Dr. Omar Lateef serves as president and CEO of RUSH and Rush University Medical Center. He has been recognized internationally as a health care visionary, leader and practitioner.
Under Lateef’s leadership, RUSH has set the nation’s standard in health care quality and safety, modeled excellence in clinical leadership both regionally and nationally, and maintained its deep and long-standing commitment to health equity. RUSH leaders, along with others across the nation, educate the world’s top health care professionals. RUSH believes in serving its patients and communities by addressing the root causes of disease through strong partnerships and innovative research.
All three RUSH hospitals repeatedly have received high marks for quality and patient experience from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Vizient has ranked Rush University Medical Center No. 2 among 107 academic medical centers for quality and accountability in 2023 and has been ranked by Vizient in the top 5 for 10 consecutive years. The Medical Center has earned a spot on the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll four consecutive times, and in 2023, Newsweek ranked Rush University Medical Center No. 18 in the U.S. and No. 54 in the world.
RUSH is expanding its reach, making care more accessible through a robust digital experience strategy, new locations and extensive partnerships including one with RUSH MD Anderson Cancer Center.
RUSH provides high-quality health care, no matter where patients live or their ability to pay, and its health equity initiatives have received national attention. They have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Time magazine and the MIT Sloan Management Review. During the COVID-19 pandemic, RUSH was recognized as a model of excellence by the president of the United States, the U.S. secretary of Health & Human Services, the governor of Illinois, the mayor of Chicago and local community leaders.
RUSH’s longstanding commitment to addressing the social determinants of health has led to the development of initiatives in education, workforce development, healthy food, access to care and several partnerships to help to achieve health equity for our community.
Lateef was appointed as president and CEO of Rush University Medical Center in May 2019, and then took on the role of president of RUSH in 2021 and became CEO of the system in July 2022. Prior to those leadership roles, Lateef was chief medical officer of Rush University Medical Center. He earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1995. He received his medical degree from Des Moines University and completed his internship and residency at New York University Downtown Hospital. He completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Rush University Medical Center in 2005.
About RUSH
RUSH is consistently recognized among the nation’s best in health care quality. Its mission is to improve the health of the individuals and the diverse communities it serves through the integration of outstanding patient care, education, research and community partnerships. RUSH comprises Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Copley Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital, as well as numerous outpatient care facilities. Rush University, with more than 2,500 students, is a health sciences university that comprises Rush Medical College, the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences.