Uchenna R. Ofoma, MD, MS

Uchenna R. Ofoma, MD, MS

DEPARTMENT OF ANESTHESIOLOGY
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology 

2023 Dean’s Impact Award Recipient

Uchenna Ofoma, MD, MS, was appointed as the director of Christian Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in 2020 when the critical care needs of the community were mounting greater each day due to COVID-19. The timing of his appointment was critical, and he rose to the occasion when he joined his colleagues in the frontline trenches, taking care of some of the most critically ill patients with COVID-19. He led the helm of critical care through revamping hospital operations to optimize capabilities — working to increase the hospital’s ICU bed capacity to more than twice its original size, expanding the ICU physician and advanced practice provider workforce to three times its original size, and optimizing the availability of scarce resources such as ventilators. With the acceleration of virtual care, Ofoma leveraged telemedicine ICU capabilities to take care of COVID-19 patients outside of the ICU at Christian Hospital. Ofoma’s efforts helped to build organizational and staffing resilience throughout the pandemic. Aside from his formidable work in clinical leadership during the pandemic, Ofoma took the time to also become a PIA SAFE champion to address the societal impacts of COVID-19. This role required 10 weeks of training to become a trusted resource and ally for his colleagues where he provides support and guidance to his peers experiencing conflicts, microaggressions or negative behaviors. As a health services researcher, he focused his research on understanding national telemedicine critical care capacity, which has been shown during COVID-19 to be critically important for planning for future pandemics or other disruptions to health care delivery.

Dean’s Impact Awards 2023

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