Tracy Gates

Tracy Gates’ vision for UPMC Chautauqua will stay the same – to continue to serve the community.

In September, Gates was appointed president of UPMC Chautauqua replacing Brian Durniok.

“I’m very excited about it, and enjoying every minute of it so far,” Gates said about her appointment.

Gates added that at UPMC, she will continue to leverage the strengths and expertise of the hospital to continue its mission.

“I think we’ve got some existing strategic goals that have been set before I got here that really centered around assuring patients that our workforce (members) are at the core of what we do,” Gates said.

The focus of UPMC, she noted, is to provide a high quality, safe environment for everybody who enters the hospital.

“We want to make sure we have great access for services, and we continue to be a financially viable community asset,” Gates said. “My vision for the hospital is for it to be here long beyond my life, and be able to be here to serve the community for many years to come.”

The new hospital president said that UPMC is a blend of city and rural healthcare.

“I think that being the hospital here, serving Jamestown in the core has its own feel of a city,” Gates said. “We serve the whole county in my mind, and so even in our secondary markets, there are many rural communities, so I see it as both.”

Gates served as senior vice president, chief operating officer, and vice president of System Integration for Centralus Health, a newly formed integrated delivery network in Upstate New York. While there, she oversaw operations across three hospitals and two skilled nursing facilities, while helping to lead the integration of Cayuga Health System and Arnot Health. Prior to her tenure at Centralus Health, she held leadership roles at several other New York based hospitals and health systems.

She said being able to help people is what led her to being a healthcare executive.

“I love to help people, and I think I’m really driven by helping people, and improve their health,” Gates noted.

Gates added that early in her career, she realized that helping people was something that came naturally to her.

“I’ve continued in it (healthcare), because I really do care about people and their health, and I think I can make a difference by supporting the various initiatives that we have,” Gates said. “The landscape is always changing, so I also love the changing environment.”

Gates received both a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Business Administration at Empire State College. She is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has served on many community focused and national committees and boards.

Gates said no two days are the same, and for anyone aspiring to become a healthcare executive, she said, is to gain experience in entry-level healthcare positions, and find a mentor.

“I think I’m a perfect example of that,” Gates said of starting her career as a medical transcriptionist. “Gain experience by working in the environment, and not being shy about trying new areas, and get a good sense of what it’s like, but more than that, find a mentor, somebody that can help you identify the leadership strengths that you have the opportunity and start to build who you are as a leader as well.”

UPMC announced in December 2023 that it was searching for Durniok’s replacement after Durniok, who was named UPMC Chautauqua president in 2019, announced he had been named president of UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa.