The University Medical Center recently selected William Fulkerson as the new Chief Operating Officer, a position which will be effective starting on August 1.
Eric Swensen, Public Information Officer for the University Medical Center, said the University conducted a national search for the new COO.
“We were looking for someone with extensive senior leadership experience at an academic medical center or a similar healthcare system, someone who has experience partnering with doctors and other healthcare providers, and someone committed to finding ways to improve how we serve and care for our patients,” Swensen said in an email.
Fulkerson has several qualities the University specifically looked for in applicants, Swensen said.
“Bill has more than 15 years of leadership experience at academic medical centers and has demonstrated the qualities mentioned earlier – the ability to collaborate with physician partners and the commitment to process improvement to enhance our patient care,” Swensen said.
Responsibilities of the new COO include providing leadership in clinical improvement and expense management while also working with leaders within the Medical Center to ensure the highest level of patient safety and quality of care, Swensen said.
The position will also provide leadership in the development and implementation of specific growth goals to achieve new objectives in both physician and patient satisfaction, as well as team member engagement, Swensen said.
Fulkerson will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Medical Center. He will be a leader of the Be Safe initiative, which reports potential safety issues and uses a real-time problem-solving process to quickly address those issues.
“It is significant because delivering the safest care through best practice is most important to patients and families,” Fulkerson said in an email.
Fulkerson received his bachelor degree in Mathematics from the Saint Bonaventure University. He also received his Masters degrees in Operations Research and Business Administration from North Carolina State University and Duke University, respectively.
“My formal education provides a strong analytical approach to continuous improvement and decision-making,” Fulkerson said. “This will help in assessing current performance, identifying opportunities to do better, and investing resources appropriately to best serve the people in our community.”
Fulkerson said he has several initial goals once he begins his role at the Medical Center, including focusing on where there is potential to improve how the medical system addresses community-specific health care needs.
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