Burlington, Vt. – University of Vermont Health’s board of trustees today announced the appointment of Dr. Stephen Leffler as the health system’s Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Leffler steps into the role formally after leading the organization through critical early phases of strategic realignment during his tenure as Interim CEO since October.

“Steve is a steady and proactive leader who is widely trusted and respected across the region,” said Tom Golonka, Chair of the UVM Health Board of Trustees. “With health care at a crisis point in Vermont and northern New York – both in terms of access and affordability – the board has concluded that he has the skills and approach necessary to work in collaboration with stakeholders across the health care ecosystem to address those challenges.”

Dr. Leffler assumed interim leadership from Dr. Sunny Eappen, who stepped down as CEO earlier this fall. Since then, Dr. Leffler has sought to stabilize the health system and restore more operational decision-making closer to the point of care, while advancing the efficiencies promised by centralization of business services.

“I am honored to serve at such a pivotal moment for health care, and deeply grateful to the board and my colleagues for the trust they have placed in me,” said Dr. Leffler. “This moment demands clear focus on access, affordability and quality. The challenges facing rural health care are real and complex, but I see every day the dedication and skill of our teams in serving patients. Their resolve, and the patients who rely on us, is what drives me to continue pushing forward.”

Dr. Leffler grew up in Leicester, Vermont, earned his medical degree at UVM Larner College of Medicine and completed his residency training in emergency medicine at the University of New Mexico. He joined the University of Vermont faculty in 1993 and later earned a Master’s in Health Care Delivery Science from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Starting as an Emergency Room physician, Dr. Leffler has served in many roles during his more than 30-year career at UVM Health and University of Vermont Medical Center, including: Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Chief Medical Officer at UVM Medical Center, Chief Population Health and Quality Officer for UVM Health, and his most recent role, President and Chief Operating Officer of UVM Medical Center. He has also served as a professor of surgery at UVM Larner College of Medicine and President of the Vermont Medical Society.

Dr. Leffler will also continue to serve as University of Vermont Medical Center’s President.

University of Vermont Health
40 IDX Drive
South Burlington, VT 05403

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About University of Vermont Health

University of Vermont Health is a rural academic health system with more than 100 years of service to small towns and cities across Vermont and northern New York. We are deeply committed to reimagining rural health in ways that will benefit our communities for generations to come and keep exceptional care close to home. Our system includes an academic medical center, two community hospitals, three critical access hospitals, a children’s hospital, a cancer center, a multispecialty medical group, 154 outpatient sites and care beyond the hospital through home health, hospice care, four skilled nursing facilities and other support services. Our care is informed by an essential partnership with University of Vermont’s The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Together, as a health system serving a rural area, we are tackling health care’s biggest challenges — supporting the communities we serve and investing in our employees by addressing housing affordability, quality childcare and professional development needs. To learn more, visit us at www.uvmhealth.org.