Dr. Patricia Gabow

Dr. Patricia Gabow
Public Health Advocate
1944 -
INDUCTED 2004

Dr. Patricia Gabow pioneered life- and cost-saving strategies in public hospitals at a time of soaring health care costs and quality care was out of reach for many Coloradans.

In 1965, when Patricia Gabow enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, she was one of five women in a class of 125. Years later she was leading a major public hospital system as CEO. She was at the helm of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority (DHHA) for twenty years until 2012. During her tenure she transformed Denver Health into a profitable independent agency caring for hundreds of thousands of patients. Under her leadership the system implemented the “lean methodologies” concept adapted from the Toyota Corporation, saving more than $170 million. Denver Health was named the best of 114 academic medical centers for patient mortality.

“You don’t have to change who you are, what you are, what you believe. If you’re a woman you can succeed in a man’s world.” —Dr. Patricia Gabow