BRIDGETTE WIEFLING

BRIDGETTE WIEFLING

FORMER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ROCHESTER REGIONAL HEALTH

Editor’s note: Dr. Wiefling is starting a new role as SVP of Clinical Transformation High Mark Health at the end of this month.

What has been your organization’s biggest success over the past year?

RRH has been focused on the wellness of our patients and our employees. We successfully launched a highly effective virtual strategy with an exclusive vendor, Tytocare, allowing us to deliver effective, convenient care to our patients in the comfort of their homes while ensuring our clinicians have the clinical information needed to deliver quality care. RRH also launched a comprehensive employee wellness program to provide our team members the personal and professional support needed to care for themselves and their families. Our ambulatory nursing group, inclusive of the system-wide care management team, was the second organization in the world to achieve the prestigious Magnet designation, symbolizing the criticality of teamwork in the future of high-quality care delivery.

What advice would you give somebody just starting out in your industry?

Health care is a noble, gratifying field and it is on the precipice of difficult but exciting transformation. Health care of the future will look different. The challenges ahead will require sophisticated, humble and collaborative leadership to navigate successfully. Health systems will need to partner outside of their comfort zones to address social determinants of health, to create new relationships with employers and payers to achieve value, leverage technology and build sustainable workforce. For someone starting, I would tell them to listen and learn first, to not be afraid to tackle hard problems with fresh ideas or bring the smartest people to the table and never stray from the true north of putting patients first no matter what it means for you personally or professionally.

What is one personal goal you have for the next year?

My goal for the coming year is to continue my journey to lead in the transformation of health care in America. I believe health care must be easily accessible to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. As a profession we must understand and tackle medical bias. As systems we must take on the responsibility of creating simplicity and accountability to our patients and communities. As administrative leaders we must partner with our physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses to design sustainable healthcare of the future which takes advantage of automated intelligence, scientific medical advancements and the power of integration in a way that achieves better, safer outcomes.

What are your favorite things about Rochester?

The deep-rooted desire by leaders from all sectors to work together around tough problems to ensure Rochester continues to be an economically thriving, healthy and vibrant community. Through my years here I have witnessed unprecedented collaboration and innovation across industries and across organizations to achieve tough goals, build capital, and create tables that move the community forward. I am always proud to say I’m from Rochester.

This profile is part of Rochester Business Journal's Power 30 Health Care list for 2022. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.