Wendy Nickel, MPH
President

Wendy Nickel was appointed President of the Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF) in 2020. In this role, Wendy leads regional healthcare initiatives focused on improving the safety, outcomes, and care experiences of patients, consumers and healthcare professionals. Her work focuses on developing strategy, analyzing emerging trends, and building stakeholder relationships to facilitate high quality care. Prior to joining HCIF, Wendy was responsible for cancer prevention in a patient advocacy organization. Additionally, she built a first-of-its kind center for patient partnership for a physician membership organization, leading efforts to engage patients and families in shared decision- making, professional education, policy development, research, and communication. She also has significant experience in leading national education, quality, and safety improvement initiatives addressing issues such as heart disease, diabetes, adult immunization, cancer and chronic pain in both national organizations and hospitals.

Wendy has served as a liaison to several organizations, including the National Quality Forum’s Patient and Family Engagement Action Team, is a member of the Advisory Board of Patient-and Family-Centered Care Partners and is also an Ambassador with the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). She has authored several publications about patient partnership, quality, and safety across a variety of healthcare settings. Her work has been recognized with awards from the National Quality Forum and Joint Commission, American Board of Internal Medicine, and Institute for Healthcare Advancement. Wendy earned undergraduate and Master in Public Health degrees from Emory University.

Click here to read a profile on Wendy, featured in our HCIF Highlights!