Atrium Health Hires Nationally Recognized Leader for Chief Experience Officer Role
New Senior Vice President Will Also Serve as Chief Human Resources Officer for Atrium Health Navicent
As Atrium Health continues to emphasize excellence throughout its enterprise, the system announced today the appointment of Vishal Bhalla as senior vice president and its first-ever chief experience officer for the enterprise. Bhalla will also serve in an additional capacity as the chief human resources officer for Atrium Health Navicent.
As Atrium Health’s chief experience officer, Vishal will serve as the leader and driver for the experience strategy. This will include patient, provider, teammate and volunteer experience across the entirety of the Atrium Health enterprise, in the Carolinas and in Georgia, creating and delivering nationally leading experiences across the continuum of care, leveraging system science, process design and technology.
As the head of human resources for Atrium Health Navicent, Vishal will position Atrium Health Navicent as a workplace-of-choice, through commitment to organizational excellence in learning, growth and research. He’ll also ensure comprehensive, contemporary and effective HR strategies are executed across the market and in support of an agile workforce – including an expanding virtual component, as the operation in Macon, Georgia, continues its integration with its partners in North Carolina, as well as future regional partners.
“Vishal is an acclaimed national thought leader who has an incredible history of servant leadership, diversity and inclusion, facilitating a culture of transparency and rapid innovation,” said Jim Dunn, executive vice president and chief people and culture officer for Atrium Health. “He brings a data-driven, continuous improvement mind-set with a track record of delivering results. We feel very fortunate to have him joining our Atrium Health leadership team.”
“Vishal is an experienced executive who is deeply committed to transforming the human experience through culture cultivation, collaborative innovation and service excellence,” said Delvecchio Finley, president and CEO of Atrium Health Navicent. “We’re excited to have him on our team as we improve health, elevate hope and advance healing through quality patient care in all the communities we serve.”
“I’m extremely grateful to have this opportunity to join such a renowned and innovative enterprise as Atrium Health and to serve directly with its teammates at Atrium Health Navicent,” said Bhalla. “I’m particularly drawn to how the organization elevates health and well-being through compassionate care. In this dual role, that mantra can be applied to help improve the experience of everyone we come into contact with, whether it is a person we’re caring for or a co-worker whom we care about. I cannot wait to get started.”
Bhalla previously served as vice president and chief experience officer for Parkland Health & Hospital System, in Dallas, and has also held leadership roles in the hospitality industry, domestically and internationally. In addition, he serves on the patient experience board of The Beryl Institute, on the advisory board of HR Exchange Network and editorial board of the Patient Experience Journal.
Bhalla holds a master’s degree in business administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a healthcare certificate from the joint Harvard-MIT Healthcare Innovation Initiative. He is also is a graduate of the Texas Hospital Association Fellows Program for 2019. Bhalla is certified in diversity and inclusion by Cornell University, has received his Senior Professional in Human Resources designation from the HR Certification Institute and holds a master black belt in lean Six Sigma.
Bhalla will be based at Atrium Health Navicent, in Macon, and begin his duties on May 17, 2021.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with nearly 70,000 teammates serving patients at 37 hospitals and more than 1,350 care locations. It provides care under the Wake Forest Baptist Health name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region and Atrium Health Navicent in Georgia. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest School of Medicine is the academic core of the enterprise, including Wake Forest Innovations, which is advancing new medical technologies and biomedical discoveries. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and in eight pediatric specialties, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and was the recipient of the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.