From November 1, 1974, until his retirement in 2009, Gordon Derzon served as CEO of University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics (the predecessor to UW Health), the state's largest hospital. He guided this internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital through a period of tremendous change, growth and success, as well as challenging times in American healthcare. During his tenure, Derzon oversaw the initial construction of the University of Wisconsin Hospital at its current location (previously located on University Avenue), the development of cooperative health service arrangements with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Madison, an automated cart delivery system for patients, a hospital service employees' strike, restructuring of the hospital into a public authority, additional renovation and expansion of the hospital, and the creation of a helicopter emergency service.
Derzon also steered UW Hospitals & Clinics through the development of managed care health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that "threatened the financial viability of high-cost teaching hospitals." He led the organization through its early transition to a vertically integrated system, where the insurance company (Unity), the hospital, and the doctors (formerly UW Medical Foundation) all came under one umbrella.
Beyond his innovative leadership at UW Health, Derzon has been deeply involved in community health and education initiatives locally, nationally, and internationally. In 2010, as chair of its capital campaign, he helped Access Community Health Centers raise $5 million to construct its newest South Madison location. From 2015-2016, he helped One City Early Learning raise $1.5 million to renovate its current location. He serves on the Boards of Directors of Agrace HospiceCare, Madison College Foundation, and Combat Blindness International, and has been a long-time member and past chair of the American Hospital Association.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduate of Shorewood High School in Shorewood, Wisconsin, Derzon received his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Dartmouth College in 1957. He earned a certificate in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics in England, followed by a Master's Degree in Hospital Administration from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1961. Prior to leading UW Hospitals and Clinics, Derzon served as an administrative resident at Brooklyn Hospital (1960-1961); administrative assistant (1961-1963), assistant executive director (1963-1965), and executive director (1966-1968) of the State University Hospital in Brooklyn; executive director of Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn (1968-1974); associate professor at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center (1967-1974); and adjunct professor at Brooklyn College of Pharmacy of Long Island (NY) University.
Derzon and his wife Gail have a daughter, Ann, and divide their time between Madison and Hawaii. His brother Robert (1930-2009) also had a distinguished career in healthcare, serving as the associate director of New York University Medical Center and as the commissioner who organized New York's 17 largest hospitals into one public authority. In 1977, Robert reorganized Medicare and Medicaid into a single federal agency as an appointee of U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
