Jack Cochran, MD 1973

Silver & Gold Award 2023

Silver & Gold Award - First awarded in 1969, this is the highest honor and recognition bestowed by the Medical Alumni Association. The Silver & Gold Award for Excellence in Humanitarianism, Citizenship and Professionalism is presented for outstanding service to the community and contributions to transform medicine.

Dr. Jack Conchran, MD, spent more than 50 years in health care as a plastic surgeon and medical executive. He started in dental school but decided his path was medicine and he enrolled at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he enjoyed many clinical rotations, especially surgery with a pediatrics focus.

While finishing an ENT residency at Stanford University, Dr. Cochran discovered his true calling: plastic surgery. He then completed his plastic surgery residency at the University of Wisconsin where he received strong pediatric exposure. From residency, Dr. Cochran joined a successful private practice group in Denver and loved the clinical group and work.  Increasing external pressures on the independence of private practice made him examine how the future would change.

He joined Kaiser Permanente to establish its plastic surgery program in Colorado and spent over 25 years in clinical practice. At Kaiser, he served in leadership capacity and was the Regional President of the Colorado Permanente Medical Group for nine years.

Due to the ascendance of the Colorado Region, Dr. Cochran became the Executive Director (CEO) of the national Permanente Federation of Kaiser’s 21,000 physicians. Under his leadership, Kaiser became recognized for clinical quality and completed the largest civilian deployment of an electronic health record.

Dr. Cochran has been recognized by colleagues in Modern Healthcare as among the Top 50 Physician Executives in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Dr. Cochran’s commitment to healthcare transformation can be seen through his knowledge sharing as a strategic advisor to technology CEO’s and through the development of other physician leaders.

He is also a prolific author and speaker; his latest book, Healer Leader, Partner, challenges physicians to honor the trusted role of healer but to also accept that patients need doctors to also embrace the roles of leader and partner.

Philanthropy has long been part of Dr. Cochran’s life through the financial support of medical student scholarships and through volunteerism. For more than three decades, in addition to his financial support, he has volunteered as a surgeon, providing care in South America and Asia. His global healthcare issues work has included financial support, but also volunteering as a clinical surgeon and teacher, including early career work in Latin America and Asia. For the past 30 years, Dr. Cochran has supported clinical care and the construction of two hospitals in East Africa.