I oversee our hospital, specialty clinics and primary-care practices that offer care to more than 6 million people living in 33 counties in Northern California. I make sure we have strong support for all of our clinical programs, which include the region's leading trauma, emergency and pediatric-care teams. Patient satisfaction, safety and quality-of-care are three of my top priorities.

What do you enjoy about your work?

First and foremost, I enjoy the amazing people with whom I work. Everyone demonstrates a high level of commitment to making our patients and their families feel safe and comfortable in our clinical care facilities. I also enjoy the challenge of guiding major projects, such as our new $424-million Surgical and Emergency Services Pavilion. It's very gratifying to discover and create unique solutions which, in turn, help us meet the needs of our fast-growing community.

Ann Madden Rice is the chief executive officer of UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. She is a nationally recognized expert in the management of health-care institutions.

As CEO, Rice oversees more than 6,500 employees at the medical center, an acute-care teaching hospital licensed with more than 600 beds and an annual budget of nearly $1 billion. Every year, UC Davis sees more than 200,000 patients, admits 25,000, and handles more than 900,000 outpatient visits. It serves 6 million residents in 33 counties encompassing 65,000 square miles of Northern and Central California. The emergency room sees an average of 150 patients every day.

Several independent, national organizations rank the medical center among the nation's best in safety, quality and patient satisfaction. It offers nationally regarded expertise in areas such as telemedicine, rural medicine, trauma and emergency care, primary care and cancer. It is the sole provider of a number of services for inland Northern California, including a Level 1 trauma center, a full-service children's hospital and a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center.

As the chief executive of Sacramento's second-largest employer, next to the state government, Rice occupies a key role in the health care and economy of the region, including oversight of a network of 130 primary care physicians in 10 Northern California communities.

Rice came to UC Davis in October 2006. She previously served as the associate director and chief operating officer for the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. Previous positions include chief financial officer of the Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, Iowa, and vice president of fiscal services for the Central Vermont Medical Center in Barre, Vermont.

Rice has been a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in industrial administration from Iowa State University and a master's degree in accounting from the University of Iowa. She is a fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and a diplomat of the American College of Healthcare Executives.