Former UIHC CEO John Colloton dies at 94

IOWA CITY — Recognized in the name of one of University of Iowa Health Care’s four main hospital pavilions, 70 years after beginning a tenure at Iowa that saw unprecedented growth and campuswide transformation, former hospital director John William Colloton died Friday, Nov. 14, in Iowa City. He was 94 years old.

During his time as UIHC director from 1971 to 1993, three out of five Iowa families received care at or through the university system, according to estimates, while seven of 10 Iowa doctors received all or part of their medical education or training at UIHC.

“It’s truly remarkable when you consider the impact John Colloton made on our health care system, the university as a whole, and the health and well-being of Iowans and their families,” UI Vice President for Medical Affairs and UI Carver College of Medicine Dean Denise Jamieson said in a statement.

Colloton oversaw a campus transformation in the form of new facilities, staffing increases, medical specialty expansion, and new outreach clinics across the state — boosting patient numbers.

“So much of what UI Health Care represents today can be traced back to his vision,” Jamieson said. “He cared deeply about the university and our health system — and it’s because he cared so much about Iowa and its people.”

‘Unprecedented growth’

Born in 1931 in Mason City and graduating from Loras College in 1953, Colloton — following a stint in the U.S. Army — used the GI bill to pursue a UI master’s degree in hospital administration in 1957.

Starting as an administrative resident at what was known as University Hospitals in the late 1950s, Colloton advanced to become the system’s youngest-ever hospital director in 1971 — a position he retained for 22 years.

“His appointment marked the start of a two-decade period of hospital leadership and unprecedented growth in medical personnel and services and the construction of modern-era patient care facilities,” according to a UIHC announcement of his passing. “These capital improvements were vital to recruiting and retaining physicians and other health professionals and establishing programs of world-class medical care for patients.”

Even before Colloton’s appointment to director, he advanced quickly in the 1960s to assistant and then associate hospital director — playing a lead role in preserving state support as Medicare and Medicaid were established.

Strategic planning was paramount during that time — given the hospital for much of its history functioned as an indigent care referral facility, meaning Iowans with money or insurance often chose private or out-of-state hospitals.

With Medicare and Medicaid, older and low-income patients common to the University Hospital could get their care in their communities — a shift that could have hurt UIHC patient totals, according to the university.

Colloton’s leadership to secure Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements for patient care services helped support specialty care programs that both boosted health care access and training opportunities.

Growing pains

But growth in programs and people demanded physical expansion and facility upgrades — with Colloton focused on the declining condition and limitations across the general hospital, which debuted in 1928 and no longer could meet present-day demands.

“Colloton’s goal was to expand and modernize hospital services at Iowa that would compete with those in larger metropolitan areas in neighboring states,” according to the university, reporting the late director’s role in conceiving, gaining support for, and securing financing for capital upgrades.

Specifically, UIHC spent more than $500 over Colloton’s two decades at the helm building new patient care facilities — notably without state funding — starting with what has been named the Willard L. and Susan Boyd Tower in 1976.

That was followed by the Roy J. Carver Pavilion in 1977 and a new patient care addition in 1982 that the Board of Regents named to honor Colloton: the John W. Colloton Pavilion.

The John Pappajohn Pavillion debuted in 1991, and a new Pomerantz Family Pavilion came online in 1996 — after Colloton left the top job. But even then, officials said his long-term vision, planning, and ability to persuade and procure resources was imperative.

“Many leaders are captives of the present,” former UI President Boyd said of Colloton in 2003, according to the university. “[Colloton] kept growing, never reaching a plateau … the more challenges he faced, the better he got. He wasn’t afraid of anything.”

Director emeritus

Colloton stepped down from his directorship in 1993 to serve as UI vice president for statewide health services. Compared to when he began, UIHC staff had tripled and patient visits had doubled, according to the university.

In his new job, Colloton could focus on health care policy and reform — impacting not just the UIHC system but the state as a whole and academic medicine in general. He ended his tenure in that position in 2001, transitioning to UIHC director emeritus.

In addition to his work service, Colloton and his wife, Mary Ann, gave generously to the UI system via its Stead Family Children’s Hospital, University Libraries, UI School of Religion, Hancher Auditorium, UI College of Public Health, medical research and the Medical Education and Research Facility, and men’s and women’s athletics.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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