In Wind Beneath Their Wings: Improving a County Health System, Caryn Stancik and Elizabeth Reidy describe their work as the Chief Communications Officer and General Counsel for a large and expanding government-run urban health system. They credit Ruth Rothstein, former CEO of the Cook County Hospital, for establishing a culture that promoted women into leadership positions. Rothstein had a remarkable life, progressing to CEO of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago and Cook County Hospital by demonstrating competence and an unwavering belief in justice. Her noteworthy accomplishments included building a new hospital to replace the old Cook County Hospital, acquiring funding for the eponymous Ruth Rothstein Core Center to provide HIV-AIDS care, and expanding the ambulatory clinic network to provide longitudinal healthcare. At Mt. Sinai Hospital, after being denied a job in medical administration because she did not have a college degree, Rothstein refused a secretarial position saying “I don’t type”. Her humor is evident when under a photograph of her with Golda Meir, the caption was added, “But can she type?”
David Schwartz discusses Ruth Rothstein in the Inspired to Heal episode Cook County Hospital’s Past & Present
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cook_County_Hospital.jpg, Jeff Dahl