Patricia A. Gabow

Patricia Anne Gabow ( Acquaviva; born January 1944) is an American academic physician, medical researcher, healthcare executive, author and lecturer. Specializing in nephrology, she joined the department of medicine, division of renal diseases, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1973, advancing to a full professorship in 1987; she is presently Professor Emerita. She was the principal investigator on the National Institutes of Health Human Polycystic Kidney Disease research grant, which ran from 1985 to 1999, and defined the clinical manifestations and genetics of the disease in adults and children.

She served for two decades as CEO of Denver Health, an integrated public healthcare system in Denver, Colorado, where she implemented numerous business-based systems to streamline operations, improve patient care, and realize cost savings. In particular, her introduction of the "Lean" quality-improvement system, based on the Toyota Production System, earned her national recognition. She is the author of more than 150 articles and book chapters, four books, and has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, physician care, and leadership. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.

Early life and education Patricia Anne Acquaviva was born in 1944 Her parents, Patrick Acquaviva and Terese Colonna Acquaviva, married in 1942.

She earned her B.S. in biology at Seton Hill College in 1965. She received her M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1969. She began as an instructor in the Division of Renal Diseases at the University of Colorado, advancing to a full professorship in 1987. She and coauthor Philip L. Goodman received the 2015 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award for the book, while Denver Health itself received the Shingo Bronze Medallion. Gabow retired from Denver Health in September 2012. the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation board, and the Health Advisory Committee of the National Governors' Association. She serves on the Lown Institute Board, starting in 2017, and has been Chair since 2021. She served on the board of trustees of her alma mater, Seton Hill University, from 2015-2018.

Selected awards and honors Gabow is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing excellence in teaching and physician care, including the 1998 A.N. Richards Distinguished Achievement Award in Nephrology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the 2000 Florence Rena Sabin Award from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center,

Gabow has been recognized as a leading woman physician and role model by numerous organizations. She received the National Board of the Medical College of Pennsylvania Annual Award to an Outstanding Woman Physician in 1982, the Women of Distinction Award from the Mile Hi Council of Girl Scouts in 1998, and the Outstanding Women in Business award from the Denver Business Journal in 2005. The International Women's Forum and Colorado Women's Forum honored her as one of the Women Who Make a Difference in 2005, and the Women's Foundation of Colorado named her a Unique Woman of Colorado in 2007.

Gabow received an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Colorado in 2009 and an honorary doctorate of public service from the University of Denver in 2010.

Personal life In June 1971 she married Harold N. Gabow, a computer scientist. The couple have two children.