Dr. Ngozi Ezike named new president and CEO of Sinai Chicago hospital system

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike has been hired as the new president and CEO of Sinai Chicago, the city's largest private safety net hospital system.

Ezike, who had spent the past two years helping Illinois navigate the COVID-19 pandemic before stepping down last month, will begin her new post on June 13.

"I received many calls about various opportunities over the past year, but this is the right choice for me and the right moment. Sinai Chicago is where I want to be," Ezike said in a statement.

She replaces Karen Teitelbaum, who announced she was stepping down last September after 15 years.

"We are excited to bring a leader with such experience and passion as Dr. Ezike to Sinai Chicago," Sinai Chicago Board Chair Vincent R. Williams said in a statement. "She is a strong, trusted and well-respected leader who has made a real difference in the lives of so many in the statewide response to the worst pandemic the world has seen in over a century. After an extensive selection process, we are confident Dr. Ezike has the vision and dedication to lead Sinai Chicago into its next century of service."

Ezike has said it was a "tremendous pleasure" to serve as head of the Illinois Department of Public Health for three years, including for two years during the pandemic. She was the first Black woman to lead IDPH.

"And (I'm) glad that I served as a role model to young girls, girls of color, little Black girls, that they can be leaders in any field. And I'm proud to show our young boys as well the future men of our society. Examples of women in leadership I'm proud to exemplify that empathy and strength can exist in the same body and in the same breath," Ezike said last month when she announced her resignation from IDPH.

Last month, Gov. JB Pritzker thanked Ezike for her tireless efforts over the last three years.

"Throughout the crisis. She has stood beside me every step of the way. I am not putting it lightly when I say that she has had one of the hardest jobs in the world. There is something particularly heroic about the service of an extraordinary individual who did not seek greatness, but found it anyway," Pritzker said, who added that while he respects her decision to leave, he appreciated her dedication.

"It is a change that I'm loath to accept but perhaps she can finally get a good night's sleep and precious time with her husband and her four kids. And boy it is well deserved," Pritzker said. "She will go down in the Illinois history books as a woman who changed our state for the better. She saved lives, many thousands of lives."