Vice President/General Manager
Vizient Member Business Ventures/Captis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Comments by nominator Chris McDown, senior vice president, Member Business Ventures, Vizient:
“As the vice president and general manager of Captis, Brenda draws on her nursing, consulting and financial expertise to manage Captis operations. In 2017 alone, network contracts yielded $125M in savings for over 80 Vizient members. She is committed to helping Captis and Vizient members work together on initiatives that result in improving performance indicators (economic, clinical, and operational).”
Captis at a glance: Captis (formerly Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center) includes 85 health systems across the country, whose member/owners act as a single entity for contracting and other programs.
- Year joined Vizient: 1998
- Born/raised: Born in Belle Fouche, S.D., moved to Minnesota at an early age. Raised in Chanhassen, Minn.
- Degree(s): Attended Normandale Community College and received an AA in Nursing, but quickly learned that advancement opportunities were limited without a bachelor’s degree. Received bachelor’s in nursing from the St. Catherine University. Following my bachelor’s, I was unsure of which journey to take: nurse practitioner and remain in direct patient care, or shift to business to assist nurses in understanding the finance side of healthcare. I chose to attend the University of St. Thomas and received an MBA (healthcare) in 1995.
- First “real” job: Upon graduating from my AA program, the Twin Cities (Minnesota) was experiencing a nursing strike that impacted the availability of nursing positions at the majority of the local hospitals. This meant taking a position in a long-term-care facility. Within one year I advanced to assistant director of nursing. After two years, I accepted a position in oncology at a local hospital.
Some prior work highlights:
- Managed the start-up of a home infusion therapy service line for a national DME company in the Twin Cities metro area. This position opened the door to learning about logistics and supply chain processes. I not only managed the start-up, I provided nursing care, served as the billing staff and did anything and everything needed for successful day-to-day operation.
- Since embarking on my supply chain career path with Vizient, I have had the privilege to support yet another start-up. This one was founded by ten “like-minded” healthcare systems who wanted to speak with one voice to the healthcare market by committing volume for products and services. This company is now known as Captis (formerly Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center).
- One of my most important career experiences was with my local community hospital. It was here that I experienced healthcare through my own eyes as a patient and the eyes of my family and friends as patients, and through my appointment as a member of the Board of Trustees for three terms over nine years. I held positions including Board Chair and Vice Chair, I led the Finance and Strategic committees and navigated a very political environment during my tenure. I facilitated the board through a strategic planning and visioning process that led to integration with a larger health system and sustainable healthcare for the community.
- A key mentor or event in your life: I had the great fortune to work for a wonderful manager and mentor – Paula Welford – early in my nursing career. She taught me two core life lessons that have shaped my leadership and management style as well as my approach to work/life balance: 1) Love what you do, and when you don’t, it’s time to do something new; and 2) “It’s not my job” should not exist in your vocabulary.