Barbara Knutzen

Barb Knutzen is the Vice President Ambulatory Services for Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, joining the health system in 2005. As a member of the executive team, she shares leadership responsibility for the system and specifically manages satellite medical practices and a freestanding ambulatory surgery center.

Barb has extensive experience in leadership at the executive level. For 12 years, Barb was the chief operating officer for Synergy Health in West Bend. During that time, she led a team in the design, construction and process redesign of a new replacement hospital that received national and international attention for innovation and focus on patient safety. This state of the art facility used tools such as lean, six sigma and FMEA to enhance its outcome. She is also co-author on a number of articles on the subjects.

Barb is board certified and a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. She has served in numerous roles with ACHE, most recently as the Regent at Large for District 3 from 2003-2007. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and a Master of Public Administration. Barb is a frequent speaker at national conferences, presenting on the topics of patient safe facility design, lean six sigma, organizational culture and the healthiness of humor.