Taking the Lead: An Inside Look at Eskenazi Health’s Leadership Featuring Dr. Jo Ann Matory

This blog post is part of a series titled Taking the Lead: An Inside Look at Eskenazi Health's Leadership. Different leaders throughout Eskenazi Health will be featured, giving an inside look at their work roles, backgrounds, passions and even hobbies. We hope you enjoy learning about some of the exceptional leaders Eskenazi Health is proud to employ.

Charged with overseeing the treatment of the most vulnerable of all patients, Dr. Jo Ann Matory is the medical director of the Eskenazi Health Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In this role, Dr. Matory serves as the coordinator of patient care management between the Eskenazi Health NICU and the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine residency program.

Dr. Matory followed in her mother’s footsteps by attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for her undergraduate studies and majored in biology/ chemistry with a minor in music. She attended medical school and completed a neonatology fellowship at the University of Illinois. Dr. Matory served her pediatric residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.

Having grown up always wanting to be a physician, Dr. Matory briefly questioned her decision after completing her undergraduate studies. She took a job working in the hematology lab at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, and realized after only one month that becoming a doctor was indeed her true calling.

Dr. Matory worked in several health care systems in St. Louis, Chicago and Atlanta. She provided medical direction in special care nurseries and NICUs in Chicago and Atlanta prior to being recruited by the IU School of Medicine and beginning her work in the Eskenazi Health NICU in 1999.

She describes her daily work at Eskenazi Health as “highly variable,” particularly when she is not on clinical service. During her service rotations, Dr. Matory is responsible for medical supervision and direction of patient care and management for high-risk patients in the NICU. She often attends committee meetings to work with others on protocols and plan projects.

Dr. Matory relishes the opportunity to educate and positively impact patient families regarding health care needs for their newborns in the NICU. She also enjoys her ongoing association with the IU School of Medicine that ensures continued educational opportunities.

She believes her fellow Eskenazi Health employees share a sense of family found in the hallways, the dining areas and in the health care units of the hospital. Dr. Matory also believes her values align with those of Eskenazi Health, namely to provide exceptional care for all patients and to encourage and support the continuation of appropriate health care maintenance.

A member of the National Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Matory works diligently to provide a positive difference in the health and well-being of her patients and their families.

In her spare time, Dr. Matory enjoys yoga, attending plays, going to museums, attending classical music concerts, trying new recipes and gardening. She loves sports cars, and ever since third grade, she’s thoroughly enjoyed playing the piano. One of her favorite passions is traveling with daughters Jasmine and Kristen, whenever they’re between semesters in college and graduate school.