On September 1, after serving more than 20 years as CEO of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Michele Volpe began her new position as chief operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Volpe has been recognized as a visionary leader who oversaw PPMC’s transformation from a community teaching hospital into a major academic medical center and Trauma Center. While her responsibilities now cover all six hospitals, her daily presence at PPMC will be missed. Volpe’s dedication to creating a safe and supportive workplace earned her the admiration and respect of colleagues and employees. We asked a few to share what they will remember most.
“Michele has been a fantastic leader at PPMC. She’s led the organization through significant change, including the development of the Penn Medicine University City facilities and the Pavilion for Advanced Care, as well as the relocation of Penn Medicine’s Level 1 Trauma Center from Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to PPMC. It’s really been a period of growth and expansion at Presbyterian.”
- Bob Russell, acting CEO
“Michele Volpe’s dedicated and strong leadership has been a major driving force behind the transformation of PPMC into the major academic medical center it is today. Her legacy will undoubtedly be long-lasting. On a personal level, I admire Michele’s professionalism and her visionary and collaborative leadership style and greatly appreciate her support of me and the Department of Medicine. I will miss working with her!”
- Gregory Tino, MD, chief, Department of Medicine
“For the last 12-plus years, I have had the pleasure of working under Michele’s leadership. Having her as a CEO was a real advantage in all survey situations because she always led with great calmness and thoughtfulness and knew how to strategize. … I learned much from watching her lead us through ‘grace-under-high-pressure’ survey situations. … she read through policies and documents thoughtfully, asked pointed questions, sought experts as needed, knew when to push back … All through this, Michele also managed to keep a sense of humor. I will keep all these memories close and try my best to keep Michele’s legacy moving forward.”
- Susan Citta Chodoff, MBA, director of Regulatory and Accreditation Matters
“Michele was absolutely phenomenal. She cared about her staff and took action to show it. For instance, every morning as she walked into the building, she greeted the staff and inquired about their shift and well-being. She demonstrated a sincere appreciation for her staff. This led to an increase in employee morale and an overall more positive work environment.”
- Yaya Diakite, director of Security