Dr. Jill Owens, president of Upper Allegany Health System since 2022, has announced she is stepping down from the leadership role.
The UAHS board of directors announced a nationwide search for a new hospital president.
Owens, a Bradford native and physician with a medical practice in Bradford, will return to private practice when a new president has been named, to help ensure a smooth and successful transition.
“When I was asked to step up and take on this role, I never imagined the challenges that we would face. Healthcare was in crisis and our two hospitals were struggling like most in the industry were,” said Owens. “With the new management team now in place and over 1,300 caring and compassionate individuals throughout the organization, UAHS is destined for future success. It’s time to hand off the baton to a seasoned healthcare leader who can take us to the next level of growth.”
As Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital have integrated, residents in both communities have expressed concerns about losing their individual hospitals. Bradford residents started a group to “Save Bradford Hospital,” voicing concerns about what might happen should BRMC close.
When asked about the future of BRMC in the wake of her pending departure as president, Owens said, “The UAHS board has assured me that they will search for a candidate that is not just skilled at leading a rural hospital system, but also one that is committed to our mission of meeting the needs of the communities we serve.”
And the two locations working together as campuses of the same hospital has been working, she added.
”I am confident that UAHS is well along the path to financial sustainability and, short of another disaster like the pandemic, will survive and grow,” she said. “Both BRMC and OGH are essential to each other.”
She continued, “OGH is large enough and has enough specialists to function as a full-service rural referral center, which has allowed us to recruit doctors to come to and live in the area that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to in small rural communities.”
Bradford plays an important part in that overall success, Owens explained.
”The BRMC campus and the population that it serves, although smaller, provides the patient base to attract enough specialists to cover calls for the region as well allowing the two campuses to qualify for sole community hospital status, which brings financial incentives to help close the reimbursement gap. Our one-hospital, two-campus model is clearly stronger together and will help solidify care for the region.”
UAHS parent company, Kaleida Health, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
In the UAHS prepared statement, Dr. Muhammed Javed, who came on as board chair during Owens’ tenure, said, “We thank Dr. Owens for her service and stepping in at a key time for us. During her time, UAHS saw a multitude of enhancements for the healthcare system. This includes nursing and physician recruitment, improvements in quality, patient and employee satisfaction, numerous growth initiatives plus an accreditation transition to DNV Healthcare.”
Among those improvements were upgrades to the cardiac catheterization lab at OGH, a wage increase in 2023, the reopening of the fourth floor of The Pavilion at BRMC along with hiring a new administrator there, and capital improvements undertaken at BRMC.
Owens credited her success over the past two years to the people who make the facilities work.
”I must say though that the best part of this job is by far the people,” she said. “We have great staff, in every area of our organization, that have answered the call to work harder, more efficiently and put our patients first.”
Owens will remain a physician on staff in the healthcare system practicing at both hospital campuses as a hospitalist.
Previously the system’s chief medical officer, Owens was named UAHS president in May 2022. Throughout her tenure as president, she built a new leadership team that helped lead the healthcare system’s financial and operational turnaround.
In Thursday’s announcement, Owens said, “I’m so grateful for our team throughout UAHS, community members and business leaders, elected officials on both sides of the border and both sides of the aisle, the healthcare leaders in both Pennsylvania and New York, and countless others who supported me and these hospitals through this difficult journey. While there’s still work to do, the efforts of everyone working together has made it possible for our region to continue to have access to local and high-quality healthcare.”
Prior to being named CMO for Upper Allegheny, Owens was the vice president of clinical operations and physician relations and executive director, UAHS’ physician network. She served as acting medical director of Foothills Medical Group and as associate medical director of BRMC. In addition, she has operated Bradford Family Medicine Inc., a private family practice, since 2000.
Owens served on multiple committees/boards and occupied leadership roles over the last 20 years, including the UAHS and BRMC board of directors, board quality, chair of the department of family practice, Professional Review Committee and BRMC medical staff president and vice president.
She has held positions on the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s advisory and alumni boards, and volunteered with medical missions and medical explorers. She is a board-certified family physician and a fellow in the American Academy of Family Physicians.
She earned her bachelor’s degree at UPB and went on to complete medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her residency at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, where she also served as chief resident. She is a former president of the McKean County Medical Society and Pennsylvania delegate to the American Medical Association.
She was recently named to the Buffalo Business First Power 250 for 2024.
