Sunitha Reddy, Prime Healthcare VP of Operations, Named to Modern Healthcare's Top Emerging Leaders List

Modern Healthcare has named Sunitha Reddy, VP of Operations for Prime Healthcare, as one of America’s 25 Top Emerging Leaders, in recognition of her work to help community hospitals remain open and improve performance across the country.

Modern Healthcare, the leader in healthcare business news, research, and data, annually honors emerging leaders aged 40 and under who have made significant contributions in the areas of innovation, financial, operational, and clinical excellence.

“Fresh perspectives, adaptability and strategic thinking are crucial to the advancement of healthcare, especially at a time when ideas about care delivery and patient needs are rapidly changing,” said Fawn Lopez, Modern Healthcare Publisher.

Reddy oversees revenue cycle and financial operations for Prime Healthcare and guides managed care strategy. Challenges in revenue cycle and operations, compounded with increasing costs have put significant financial strain on community hospitals, leading to bankruptcies or hospital closures around the country. Reddy has focused on revenue cycle improvement and building the bridge between finance and operations to aid communities struggling to keep their hospitals open. She successfully streamlined multiple clinical and financial operations to enhance performance across the organization, driving millions in improvements.

Reddy also led a multidisciplinary team to develop a user-friendly Patient Estimator Tool to help consumers better understand their healthcare costs, consistent with Prime Healthcare’s commitment to price transparency and consumer-focused care.

Prime Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading health systems with 45 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states. Under Reddy’s leadership, teams at the hospital and corporate levels have designed and implemented new systems, data-driven processes, innovative technology, and best practices that have enhanced the operational performance of Prime Healthcare; helping the company triple in size since 2015.

“Sunitha is a proven innovator and servant leader who has helped position Prime Healthcare extremely well in the face of rapid advancements in the healthcare field,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare. “In addition to her diligence and incredible contributions to our hospitals throughout the pandemic, Sunitha’s guidance and vision will be a key to ensuring Prime Healthcare’s continued record of clinical, financial and operational excellence.”

“Sunitha has been a leader in accelerating Prime Healthcare’s implementation of technologies and processes to drive improvements in performance,” said Steve Aleman, Prime Healthcare CFO. “She is always focused on our mission and our people, and she creates a culture of inclusivity and togetherness that celebrates everyone's strengths and unique perspectives.”

Reddy is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University with honors; a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, where she received the Foster G. McGaw scholarship award for academic excellence; and a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Magna Cum Laude, from UCLA with college and departmental honors. For the last two years, Reddy has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as a “Rising Star.”

“Thank you to Modern Healthcare for this prestigious recognition, and congratulations to my fellow honorees who are making an incredible impact through their work,” said Reddy. “I am honored to represent Prime Healthcare and our mission of saving hospitals to serve communities across the United States.”

This year’s honorees are profiled in the March 21 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine and online at Modernhealthcare.com/awards/top-25-emerging-leaders-2022