Jeff Kaplan
Kaplan leaves VUMC for non-profit hospital network
Associate Vice Chancellor Jeff Kaplan is leaving Vanderbilt to become chief advancement officer and senior vice president for health and community affairs at OhioHealth, a large non-profit hospital network headquartered in Columbus.
Kaplan will lead business outreach efforts, corporate image development, public relations, fund raising, government relations and related functions. Today is officially his last day at Vanderbilt.
For VUMC, Kaplan has served as chief administrative officer and has also supervised regional health care network development and other aspects of strategic development, construction, health care contracting, space and facilities management, parking, and the Center for Health Services.
“With Jeff’s energy and expertise, he has played an invaluable leadership role both in the expansion of our physical plant here on campus and in many of our relationships throughout the region,” said Harry Jacobson, M.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs. “We're sorry to see him leave and we wish him and his family the very best.”
Among other accomplishments, Kaplan has been instrumental in securing agreements with Gateway Medical Center and Maury Regional Medical Center, and was an initiator of the current proposal to relocate many of Vanderbilt's clinics to 100 Oaks Mall.
Kaplan was born and raised in Ohio and spent 20 years of his earlier career in Columbus. His parents and his wife's family have remained in Ohio.
He said OhioHealth is well positioned to exert positive influence over health policy in its region. He also noted that he sees opportunities for agreements that would allow sharing of certain know-how between VUMC and OhioHealth.
“Vanderbilt has been among the most exciting places I've ever worked,” Kaplan said. “The exponential growth in terms of service to the community has been amazing. The Medical Center has advanced in astounding ways, internally and externally, and I'm not talking only about volume growth. The decision to launch elevate at VUMC was a bold step, and the results have been remarkable. I'd also add that it's been a true pleasure working with Harry Jacobson and [Chancellor] Gordon Gee.”