For the third consecutive year, George Yoo, M.D., FACS, chief medical officer (CMO) at Karmanos Cancer Hospital, was again listed on Becker’s Hospital Review’s Hospital and Health System Chief Medical Officers to Know. The 2026 list includes over 250 CMOs nationwide who are steadfast advocates for patient safety, trusted liaisons between medical staff and executive leadership and powerful catalysts for meaningful change. The named CMOs are leaders elevating standards through innovative quality-improvement and safety initiatives.
About Dr. Yoo
Dr. Yoo became Karmanos' CMO in October 2008. He oversees Karmanos’ comprehensive medical operations and spearheads strategic initiatives. As CMO, Dr. Yoo is a pivotal senior executive team member, overseeing medical directors, multidisciplinary teams of specialists and the entire medical staff. He’s active in numerous committees at Karmanos Cancer Hospital and Wayne State University (WSU), many of which he holds board positions on.
With Karmanos’ robust research partnership with WSU, as CMO, Dr. Yoo contributes to academia at the School of Medicine, to clinical research, and to securing investigational funds for cancer care development. He joined the faculty in 1996 and has made significant contributions to the Department of Oncology as a tenured professor. Dr. Yoo's dedication to education is reflected in his training and mentoring of otolaryngology residents and head and neck fellows.
He was also one of the champions behind initiating the oncology service line within McLaren Health Care shortly after the corporation acquired Karmanos in 2014. This service line became known as the Karmanos Cancer Network.
In addition to being the CMO at Karmanos, Dr. Yoo is an ear, nose and throat specialist (otolaryngologist), surgical oncologist, and a member of the Head and Neck Oncology and Cutaneous (Skin) Oncology Multidisciplinary Teams. He sees patients not only at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit but also at Karmanos Cancer Institute at the Weisberg Cancer Center in Farmington Hills and Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Flint. He is also a member of the Molecular Therapeutics Research Program.
Dr. Yoo has been recognized for his practice and bedside manner. He was named to the HOUR Detroit Magazine’s Top Doc List 16 times between 2005 and 2026 and was named one of America’s Top Doctors and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer by Castle Connolly Medical, Ltd. multiple times between 2012 and 2026.
Read the complete list of Becker’s 2025 CMOs to Know here.