Bill Ulbricht: New Baptist Hospital CEO meets an industry in change

Bill Ulbricht, new chief executive officer of Baptist Hospital, has known he wanted to be in healthcare administration since he was only 12. “My mom was a director of an emergency room and she brought me in to work with her, and I thought the coolest guy in the hospital was the guy who walked around talking to everybody,” he said. “I found out later he was the administrator and I decided at that point in my life, that’s what I wanted to do when I grew up.” 

Mr. Ulbricht’s professional career started in administrative financial positions at Humana, HealthTrust, and Epic Healthcare in locations including Michigan, Georgia and New Orleans. 

He also served as chief operating officer and president of South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, FL; and as president of St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, where he led a revitalization. “I did not expect the opportunity to become the hospital president at 29 years old, but they asked me to and I was pretty excited about it and served in that role,” he said. He ​​also served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer for BayCare Medical Group, a company in which he made a 23-year career. 

Before joining Baptist Hospital this month, Mr. Ulbricht had been chief operating and administrative officer for the Clinical Enterprise division of Baptist Health since August 2019.  He will now lead one of South Florida’s largest hospitals with nearly 950 beds, over 5,000 employees, and 1,300 active members of the medical staff. As he begins his new role, he is eager to get to know all the staff and hear their ideas on how to continue being a leading hospital in the region. 

As he navigates in his new position, he is looking forward to being involved in community organizations and being aligned with his personal philosophy, which is to make a difference and do something for someone every day. 

Mr. Ulbricht spoke with Miami Today reporter Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow weeks before officially joining the ranks of the hospital.

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