In addition to her academic and leadership experience, Dr. Kennedy serves as course director and faculty for the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Leadership Academy, where she teaches leadership principles to clinicians and professionals nationwide. She speaks nationally on topics such as conflict resolution for leaders, emotional intelligence, building high-performing teams, and leveraging positive psychology to drive improvement.
She currently serves as the Chief Medical & Quality Officer for UAB Hospital, a 1,247-bed quaternary care hospital and academic medical center and the 8th largest hospital in the United States. In this role, she oversees clinical quality, patient safety, and organizational performance.
She is recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) and a Senior Fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SFHM).
Kierstin Cates Kennedy, MD, MSHA is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a career grounded in advancing quality, safety, and leadership in healthcare. She previously served as Chief of Hospital Medicine at UAB (2018–2021) and Director of Quality for Hospital Medicine (2014–2018). Across these roles, she has contributed to institutional improvements through process redesign, enhanced care delivery, and strengthened operational efficiency.
Dr. Kennedy has held numerous leadership positions focused on elevating clinical performance and supporting teams through evidence-based strategies. Her work has consistently emphasized sustainable improvement and the development of healthy, effective organizational cultures.
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The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to a UAB graduate whose professional and community accomplishments are outstanding. The recipient must be one who is distinguished in his/her profession or other worthy endeavors, has demonstrated a continual interest in UAB, and who is a member in good standing of the UAB National Alumni Society. The recipient’s school or college awards a $4,000 student scholarship the following fiscal year.
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Now known as the Paul Batalden Award, recognizes a VAQS graduate’s outstanding accomplishments in the field of healthcare improvement and patient safety. The winner of the award is invited to speak at the annual program conference: VAQS Summer Institute.
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ellowship in the American College of Physicians is a peer-reviewed and peer-supported credential that is a public reflection of excellence within the internal medicine profession. FACP signifies an ongoing dedication to the profession of internal medicine, the patients we care for, and the communities we serve.
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The Society of Hospital Medicine's Fellows Program is rooted in the Society's Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine. Those who earn the Fellow in Hospital Medicine, Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine, or Master in Hospital Medicine designations have demonstrated their commitment to hospital medicine, system change and quality improvement principles. To become a Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine (SFHM), the candidate must follow a similar process to that of becoming a fellow, but with additional criteria within leadership, teamwork, and quality improvement that enable candidates to demonstrate a higher level of performance and commitment to hospital medicine.
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This award recognizes their exceptional achievements in service within the Heersink School of Medicine. The staff members selected for this honor have significantly contributed to the core mission areas (education, clinical care, and basic, translational, and clinical research) and demonstrated outstanding accomplishments beyond their job description