NEWS RELEASE: Experienced Clinical Leader Katherine Virkstis Joins Get Well to Lead Clinician Relief Efforts

The former Advisory Board executive merges deep clinical best practice expertise with Get Well’s leadership in digital patient engagement

Bethesda, MD Get Well, the global leader in patient engagement, announced today that it has expanded its leadership bench with the addition of Katherine Virkstis, Vice President of Clinical Advisory Services. Virkstis brings deep healthcare knowledge, strategic insight, and operational expertise. In her new role, she will contribute to Get Well’s enterprise-wide nursing and clinical vision and lead key initiatives, including the development and implementation of best-in-class training and cohort services.

Prior to joining Get Well, Virkstis spent 15 years as Managing Director over the Nursing Executive Center and Clinical Best Practice Collaborative at Advisory Board, a subsidiary of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group. Her research teams focused on uncovering best practices to solve a wide range of clinical, operational, and workforce challenges, including engagement and resilience, closing the experience-complexity gap, improving patient flow, high reliability, preventing hospital-acquired conditions, patient experience, critical thinking, and top-of-license practice. She has worked with hundreds of executive teams at healthcare organizations in more than 50 countries around the world.

Virkstis is trained as a primary care physician and practiced family medicine for several years in central Vermont. She has authored more than 70 publications, including more than 20 articles published in various academic journals. She has been a member of  the editorial board for the Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA) since 2010. 

“Katherine gained deep insight into the priorities and challenges faced by clinical care teams at hospitals and health systems through her years at Advisory Board,” said Michael O’Neil, founder and CEO of Get Well. “With the healthcare industry facing intensifying talent challenges — from staff shortages to burnout — Katherine’s guidance from a clinical perspective will add value quickly as we collaborate with our clients to achieve a better experience for patients and care teams.” 

“Get Well has led the industry in the development of digital patient engagement tools for more than 20 years,” said Virkstis. “I am excited to be joining a company that’s creating innovative technologies that provide relief to patient care teams by improving workflow, while giving patients more control over their care — thereby improving the collective experience for all.” 

About Get Well 
Get Well is a global digital health company with more than 20 years of experience improving patient engagement. Through partnerships with some of the most progressive hospitals and health systems in the world, we use digital technology to improve the healthcare experience for patients, their families, and clinicians. Learn more at getwellnetwork.com or follow Get Well on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.