University of Iowa names new Children’s Hospital head after years of turnover, interim leadership

IOWA CITY — About four months after launching a search for a new head of its nationally-ranked Stead Family Children’s Hospital — a position that has seen significant turnover in the past seven years — University of Iowa Health Care this week announced that Jim Leste, vice president of operations for Children’s Minnesota, has accepted an offer.

As chief administrative officer for the UI Children’s Hospital, Leste beginning July 29 will “provide on-site leadership, which includes managing financial performance, clinical quality, and employee, physician, and community relations,” according to UIHC.

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Leste has spent a quarter of a century with Children’s Minnesota — a pediatric health system, not affiliated with a university, that encompasses two hospitals and numerous primary care, rehabilitation and specialty care sites.

He started with Minneapolis-based Children’s Minnesota as a safety risk specialist in April 1999 — having earned a bachelor’s in community health and a master’s degree in environmental health and safety from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Leste then advanced to safety manager, director of safety, security and emergency management, senior director of support operations and vice president of support operations before taking over as vice president of operations and perioperatives services in 2021.

In a release announcing his departure, Children’s Minnesota said Leste’s tenure there has been “marked by his unwavering commitment to improving patient care and operational efficiency across our healthcare system.”

Among other things, he was “crucial” in the system’s response to COVID-19, its 2005 Hurricane Katrina pediatric response at the National Guard’s Camp Ripley in Minnesota and the 2020 civil unrest in Minneapolis. He oversaw more than $1 billion in construction during his time there, and was appointed to the U.S. Secret Service Command Center as the Twin Cities Hospital Liaison during the 2008 Republican National Convention.

“Jim is a strong advocate of family and patient-centered care, and his health care leadership experience shows a strong focus on building strong and inclusive relationships and partnerships," Brad Haws, chief executive officer of the UIHC clinical enterprise, said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to having him join our children’s hospital team in serving our youngest patients and their families.”

Leste is board certified as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves as a board member and past board chair of Life Link III — the largest consortium-owned critical care air medical transport company in the country. He also has served as adjunct faculty at Saint Mary’s University in Minnesota.

“For 25 years, my professional career has been about helping kids,” Leste said in a statement. “It's an honor to be able to continue that work at UI Health Care and Stead Family Children's Hospital. This organization is a shining example of clinical excellence and family-centered pediatric care with a best-in-class reputation. I'm grateful to be joining this team of exceptional professionals and look forward to working side-by-side with them to continue the mission of helping kids.”

UIHC did not immediately provide his salary. According to Children’s Minnesota’s most recent tax filings in November, Leste earned $498,340 in reportable compensation in the last year, which included bonus and incentives.

Whereas UIHC’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top hospital in Iowa and nationally in the Top 50 in six pediatric specialties, Children’s Minnesota is not ranked.

Children’s Hospital leadership

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The hire hopes to install stability in a leadership post marked by turnover since construction of the 14-story Stead Family Children’s Hospital — which was marred by mismanagement, rampant change orders, lawsuits and window damage post-construction that has pushed up the total price to more than $400 million.

Just as the hospital was opening in 2017, former Children’s Hospital head Scott Turner left to become chief operating officer for the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and executive vice president for the Children’s Hospital and Health System.

UIHC Senior Associate Director Amy O’Deen served as his interim successor for three years until the university in April 2020 announced the hire of Pamela Johnson-Carlson — who had been vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer at Children's Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs.

She left less than three years into the job in January 2023 to become chief nursing officer at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha. UIHC’s Melissa Whisler has been serving as Children’s Hospital interim chief administrative officer since that time.

She’ll continue as chief of staff to the CEO of the clinical enterprise once Leste arrives.

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