Baptist Health COO John Wilbanks recognized among Modern Healthcare's Top 25 chief operating officers in America

Long-time Baptist Health Chief Operating Officer John Wilbanks has been named one of the Top 25 COOs in Healthcare for 2017 by Modern Healthcare. This is the first time Modern Healthcare, the industry's leading source of healthcare business and policy news, has recognized top chief operating officers from a spectrum of healthcare organizations of all sizes across the nation.

Wilbanks has been executive vice president and COO of Baptist Health in Northeast Florida since 2004. He joined Baptist as vice president of professional services in 1986 and was promoted to senior vice President in 1990. Wilbanks, a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, has operational and strategic responsibility for all five hospitals in the Baptist Health system, along with capital and construction planning, business development and innovation strategies, and physician integration. He leads the health system's Senior Leadership Team and hospital Administrators Council as well as its Patient Experience Steering Committee, a forum for integrating best practices across the enterprise.

"John Wilbanks is the consummate servant leader," said Hugh Greene, Baptist Health president and CEO. "He builds relationships, fosters teamwork, and has an intensity and drive to achieve organizational success with one goal in mind – serving our community with excellence."

Over his 12-year tenure as COO, Wilbanks has helped grow Baptist Health's market share with bold strategies which have included building the area's only dedicated heart hospital, one of the nation's first fully digital hospitals, and three freestanding emergency centers for children and adults, as well as doubling the size of its primary care network to 150-plus offices. Wilbanks' leadership also has been critical to advances such as the system-wide adoption of electronic medical records and Baptist becoming the first health system in the world to widely implement antimicrobial technology for its uniforms and patient garments.

Wilbanks' commitment to serving the community is evident in his volunteer leadership. He is former chair of the Board of Directors of The Sulzbacher Center, which provides services to homeless individuals and families, and was awarded the 2014 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for his record-setting efforts with the organization's annual Transformations event. Wilbanks is a member of the Dean's Council of the University of North Florida's Brooks College of Health, where he served as chair in 2012 and 2013. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville University, Board of Governors of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trustees of United Way of Northeast Florida. He also is a highly respected leader of MissionWay, a thriving faith community.

Wilbanks holds a bachelor's degree from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas, where he received the Wall Street Journal Award and the Lou Hassell Award as outstanding scholar athlete. He earned his master of business administration degree from the University of Georgia in Athens before beginning his healthcare career at Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta.