Anne Marie Keown Biography

About

Anne-Marie Keown is a UCD Doctoral student and the  Director of System Integration and Redesign at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin. A physiotherapist by profession, she has over 30 years of experience in clinical practice, senior management, and national leadership roles. She graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy from the University of Ulster in 1988, completed an MSc at the University of London, and is currently undertaking a PhD at University College Dublin. She has also pursued advanced leadership development through the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Office of Health Management, the Centre for Creative Leadership in Brussels, and the University of Cardiff Business School.

Anne-Marie’s career began as a physiotherapist in Cardiff before moving to Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, where she rose from senior to clinical specialist. She went on to serve as Head of Physiotherapy and then Director of Clinical Services at the Mater Hospital. From 2012 she held national leadership positions, including Programme Manager for the Acute Medicine Programme and Interim Lead of the HSE Special Delivery Unit. She subsequently became Director of Transformation and Chief Operating Officer of the Ireland East Hospital Group before returning to the Mater Hospital in 2021 as Director of Regional Integration and System Redesign.

Her leadership achievements have been recognised with the Irish Medical Times Healthcare Management Award and the Taoiseach’s Public Service Excellence Award for her role in implementing the National Early Warning Score. She has also contributed extensively to the professional community as Board Member, Executive Director, and Vice Chair of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists, and as Chair of its Management Faculty.

Internationally, Anne-Marie is acknowledged as a thought leader in health system transformation. She has presented at the Stanford Lean Healthcare Academic Conference and co-authored a chapter in International Examples of Lean in Healthcare (Routledge, 2023). Her publications and case studies document how Lean and person-centred approaches can drive redesign of acute care and integration of health services.

She remains committed to person-centred care, leadership for improvement, and developing healthful cultures that empower both patients and staff.