A New Challenge with a Greater Impact
A Miller School graduate joins the leadership team at Jackson Health System
By Debby Teich
Photography by CLUTCH Content Partners
Chris A. Ghaemmaghami, B.S. ’89, M.D. ’93
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fter spending 25 years in hospital leadership, public health and academic medicine, Chris A. Ghaemmaghami, B.S. ’89, M.D. ’93, has returned to South Florida as executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief clinical officer at Jackson Health System, which has a longstanding history as the Miller School’s primary teaching hospital.
“As a student at the Miller School, I learned to make quick decisions with limited information,” said Dr. Ghaemmaghami, whose background is in emergency medicine. “I am excited to be back in the place that provided the training that set me apart from my peers who lacked the same intensity of clinical experience.”
The Virginia native began his career at the University of Virginia Health System, where he served as a faculty member for 24 years and held several leadership positions. He recently worked at the Virginia Department of Health, leading the statewide COVID-19 vaccination and therapeutics programs and developing Virginia’s COVID vaccine delivery initiative.
“My work with COVID-19 made me realize that I was ready for a new challenge that would have an even greater impact on a larger group of people,” Dr. Ghaemmaghami said.
He pursued a two-year master’s degree program tailored to physicians’ specific leadership needs, receiving his master’s in health care management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2022 before moving to Miami with his wife, Maya.
At Jackson, Dr. Ghaemmaghami works closely with the hospital-based chief medical officers and oversees clinical strategic development, research and grants, quality, safety, risk, regulatory affairs, medical staff services and graduate medical education. He will also collaborate with the University of Miami Health System in continuing to develop streamlined care delivery models and serve as a voluntary professor of public health sciences at the Miller School.
“I look forward to the opportunity to reduce health care disparities, improve the health of Miami-Dade County’s diverse population and bridge the gap between health systems and public health,” Dr. Ghaemmaghami said. “We will continue to build on our commitment to advancing world-class clinical care by implementing best practices, enhancing our efficiency and delivering the highest level of patient care.” 
