Kaufman Hall Adds Workforce Optimization Expert to Strategic Cost Transformation Team

SKOKIE, Ill. – March 27, 2017 – Kaufman Hall, the leading provider of management consulting services and enterprise performance management software for healthcare organizations, today announced that Therese Fitzpatrick, RN, PhD, FAAN has joined the firm as a Senior Vice President in the firm’s Strategic Cost Transformation practice. Dr. Fitzpatrick has 40 years of healthcare experience spanning operations and policy development in local, regional, and global markets. Over the course of her career in healthcare, she has worked as a clinician, administrator, educator, and consultant and provided thought leadership and analytical support to governments, geographic regions, and health systems in the service of creating sustainable population health solutions and clinical and business performance improvement across the continuum of care. 

Dr. Fitzpatrick has gained particular notoriety for her expertise in the area of workforce planning and optimization. That expertise is based on her work leading teams in analyzing big data sets and performing qualitative assessments of the clinical environment to inform the development of algorithms and advanced resource models used to support improved clinical outcomes.

“For human capital resource planning, leaders tend to think about likely solutions in zero-sum terms. In other words, a solution that meets financial goals might mean sacrificing staff satisfaction, whereas achieving staff satisfaction might mean forfeiting financial targets,” Dr. Fitzpatrick said. “But optimization modeling can create a win-win solution even for complex problems. Although it requires leaders to re-conceptualize the planning and deployment process as a logistics problem, it allows them to use innovative solutions that other industries have relied on for years to revolutionize processes and improve business results.”   

Dr. Fitzpatrick has written about the innovative, logistics-oriented approach to clinical workforce planning in several industry journals, including American Nurse Today, The Journal of Nursing Administration, and Nursing Economics. She is also frequently asked to speak on the subject at industry forums like the American Organization of Nursing Executive’s Annual Meeting, where she will be co-presenting “Optimizing Nurse Staffing: Creating the Staffing Ecosystem” with Margaret Gavigan, System Vice President of Nursing Business Operations at Advocate Health Care, on April 1.

Dr. Fitzpatrick’s previous positions include serving as Executive Vice President at Assay Healthcare Solutions and The Optime Group, as Senior Vice President at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee.

She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a Masters in Nursing Administration and a B.S.N., both from DePaul University. She was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 2016, and is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Assistant Professor at Augusta University in Augusta, GA.

“Dr. Fitzpatrick is truly an innovator within healthcare, and we are excited to add her expertise to our Strategic Cost Transformation team,” said Therese Wareham, CEO at Kaufman Hall. “In today’s environment, it is critical for hospitals and health systems to become more advanced in how they plan and manage the deployment of clinical staff. Her work in advancing the use of optimization modeling techniques and tools in the industry provides a clear and effective path for organizations to improve coverage, reduce costs, and enhance staff satisfaction.”