Edward A. Stenehjem, MD, MSc, professor and executive vice chair of the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Medicine, has been named senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs, effective October 15.
Stenehjem joined CU Anschutz in July 2023 after 11 years with Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City. During his first eight years at Intermountain he advanced antibiotic stewardship across the system by securing grant funding to implement and evaluate large scale stewardship interventions across the health system.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stenehjem guided Intermountain’s incident command decision-making, reviewed and prioritized clinical trials for the health system, and served as one of the system’s COVID communicators while serving as a busy infectious diseases clinician. After the pandemic, he became senior medical director for medical specialties, overseeing 11 specialty service lines across Intermountain’s multistate integrated delivery system.
Since joining the School of Medicine to lead operations for the Department of Medicine, he has standardized data across divisions, implemented a new funds-flow model, and equipped the department’s leaders with the skills to maintain financial sustainability.
“I am thrilled to have Dr. Stenehjem joining the School of Medicine’s executive leadership team,” says John Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the CU Anschutz School of Medicine. “He has been vital in strengthening our partnerships with UCHealth and serving as a model for other leaders throughout the school. I’ve been exceptionally impressed by his ability to recruit leaders, align strategies, and ensure accountability. He is exactly the kind of leader we want at our school.”
Stenehjem was selected as senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs after a national search. At CU Anschutz, Stenehjem has been a tremendously successful faculty leader, serving as the interim head of the Division of Infectious Diseases during the critical recruitment of new leadership. He also has served as interim clinical director and division head of Transplant Medicine unifying lung, liver, and kidney transplantation into a cohesive division aligned with UCHealth’s strategy and service-line infrastructure. Under his guidance, CU Anschutz has created the first-in-the-nation Division of Transplant Medicine.
“Dr. Stenehjem has been my trusted senior leadership partner at the Department of Medicine, and I am confident that he’s the absolute right person for this role,” says Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc, executive vice dean for Clinical Affairs, Research, and Quality. “He’s proven time and again that a smart and humane approach leads to outstanding care for patients and high-quality workplaces for our faculty and staff. This is a well-deserved promotion that will benefit our clinical partners and the entire school.”
“He understands large, complex health care systems and has implemented best-in-class practices to guarantee outstanding care for patients and high-quality performance by clinician,” Sampson added. “Leading a data-analytics team, he has delivered actionable insights that allow for real-time review and quick response for better results. We will become Top 10 with the strategic insight and operational rigor we gain from these data.”
As senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs, Stenehjem will be focused on key priorities for the future of the school:
- Strategic growth and market presence. Working with department chairs, hospital executives, and CU Medicine and School of Medicine leaders, along with community partners, Stenehjem will target growth opportunities on campus and in the community while expanding capacity to provide virtual care.
- Access, quality, and operational excellence. A key goal will be to align departmental clinical leadership and quality teams with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital’s leadership structure to deliver consistent performance, using standardized operational data and disciplined performance management.
- Responsible digital and AI-enabled transformation. In partnership with fellow leaders at the school and campus, Stenehjem will work to establish a governance framework that integrates AI-enabled tools into clinical and administrative workflows, reduces cost, and returns time to clinicians, all while safeguarding equity, privacy, and patient trust.
“I am excited about the opportunity to lead our clinical operations,” Stenehjem says. “I’m impressed by the school’s commitment to the mission of providing excellence in care, training, and research. We have exceptional talent and partners, and I am confident that we can scale it to our entire enterprise for the benefit of all our patients and our community.”
Stenehjem earned his MD from St. Louis University and completed residency at CU Anschutz and infectious diseases fellowship at Emory University.
