Physician Resources

Health care in Wisconsin is now delivered in one of the most highly integrated models in the country. Over the past decade, WHA members large and small, urban and rural, have evolved beyond simply hospital organizations into vertically integrated regional and local community health systems including clinics and physician employees. That evolution has changed our members’ relationships with physicians in particular, with more than 75 percent of practicing physicians in Wisconsin being a financial part of WHA member organizations.

WHA Contact

Matthew Stanford
General Counsel
608-274-1820
EMAIL: Matthew Stanford

As WHA’s members’ operations and interests have evolved beyond the traditional walls of the hospital, so too has WHA. With the physician and clinic components of health care becoming a larger proportion of WHA members’ enterprise, WHA has proactively responded to those changes by enhancing Association activities to incorporate issues, opportunities and initiatives in support of integrated system physicians.

Physician Resources


  • WHA Physician Leaders Council
    • Established in 2014 to tap into the significant resources and perspectives that WHA member physician leaders bring to Wisconsin’s health and hospital systems, WHA’s Physician Leaders Council consists of Chief Medical Officers, Vice Presidents for Medical Affairs and other physician leaders in WHA’s member organizations.  The Council meets quarterly and provides key input and guidance on WHA efforts to help address a wide range of policy and other needs facing physicians and physician leaders in WHA’s member organizations. 
    • Contact WHA General Counsel Matthew Stanford at 608-274-1820 for more information about the WHA Physician Leaders Council.
  • WHA Valued Voice - Physician Edition
    • The WHA Valued Voice – Physician Edition is a bi-weekly newsletter of WHA articles relevant to WHA member physicians and physician leaders.  To subscribe to the WHA Valued Voice – Physician Edition, contact Shannon Nelson, WHA Communications Manager at 608-274-1820.
  • WHA Physician Leadership Development Conference
    • First held in 2006, WHA’s Physician Leadership Development Conference provides a resource for hospitals and health systems to help existing or emerging physician leaders develop advanced physician leadership skills.
  • Physician Workforce Reports
    • Ensuring Wisconsin has a sufficient physician workforce is of critical importance to WHA members and the communities they serve.  Building upon WHA authored 2004 and 2008 physician work force reports, WHA’s 2011 report “100 New Physicians a Year:  An Imperative for Wisconsin” has served as Wisconsin’s physician workforce blueprint for driving targeted, effective public policy to expand Wisconsin’s physician capacity. 
    • In 2014, WHA lobbied to secure funding for the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce, Inc., (WCMEW) – an organization co-founded by WHA -  to continue to support research and efforts to maintain a workforce that meets current and future health care needs for Wisconsin.  As follow ups to WHA’s 2011 report, WCMEW has released subsequent updates to Wisconsin’s ’s physician workforce projections and recommendations.
  • WHA Physician Engagement and Retention Toolkit: Critical Questions for Organizational Self-Assessment
    • Developed in consultation with the WHA Physician Leaders Council and created as a benefit of WHA membership, the toolkit compiles a set of potential ideas, strategies, and resources that administrative and physician leaders of integrated care organizations can use to help guide and internally develop a customized physician retention strategic plan unique for their organization.

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