Donna Thompson, RN, MS
Chief Executive Officer
Donna Thompson joined Access Community Health Network (ACCESS) in 1995 as the Chief Operating Officer and was named Chief Executive Officer in November 2004. Prior to joining ACCESS, she spent 14 years as a staff nurse and manager as well as served as the Director of Pediatrics at Christ Hospital and Medical Center.
Under Thompson’s leadership, ACCESS has grown from 43 to 50 health centers and now has an annual operating budget of $106 million. She led the first and subsequent reviews of ACCESS to achieve Joint Commission accreditation, placing the organization’s quality of care among the top 10 percent of ambulatory care providers in the nation. She has also pioneered several community health center practices that break new ground and have been recognized nationally: physician compensation tied to quality measures; provision of neighborhood-based specialty care; co-location with social service and other agencies to reach specialized isolated populations; collaborations with hospitals to address emergency room overcrowding; and research partnerships to generate evidence-based insights about its practices and patients.
The overall health of women and children is a passion of Thompson’s. In 2002, she organized the Stand Against Cancer, bringing together a diverse group of more than 1,400 women to advocate for increased breast and cervical cancer funding. As a result, Governor Blagojevich and the Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Women’s Health, provided funding of $4 million in 2004 and have continued funding in subsequent years.
In recognition of her leadership and contributions to community health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation selected Thompson as an Executive Nurse Fellow in 2003. Thompson is also co-chair of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force and is considered one of “the three most powerful women in health care in Chicago” according to Steve Whitman, director of the Sinai Urban Health Institute. She serves on the Boards of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Blue Island, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Chicago Foundation of Women. In 2007, she won the Athena Award for professional excellence and was selected as one of Chicago United’s Business Leaders of Color.