UVA Health names Tammy Snyder new CEO at University Medical Center

UVA Health has named Tammy Snyder as the new CEO at UVA Health University Medical Center, where she will take over the day-to-day operations on Aug. 3.

Snyder will succeed Kathy Baker, who has been serving as the interim CEO in addition to continuing in her role as chief nursing officer at UVA Health University Medical Center since last July.

Baker took on the dual role in the wake of the resignation of former University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton, who left UVA Health at the tail end of a lengthy period of tumult in the health system operations on Grounds.

In September 2024, a group of 128 faculty members from the UVA Physicians Group sent the UVA Board of Visitors a no-confidence letter calling for Craig Kent, the CEO at UVA Health, and Melinda Kibbe, the dean of the School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer for UVA Health, to be removed.

Kent resigned in February 2025; Kibbe stepped down from her positions in July.

Horton was not named in the no-confidence letter; she left UVA for UCSF Health, where she is the senior vice president, and the president of adult services.

Snyder currently serves as senior vice president of system operations for Rochester Regional Health, a nine-hospital health system in upstate New York that includes a network of outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, senior care facilities, behavioral healthcare services and laboratory services, according to a release from UVA Health.

She previously served as president and COO of Rochester General Hospital, Rochester Regional Health’s flagship hospital, where she led operations, strategic execution, quality, patient safety and workplace culture across an organization of approximately 8,000 employees with a $2 billion operating budget.

“University Medical Center is at a pivotal moment of transformation and growth. As we continue advancing our mission across the Commonwealth, we sought a leader with the vision, operational expertise and values necessary to guide our next chapter,” said Mitch Rosner, the CEO of UVA Health and executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia, per a quote from the UVA Health release.

“Tammy distinguished herself through her ability to lead with transparency, authenticity, humility and purpose – qualities that will strengthen our culture across UVA Health,” Rosner said.

Snyder earned a bachelor’s degree in health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree of public health in health policy and administration from the Yale University School of Public Health.

“It’s an honor to join UVA Health and lead University Medical Center,” Snyder said, per a quote in the news release. “I’m excited to partner with the team to ensure patients from across Virginia and beyond have the best access to the outstanding care provided at University Medical Center.”