Ms. Conners leads BayCare Health System, West Central Florida’s largest academic health system, where she oversees more than 33,000 employees, 4,000 hospital beds and a rapidly expanding network of hospitals and outpatient facilities. As the organization’s first female and first nurse CEO, she brings more than 30 years of clinical and executive experience to her role. Under her leadership, the system is constructing its 17th hospital, developing Florida’s first proton therapy center and expanding its behavioral health services with the state’s first behavioral health urgent care center. She has also positioned BayCare as one of the fastest-growing graduate medical education programs in the nation, with a goal of exceeding 650 residency positions by 2029 and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla. achieving statutory teaching hospital status in 2025. Ms. Conners champions frontline caregivers and workforce wellbeing through initiatives such as the “Nurse Well-Being: Building Peer and Leadership Support” program and partnerships with the American Nurses Association and AI innovators to reduce clinical burden. She has strengthened the system’s community impact through partnerships addressing food insecurity and workforce development, while advancing a strategic academic collaboration with Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine to accelerate clinical innovation and physician training. Recognized among Florida Trend‘s “Florida 500”, Ms. Conners has guided BayCare to national recognition, including Fortune‘s “Best Workplaces in Health Care”, People‘s “Companies That Care” and Healthgrades’ “America’s 50 Best Hospitals” list.
