When CJ Lee, chief strategy officer for UC Riverside Health, decided to attend UCR for his bachelor’s degree decades ago, he didn’t realize the decision would shape his entire career in healthcare. With his choice at that time between UC Berkeley and UCR for business school, the Northern California native chose Riverside for a change of scenery--and has been in the Inland Empire ever since.

An internship through UCR launched Lee’s healthcare career, which went on to include over two decades of healthcare consulting, strategy, and administration with healthcare networks and hospitals throughout the region. In addition to promoting clinical expansion at Riverside Community Hospital as vice president of business development, his prior work included a strategic role at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in San Bernardino County, where he helped facilitate regional access initiatives.

In March, Lee joined UCR Health. “That experience I've gained throughout my decades long work in the healthcare field will be used to propel us to that next level in the future as the regional provider of choice who brings academic medicine to the community,” he said. “It feels like coming full circle in my life and being able to do something for this organization and the community that it serves.”

Lee’s role involves working on the UCR Health executive team to expand healthcare service offerings to patients across the Inland Empire as well as partnering with the UCR School of Medicine to enhance physician training programs. “We’re developing the strategy of the future as we look to expand our network and create facilities for integrating the continuum of care for patients,” he explained.

In particular, Lee is working to develop an integrated network of clinicians and services at UCR Health by partnering with community providers to increase the number of high-quality specialty services available to patients. “This allows us to establish that community trust in the network by working with a wide variety of clinicians  as well as facilities to deliver a superior health care model focused on quality,” he said.

The expanded network, which will also grant easier access to UCR Health physicians,  will initially be open to UC employees on the Blue and Gold Plan beginning in 2026 before becoming available to all patients. “This progress is very exciting and will be a first milestone for us,” Lee said.

At the same time, Lee is focused on facilitating an integrated, standardized electronic medical records system to further improve patient care. “We want to make sure that everybody that interacts with that patient is aligned with the quality plan in place for each person,” he explained, including ensuring that physicians at each step all share the same notes, assessment results, and metrics for each patient. “UC Riverside Health has an opportunity to integrate many different pieces that are fragmented at this point, to make sure patients experience a smooth process of receiving care in an efficient and quality-driven manner to improve population health in this area,” he added.

In 2028, UCR Health plans to launch a new clinic, the specialty ambulatory center (SAC), which will house multispecialty clinics along with a surgical center. Eventually, the goal is to open a new academic medical center to serve the region. “The things that UCR Health is doing right now, in combination with the School of Medicine, is to lay the groundwork for that academic medical center,” said Lee, labeling it a “cornerstone achievement.” “We plan to train those doctors of the future…and as the network grows in need and size and scale and scope, it will be a key strategy for us to work hand in hand with the School of Medicine to retain physicians of the future within the UCR Health family, seeing patients here in the Inland Empire.”

Lee recognizes the challenges his team faces, including a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape and the dynamics of the local patient population. “We know the partnerships and ventures that we make with everybody are going to be paramount to us overcoming these challenges,” he said.

After several months in his role, Lee expressed his excitement at helping UCR Health progress toward its goals, step by step. “We’re actively developing the structure and framework necessary to expand our clinical network, establish new care locations, and deliver academic medicine in ways that have not previously been available in the Inland Empire,” he said. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see meaningful progress along the way--these are significant accomplishments that represent firsts for UC Riverside Health, and they reflect the momentum behind our mission.”

The process reflects a longstanding commitment to the university’s mission that began during his undergraduate years. “As a UCR alumnus from the 1990s, I have a personal commitment to advancing UCR Health’s presence and capabilities across the Inland Empire,” Lee said. “I’m proud to be part of this effort and look forward to working collaboratively with our many stakeholders to bring these shared goals to life.”