Making business proposals that healthcare executives can’t refuse: The art and science of successful business cases

Vicki Briggs, MBA, and Lifetime Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives is an experienced healthcare executive with over 35 years of C-Suite experience in hospital and healthcare system administration in the not-for-profit and for-profit healthcare sectors.  She retired as CEO of UT Health Tyler in October 2022 after joining UTHET in March 2018 when the joint venture was formed by UT and Ardent Health Services to acquire the ETMC Regional Health System.

Throughout her career, Ms. Briggs has had responsibility for 25 hospitals ranging from small rural, critical access, community, and specialty to large tertiary with teaching programs.  She has held the positions of Division CEO, Market CEO, System COO, Hospital CEO, and Hospital CFO.  She has worked with national healthcare systems including HCA, Ascension Health and Ardent Health Services.

While Ms. Briggs has broad experience in healthcare her most notable areas of expertise and results include organizational culture, employee engagement, physician alignment, women’s healthcare, compliance, clinically integrated systems of care, and operational excellence including LEAN. Her commitment to recognizing the importance of supporting employees at the bedside was acknowledged in 2022 and 2021 when she was recognized as Best Boss by the Tyler Telegraph Best in Town program.

Briggs earned her B.S. in Accounting from Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, where she was recognized as a top 50 graduate during the 50^th anniversary celebration.  She completed her MBA at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. She was named the Brock School of Business alumni of the year in 2013.

She has demonstrated her commitment to the communities where she has worked and lived through her involvement with not-for-profit organizations including the American Heart Association, United Way, March of Dimes, Red Cross, Salvation Army and Rotary.  Nationally she served on and chaired the Board of the National Perinatal Information Center, was a member of the Regional Policy Board of the American Hospital Association and the Maternal Child Section.  She has served as Chair of the Board of the Southeast Affiliate of the American Heart Association and served on the Audit and Quality Committees. She co-founded the Council of Women’s and Children’s Hospitals. She has been a speaker for the American Hospital Association, HFMA and ACHE.

Ms. Briggs’ experience in East Texas includes serving as CEO of Longview Regional Medical Center from 1998 to 2005 in addition of being CEO of UT Health Tyler.  She has served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Texas Hospital Association and received the American Hospital Association Most Valuable Political Action Player Award.

Currently, Ms. Briggs serves on the Boards of Hospice of East Texas, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and the Southwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association where she is chairing the Rural Health Summit being planned for later this year, which will focus on improving cardiovascular outcomes by engaging the broader community.

Vicki Briggs reported the following relevant financial disclosures:

• Honorarium/Expenses: Abbott