With more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare
administration, Joy Tapper is currently serving as the start up
consultant and Executive Director for the Milwaukee Health Care
Partnership, an alliance formed by the five Milwaukee-based health
care systems, four community health centers, state and local
government agencies and other health care providers with the aim of
improving access, care coordination, coverage and health outcomes
for underserved populations. Her work currently involves the design
and implementation of a comprehensive community wide plan and
organizational model for health care delivery for the uninsured and
underinsured in Milwaukee County.
Ms. Tapper previously served as Executive Vice President and
Chief Administrative Officer at Wheaton/Covenant Healthcare System,
Inc., one of the largest integrated regional healthcare delivery
systems in southeastern Wisconsin. At Wheaton/Covenant, Tapper had
management responsibility for the medical group/physician services
organization and the system’s cardiovascular, cancer, rehabilitation
and women’s health service lines. She also had accountability for
the planning, marketing-communications, public relations, government
relations, fund development, mission services, pastoral care and
ethics functions and provided regional oversight for other system
wide administrative services including IT, HR legal services and
corporate compliance. In addition, Tapper served on the governing
boards of the five hospitals, the medical group, three long term
care centers and other system subsidiaries and joint venture
corporations. Major accomplishments under Tapper’s tenure at
Wheaton/Covenant included the consolidation of all administrative
and support functions, the implementation of new cross
organizational clinical programs and services including multiple
physician joint ventures, a merger with another local health system,
the coordination of system wide operations improvement and cost
reduction initiatives, the design and implementation of new employee
recruitment, retention and diversity programs and the launch of a
new performance measurement and leadership accountability program
and a regional brand identity campaign.
Tapper is a member of a number of prominent professional and
community organizations, including the Wisconsin Council on Children
& Families, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s College of Health
Sciences Advisory Committee, American College of Health Care
Executives, Milwaukee County Health Policy Task Force and WHA Access
and Coverage Task Force. She holds a Masters degree in Public
Administration from the University of Wisconsin Madison’s Lafollette
Institute and B.A. degree from St. Olaf College.
