by John Howser
Wendy Monaci, MBA, Vice President of Regional Ambulatory Services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has been named VUMC’s Executive Vice President for Adult Ambulatory Operations, effective May 1.
The Adult Ambulatory Division, which represents the majority of VUMC patient visits, is essential to VUMC’s mission and overall growth strategy. Monaci will be responsible for improving overall ambulatory services performance across all five Pillar dimensions: People, Service, Quality, Growth & Finance and Innovation.
Monaci replaces Thomas S. Nantais, MBA, who recently announced his retirement after leading the Adult Ambulatory Division for the last five years. In her new role, Monaci will report to C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer.
Monaci’s former position of Vice President of Regional Ambulatory Services was a new role created in 2019 to oversee the multiple existing adult ambulatory clinics outside Davidson County as well as the short-term and long-term strategic planning of future ambulatory practices. In this capacity, she developed the regional leadership structure and participated in the development of a community physician model to support the rapid growth of ambulatory services across Middle Tennessee.
“Ms. Monaci is a strong, experienced leader who has already made substantial contributions to our Adult Ambulatory programs. Wendy is well prepared for the additional responsibilities associated with this new role. I look forward to working closely with her as we continue to grow ambulatory services to serve our patients,” Pinson said.
Monaci led the successful acquisition and integration of several primary care and specialty practices across Middle Tennessee. She also oversaw the planning, design and successful opening of two new large-scale medical office buildings including multiple primary care and specialty practices and additional walk-in clinic and Vanderbilt Retail Clinic at Walgreens locations. Under her leadership, the adult ambulatory clinic volume outside Davidson County has increased by 70% in four years and exceeds 1.2 million visits annually.
“I am excited to take on this additional responsibility and look forward to continuing the many successes already achieved by our ambulatory team. I appreciate the experience Tom Nantais brought to VUMC and the foundation he developed for our future success,” she said.
As Executive Vice President for Adult Ambulatory Operations, she will work in conjunction with clinical chairs, senior adult leadership, and other VUMC senior leaders, to ensure high-performing and well-integrated adult ambulatory clinics across Davidson County and the region.
She will also collaborate with the Department of Quality, Safety and Risk Prevention, along with Clinical Nursing to align clinic operations, quality initiatives and standards to ensure reliable, safe operations, which meet operational, clinical, regulatory, quality and JCAHO standards.
Monaci will also be responsible for ensuring that quality, patient experience, outcomes, and staff satisfaction are aligned across all clinics and will coordinate with Vanderbilt University Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing and among members of the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network.
Monaci, who joined VUMC in 2010 as an administrative director, holds a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and an MBA from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.
Prior to joining VUMC, she worked for 21 years in a variety of leadership roles at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), a not for profit 220-bed acute care pediatric academic medical center affiliated with the University of Southern California. There, she spent the last 13 years at CHLA as the Director of Clinical Programs and Professional Services, where she directed the administrative, financial and operational aspects of 29 medical and surgical subspecialty programs. These programs have clinical, research and teaching components and consisted of approximately 260 physicians and 1,100 employees.
During her tenure at CHLA, Monaci led teams to implement a patient registration system, an EMR system and multiple projects resulting in improved patient satisfaction and financial outcomes.