OSF Digital Health CEO Named a Top Innovator

Michelle Conger

Michelle Conger, Chief Strategy Officer and CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health, is among Modern Healthcare’s 2022 class of Top 25 Innovators in the nation.

Modern Healthcare, the leader in health care business news, research and data, annually recognizes leaders who are instituting innovation and leading transformative programs that improve care by achieving measurable results and contribute to the clinical and financial goals of their organization.

Conger has nearly 25 years of health care leadership experience and has been the Chief Strategy Officer for OSF HealthCare since 2010. She was named CEO of OSF OnCall Digital Health in 2019. Throughout her career, Conger has been a champion for innovative solutions to problems facing the health care industry and the communities served by OSF HealthCare.

OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF employs nearly 24,000 Mission Partners in 150 locations, including 15 hospitals throughout Illinois and Michigan.

“We are very lucky to be part of this Mission and this organization. And so I think it's befitting and an honor to be with all of the other organizations (being recognized) and contributing to the transformation of health care,” said Conger when told of the recognition. “That is our vision and our vision statement.”

Conger has led the creation of the OSF Innovation agenda including health technology incubation, usability and simulation strategies, and the approach for venture capital investments. Her teams developed a long-term digital health strategy that was accelerated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and continues to grow.

While honored to be recognized as a Top 25 Innovator, Conger gives credit to the teams around her and the partnerships formed with other organizations for helping lay the path to this point and for what lies ahead.

“Achieving this is really a reflection of those partnerships, honestly, whether that's with the University of Illinois, the University of Illinois College Of Medicine Peoria and many others; it’s all of the partners that have contributed to where we are today. And I think it'll be a huge part of that in the future as well,” Conger said.

“It is my hope that every physician, every clinician and every Mission Partner at OSF sees their handprint in the creation of the future because that's really what it takes to be an innovative organization. And I think people are starting to notice all of the fruits of our labor. I think it just becomes a natural part of how we care for people.”

“The health care industry is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by innovations in digital health technology and demand for alternative care models. This year’s Top 25 Innovators not only have the courage to try new ideas and approaches, but they also have the vision to turn them into tangible improvements in patient outcomes and experiences, population health, efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” said Fawn Lopez, Publisher of Modern Healthcare.

This year’s honorees are profiled in the April 4 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine and online at Modernhealthcare.com/awards/top-25-innovators-2022.