Ms. Conners is president and CEO of BayCare Health System, the largest academic health system in West Central Florida, leading the $7 billion organization with nearly 34,000 team members, 16 hospitals with a 17th under construction, and hundreds of outpatient facilities. In 2024, she led a significant corporate restructuring to strengthen BayCare’s long-term stability, and under her leadership the system launched Florida’s first behavioral health urgent care center and introduced advanced proton therapy to the region. A key accomplishment has been the expansion of BayCare’s graduate medical education programs, which are committed to growing residency positions to more than 650 by 2029, placing the system among the fastest-growing such programs in the nation. Ms. Conners strengthened BayCare’s academic and clinical capabilities through a strategic collaboration with Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine and oversaw the Integrated Service Center, a 258,000-square-foot centralized supply facility that uses robotic technology to streamline distribution. Starting her career as a nurse and maintaining her license, she brings a clinician’s perspective to leadership, with prior executive roles including executive vice president and COO at Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health. In April 2026, Ms. Conners was named the inaugural recipient of the “Louise Whitfield Carnegie Award for Leadership Excellence in Healthcare” by the TIAA Institute.
