Dr. Kaplan leads UW Health, a multistate academic health system affiliated with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, comprising six main hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois, more than 2,000 faculty physicians, 26,500 total employees, and more than 865,000 patients annually. Since joining UW Health in 2016, he has overseen remarkable growth, including the establishment of 74 additional clinic locations, a 68% increase in workforce and a sixfold rise in outpatient visits. He also spearheaded a joint operating agreement with Madison-based UnityPoint Health–Meriter, including a full merger of health plans and revenue sharing across inpatient and outpatient facilities. He developed the vision and secured board approval for the 420,000-square-foot UW Health Eastpark Medical Center, a state-of-the-art outpatient facility in Madison that houses adult oncology and women’s specialty care, seamless clinical trial access, and one of the first upright proton therapy offerings in the world. Dr. Kaplan has been a national leader on the responsible use of AI in healthcare, convening a 2024 event at the U.S. Capitol that brought together 25 healthcare leaders to examine AI through the lens of care delivery and produce policy recommendations. UW Health has since deployed ambient AI to more than 800 physicians, with demonstrated reductions in burnout and after-hours documentation time. Dr. Kaplan has also pioneered first-of-their-kind workforce apprenticeships in partnership with Madison College, spanning medical assistant, registered nurse and MRI technologist roles to address growing clinical workforce demand. Under his leadership, UW Health has been ranked the No. 1 hospital in Wisconsin for 14 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.
