Ruth W. Brinkley has served as the president and CEO of KentuckyOne Health in Louisville since January 2012. The health system formed in 2012 from the merger of Saint Joseph Health System in Lexington, Ky., and Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare in Louisville and later partnered with University Hospital in Louisville and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.
Ms. Brinkley also serves as the senior vice president of operations at Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives.
Prior to heading KentuckyOne, Ms. Brinkley served as president and CEO of Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Ariz. She has almost 40 years of exemplary healthcare leadership experience.
Even with all of that experience under her belt, Ms. Brinkley says the adventure of leading a brand-new health system is her most memorable leadership experience. She chose her newest experience “because of the tremendous potential it has to improve the health of Kentuckians and expand health services across the state,” she says.
Ruth is also admired for her vision which emphasizes increasing access to health care through technology (ex. telemedicine, Anywhere Care) for people all across the Commonwealth, particularly those living in remote or rural areas.
Outside of leading hospitals and health systems, Ms. Brinkley is a founding member of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation. She was also recently named a member of the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange Advisory Board and is on the board of DePaul University in Chicago.
Throughout her career, Ms. Brinkley has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She has received the National Association of Health Services Executives’ Senior Healthcare Executive Award, the Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year Award and the Unbought and Unbossed Award from Girls, Inc., which recognizes women who have had a significant impact on improving the lives of girls and other women. I
In 2012, Becker’s Hospital Review named her on its list of 120 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know and its list of 300 Hospital and Health System Leaders to Know.