Kirby Bates Associates
Building the Next Generation of Healthcare Executives

The pandemic has changed healthcare as we know it.

The industry is facing unprecedented changes brought about by healthcare reform, accountable care, increased consolidation, and the economic realities of declining reimbursement. With changing technology and political uncertainty, healthcare organizations need strong leaders capable of operating under constant ambiguity and adapting quickly to any change in healthcare policy and regulations.

KBA helps them place the right executive leaders who move the organization forward by turning obstacles into opportunities, driving optimal healthcare delivery, patient well-being, and serving diverse communities.

Its executive search, interim leadership, and executive advisory services help healthcare organizations place leaders in hard-to-fill positions in both clinical and non-clinical roles.

“At KBA, we understand fundamentally that with each executive we recruit, it’s a new opportunity to transform the healthcare industry,” says Melissa Fitzpatrick, MSN, RN, FAAN, president at Kirby Bates Associates.

KBA’s consultants assure every leader they place addresses the diverse pandemic-related challenges, safeguarding infrastructure, staff, and patients while maintaining their organizations’ mission. Its in-depth search processes transcend basic vetting practices to find the right executive for each client. KBA’s consultants take an intimate approach to understanding each organization, their community, board, and work culture to find, attract, and retain the right healthcare executives. This allows them to uncover driven and talented leaders who meet each client’s specific leadership requirements.

Being an organization that’s led and operated by healthcare executives puts KBA in a very unique position. Having spent their careers looking through a patient-focused lens, its consultants understand through their lived experience what is needed to complete a job at the highest standard. Being healthcare executives themselves, they have walked the walk, giving them an upper hand in placing the right executives in appropriate roles.

A leader in the industry for over four decades, Fitzpatrick recognizes the challenges that come with working under consistently stressful conditions, changing roles, and adhering to new job-specific responsibilities. The challenges she encountered throughout her journey are key to the company’s approach.

That is why KBA’s services do not end once the candidate is placed.

KBA’s consultants stay in touch with candidates after placing them to assure a smooth transition. This continuous support helps them navigate the challenging process of figuring out their job responsibilities, taking a great deal of uncertainty out of the equation and accelerating the incumbent’s effectiveness in their new role. KBA leads from the front, taking on each client’s challenges and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions unhampered by legacy thinking.

Another distinct feature of KBA is that they help healthcare organizations build culturally diverse teams that understand the diverse needs of the patient populations they serve.

KBA’s reputation speaks for itself, and it has stood the test of time for many decades. KBA’s acquisition of Tyler & Co, a national leader in the healthcare executive search space allowed Kirby Bates to extend its broad range of expertise and expand service levels to healthcare executives and care delivery organization clients.

One of its clients needed to fill the crucial role of Inaugural System Chief Nurse Executive. They turned to KBA based on its previous success in delivering executive candidates with special expertise. The stakes were high because the new leader would set the tone for the culture of the organization and the quality of patient care delivery.

KBA’s team proactively worked with the client to define the mission-critical job competencies, such as working in a union environment, and found candidates uniquely qualified for the job. Based on the success of the CNE search, KBA was asked to fill vital roles within the client’s oncology department and pharmacy department. In this way, KBA helped build bridges across various disciplines and brought to life the enriched future state that the client’s strategic leaders envisioned.

“We have a strong track record of having completed countless placements in multiple positions across numerous specialties for healthcare organizations, allowing us to thrive and continue to grow even in an unprecedented time,” says Fitzpatrick.

True to her words, KBA continues to build a legacy of placing exceptional executives who propel their organizations forward and pass down core leadership competencies to the next generation of healthcare executives.