You may have seen his face on a video call, but did you know this senior leader loves music? Meet Wade Mitzel, chief operating officer of UofL Health – UofL Physicians and aspiring karaoke singer.
Wade joined our organization in 2015 to oversee clinical operations for UofL Physicians. In this role, he manages service line growth, service expansions, provider recruitment and patient access improvements. He works to ensure we are meeting our goal of providing health care to underserved populations in our community.
After 30 years in health care, Wade can confidently say the people and compassion that fill our organization make us a unique health care system.
“UofL Health has the best teams and leaders I have ever worked with in health care,” explained Wade.
In the coming years, Wade hopes to bring the Power of U to each community in the region and expand our services throughout the state. He aims to reach those who don’t have the benefits of an excellent academic health system like UofL Health.
“I hope my role can remove barriers and grow our outstanding services. I want to ensure we have the proper staffing, technologies and services to provide the highest patient experience,” said Wade. “This focus will allow our practices and providers to deliver the best service and care to transform the health of our communities.”
Wade was born and raised in a close-knit town called Horace, N.D. Growing up in a small, rural community inspired him to start his career in health care as a paramedic and establish ambulatory and rescue services in rural communities.
“We had a population of 300 until the neighborhood dog died, then 299. We counted everything,” laughed Wade.
In his spare time, you can find Wade listening to a podcast or trying to learn something new. He currently listens to The Jocko Podcast, Team Never Quit by Marcus Luttrell, Franklin Covey on Leadership, the HBR channel and the UofL Faculty Feed on a routine basis.
Wade loves reading the occasional book on organizational thinking and leadership. He’s currently reading The Power of Giving Power Away by Louisville native Matthew Barzun.
His favorite fun fact is that he once delivered a baby in the back of an ambulance, and yes, he was terrified. Personally, Wade has a total of five children, two grown adults and three adopted children. He is enjoying the wonderful adventures of parenthood throughout the different stages of his children’s lives.
If you catch Wade in a UofL Physicians practice or on a video call, be sure to introduce yourself and ask him about compassionate leadership. He would love to get to know you!
