Pennsylvania seems to produce top healthcare executives like it does quarterbacks and Tom Zenty is no exception to that tradition. Zenty, 57, is president and CEO of University Hospitals, the Cleveland-based health system anchored by a 1,032-bed tertiary medical center, UH Case Medical Center, an affiliate of Case Western Reserve University, and incorporating three specialty hospitals and six community hospitals serving northeast Ohio. It’s an organization that seems to win awards and recognition yearly, including UH Case Medical Center being named one of US News & World Report Best Hospitals in 2012. Born in the town of Carbondale in northeast Pennsylvania, Zenty’s grandfathers were coalminers. He earned his undergraduate degree at Penn State in health planning administration and a master’s degree in hospital administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati and another master’s degree in public administration from New York University. “I wanted to be a healthcare CEO from the time I was 15,” says Zenty, who credits a hometown physician for encouraging him to work at local hospitals. He did an internship in Connecticut followed by stints at hospitals in Hoboken and Jersey City, N.J. and Phoenix prior to serving as executive VP and COO at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. He took the top job at University Hospitals in 2003. Single, Zenty spends his free time scuba diving, golfing, reading and serving on many civic, professional and corporate boards.