Michelle Marshall

A new vision, a new strategy to improve the community’s health

Long before she accepted the role of Inspira Health’s vice president of business development, Michelle Marshall, MBA, FACHE, was climbing the ladder there, getting to know the company from the inside out and understanding the important role healthcare plays in the community it serves.

Michelle Marshall Vice President, Business Development, Inspira Health

“I have been at Inspira for almost 17 years,” she says. “I actually started in the department I’m in now as an analyst. I had no idea I wanted to be on the business side of healthcare. A lot of colleges today have a major in health administration, but 25 years ago that wasn’t the case. I got my degree in healthcare communications.”

But as she got to see all the sides of Inspira Health’s work, Marshall was inspired.

“I’m not a clinician. I can’t put in an IV,” she says. “But I bring skills to the table as a facilitator. I was learning about what healthcare administration was. I moved into an operations consulting role, then a service line leadership one, focusing both on women’s health and oncology.” When she took her current position, Marshall had been working in strategy and operations. “I sort of came full circle, coming back to the department where I started,” she says. “From the entry level, I learned and grew within the organization.”

That deep knowledge of Inspira Health has helped Marshall lead her team through periods of major change – most of it very, very good.

“One of the absolute most exciting things going on in the organization right now is that, on the heels of getting a new CEO last August, we just adopted a new strategic plan,” she says. “It’s a really energizing time, and there are some very visionary goals. I’m so grateful to be sitting where I am, with the opportunity to help advance those causes.”

“This is one of those places where it will take a village to fill the need. I’m engaging with the teams at our hospitals, operations teams, administrators – everyone – to make sure we meet the needs of our patients. It’s a huge task, but it has such a major impact on the communities we serve.”

The issues Marshall and her team are tackling range from addressing the forecasted shortage of primary and specialty care physicians to promoting wellness in the community before people even need to see a doctor.

“Physicians and providers are the cornerstone of healthcare,” she says. “Over the course of the next 5 years, there will be a need for 100 new physicians in our region. There’s going to be a push to find new and creative ways to deliver care.”

Marshall’s role is to bring entities together to create resources, solve issues and ultimately make the whole community healthier.

“We look at ways to reduce healthcare disparity, to focus on people before they’re sick,” she says. “It’s about being proactive, working with our communities and connecting people to care.”

Marshall’s goals – and Inspira Health’s – are lofty, but she’s determined to continue serving her community. “I’m very committed to finding solutions to these complex challenges,” she says. “But if you’re not scared, and things aren’t changing, you’re not growing. That’s what motivates me the most about what I see on the horizon.” What’s just behind Marshall is remarkable, too. She played a role in bringing to life Inspira’s new, leading-edge cancer center, which opened in Mullica Hill last year.

“To walk through that cancer center and know that prior to it, that part of Gloucester County didn’t have a solid cancer care presence, to see it come to fruition and understand that the work being done there will change the lives of Gloucester County residents – it is incredibly fulfilling.”

Marshall attributes much of her success to mentors she’s had along the way, and spends a great deal of time and energy working to pay it forward. “I’ve had some great mentors over the years,” she says, “including some very strong female mentors. It’s really important to me to carry that legacy on within the organization. I’ve been blessed by the opportunities created for me by mentorship, and that’s my hope for what I can leave for the organization.”

One of the biggest lessons she works to instill in her mentees is the importance of life outside the office. When she’s not at work, Marshall, together with her husband, is busy parenting 3 children.

“One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is trying to maintain a work/life balance,” she says. “My kids are incredibly active in sports and academics. A core part of who I am is finding a way to balance all that. A person needs to feel accomplished on the professional side, but also have time for family, for travel, for adventure. When you find the balance that’s right for you, you’re more effective in all of your roles.”

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