodology of quality rankings by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. News and World Report and others. In January 2020, Dr. Lateef was invited by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Lateef and his colleagues evaluated and recommended changes to the rating systems for accuracy and the best reflection of quality. Rush University Medical Center was among the first recipients of the Mayor’s Medal of Honor in April 2021. The medical center was the only hospital in Chicago to receive the award, established by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to recognize individuals and organizations who made extraordinary contributions to Chicago’s residents throughout 2020 and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Lateef earned a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of Florida-Gainesville. He received his medical degree from Des Moines University and completed his internship and residency at New York University Downtown Hospital. He completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Rush University Medical Center in 2005.