Vice President | Patient Experience

Vice President, Patient Experience

Love + medicine is who we are, it's what we do, it's why people want to work here. If you're looking for a job to love, apply today.

Scheduled Weekly Hours: 40

Reports to: Chief People Officer

Location: Primarily on-site in Green Bay and La Crosse, WI. Candidates can reside in either market but there is an expectation to spend equal time in both markets. Candidates must reside in WI, MI, MN, or IA at the time of hire.

About the Opportunity:

Emplify Health is seeking a Vice President, Patient Experience to serve as the enterprise leader responsible for shaping the strategy, governance, operating model, and culture that drive exceptional human experiences across the organization. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this leader will integrate patient, family, workforce, and community experience into a unified enterprise strategy that advances quality, safety, workforce engagement, operational excellence, and organizational reputation.

This role provides leadership across all regions and care settings and partners closely with executive leaders, physicians, nursing, operations, IT Digital Services, HR, quality, and finance. The Vice President will serve as a senior advisor to executive leadership and the Board on patient experience, helping ensure Emplify Health continues to strengthen the way patients, families, caregivers, and communities experience care.

Why This Role Matters

This is a high-impact enterprise leadership opportunity with visibility across Emplify Health's regions and care settings. The Vice President, Patient Experience will help shape and align best practices across the organization, strengthen governance and accountability, and partner closely with executive leaders, the Board, and the culture and engagement team. The role offers the chance to build on strong patient experience performance, improve consistency in how feedback is translated into action, and advance a more integrated approach to patient, physician, and digital experience.

Major Responsibilities:

• Establish and execute the enterprise patient experience strategy.
• Establish enterprise governance for patient advocacy, grievances, and service recovery.
• Lead the enterprise listening strategy integrating patient, family, caregiver, and community feedback.
• Govern enterprise dashboards connecting experience, workforce, quality, safety, operations, and financial performance.
• Champion digital and AI-enabled innovations that reduce friction for patients and caregivers.
• Ensure experience strategies address health equity and disparities.
• Partner with HR to sponsor organization-wide culture transformation centered on empathy, belonging, psychological safety, and service excellence.
• Partner with HR to embed experience into leadership development, onboarding, recognition, and performance management.
• Represent Emplify Health externally through professional organizations and strategic partnerships.

Core for all Leaders

• Organizational Strategy and Implementation -- Recognizes market trends, judges the impact on their AOR, contributes to responsive strategic plans, develops AOR operational plans, articulates these plans, and ensures they are communicated to gain alignment and commitment of all AOR staff.
• Fiscal Management -- Effectively uses established processes to ensure accountability for effective operations and resource management.
• Human Resource Management -- Effectively uses established processes to: select, align, develop, motivate, manage, and retain a team of highly skilled employees.
• Excellence in Service and Quality-- Achieves seamless delivery of quality patient care, safety, excellence in patient experience, and customer service. Utilizes Continuous Quality Improvement principles and platform planning in decisions, improvements, and system design.
• Organizational Leadership -- Provides leadership and accomplishes objectives by ensuring the integration of processes and initiatives while modeling collaboration. Participates and supports in brand/service delivery teams as requested.
• Maintains accountability for implementation of requirements of regulatory agencies
• Serves as liaison to the community
• Duties and responsibilities as defined by specific department (if applicable)

Qualifications:

Required Education

• Master's degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Human Services, or a health-related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience; or master's degree acquired within 5 years of hire.

Required Certification/Registration/Licensure

• Certified Patient Experience Professional (CPXP) within 3 years of hire.

Required Experience

• 10+ years of progressive healthcare leadership, including executive-level responsibility.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise transformation in a matrixed health system.

Desired Qualifications

• Health system integration experience.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or Design Thinking certification.
• Experience with AI-enabled experience solutions.

The Organization:

Emplify Health is comprised of two of the Midwest's most respected healthcare systems, Bellin Health and Gundersen Health System. Once neighbors, we are now partners, united in our mission to provide exceptional care to our communities. As a not-for-profit, patient-centered healthcare network, we have headquarters in Green Bay and La Crosse, Wisconsin. Our extensive network includes 11 hospitals and more than 100 clinics, serving 67 cities and rural communities across Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With over 4,500 dedicated nurses and providers, we are committed to delivering primary, specialty and emergency care, along with innovative medical education programs.

• Mission: Together, we inspire your best life by relentlessly caring, learning and innovating.
• Vision: Leading with love, we courageously commit to a future of healthy people and thriving communities.
• Values: Belonging, Respect, Excellence, Accountability, Teamwork, Humility

The Communities:

• About Us: Bellin and Gundersen Health Systems, headquartered in Green Bay, WI, and La Crosse, WI, respectively, are now united as Emplify Health. We serve communities across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, providing primary, specialty, and emergency care.
• About La Crosse, WI: La Crosse is a vibrant city nestled along the Mississippi River, known for its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. It offers a high quality of life with excellent schools, diverse recreational activities, and a strong sense of community. Our La Crosse Campus is home to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, providing specialized care and a wide range of outpatient services.
• About Green Bay, WI: Green Bay, famous for its passionate sports culture and the Green Bay Packers, is a thriving city with a welcoming community. It boasts a robust economy, top-notch educational institutions, and numerous parks and recreational facilities. Bellin Health's flagship campus in Green Bay is renowned for its emphasis on preventive healthcare and specialties like cardiac, orthopedics, and mental health.

Why Consider Emplify Health?

• Comprehensive Benefits Package: We offer a comprehensive benefits package that varies based on your location. To learn more about the specific benefits available in your area, please inquire with the recruiter during the application process.
• Comprehensive Care: Be part of a team that delivers compassionate, patient-centered care across multiple specialties.
• Community Impact: Work in communities where your contributions make a tangible difference in people's lives.
• Professional Growth: Access continuous learning opportunities and career development programs.
• Collaborative Environment: Join a supportive network of healthcare professionals committed to excellence.

Application Process:

Interested and qualified candidates are directed to submit their application materials at the apply link. Please note that all inquiries and applications will be handled with strict confidentiality. References may be requested.

If you need assistance with any portion of the application or have questions about the position, please contact HR-Recruitment@gundersenhealth.org or call 608-775-0267.

We inspire your best life by relentlessly caring, learning and innovating. This is our purpose. Together with our values belonging, respect, excellence, accountability, teamwork and humility our pillars set our foundation and our future.

Equal Opportunity Employer