Samantha Ruokis

Samantha Ruokis is the Vice President of Clinical Performance Excellence at University of Chicago Medicine. Ms. Ruokis directs quality improvement, patient safety, regulatory compliance and risk management efforts across UChicago Medicine’s academic health system. A trained industrial engineer, she has championed systemwide clinical pathways and performance initiatives that reduce variation and elevate patient care. Her emphasis on just culture and high-reliability systems has led to a 20% year-over-year increase in event reporting and a nearly 80% identified reporter rate. Ms. Ruokis has advanced operational excellence and team engagement since joining UChicago in 2014, progressing from quality program manager to her current role. Her leadership contributed to UChicago Medicine’s sustained Leapfrog “A” grade streak and national recognitions from the American Hospital Association and Vizient.