Witalis LLC

We do healthcare governance.

Our why

We focus on governance because when boards work well, communities benefit.

Well-functioning healthcare boards provide clearer focus and direction, make better decisions, strengthen oversight and accountability, build trust, foster a healthier culture, and ultimately improve health outcomes for the communities they serve.

What we do

We help healthcare boards to their best work.

Education

From conference stages to boardrooms, we provide practical, insight-rich education on healthcare governance and strategy that stretches thinking and strengthens leadership.

Retreat Facilitation

Never dull, highly interactive, aways engaging - We plan and facilitate board retreats that challenge thinking, unlock collective wisdom, and build shared understanding.

Assessment + Recommendations

We take a look under the hood of your board to assess, diagnose, and recommend tweaks and adjustments for stronger performance and greater positive impact.

Structure and Process Optimization

We design new governance structures – or reimagine old ones – as organizations affiliate, partner, evolve, or grow more complex.

Change Management

We work alongside you to identify the right improvements at the right time and provide a practical approach to making the changes happen painlessly.

Ongoing Advice and Support

If needed, we stay on to handle the day-to-day board operations including agendas, materials, minutes and calendars so that you can focus on the work of leading and governing.

How we work

We provide big-firm expertise with boutique-firm responsiveness.

Our grey-haired experts lead the work, do the work, and answer the phones.

We have a lean core team plus a deep bench of seasoned experts we can call on when needed. That means clients get the right expertise without the overhead of a large consulting firm.

We focus on relationships, value and impact.

We build lasting relationships with our clients that often grow into genuine friendships and span many years. Long after a formal engagement has ended, our client-friends call to talk through a governance challenge, think through a strategic opportunity, or to get a restaurant recommendation in San Francisco.

That’s one of the joys of our work: building trusting relationships with mission-driven folks from around the country who are as committed as we are to helping communities thrive.

We are old school.

We prefer white boards over slides, active discussion over report-outs, and the kind of engagement that really energizes. We ask lots of questions, tell plenty of stories, and sprinkle in mixed metaphors to make complex ideas easier to understand.

Our clients

We work on the provider side of healthcare.

Hospitals, health systems, health networks, academic medical centers, medical groups and other provider-side organizations.

Testimonials

"Kara facilitated our board retreat at Alameda Health System. As the chair, I’ve been working to get our group of nine to develop a shared identity and common purpose. Kara has an uncanny ability to listen and sense people. Late on a Friday afternoon we went well over our planned time because the group became really engaged. Thanks to her work we are better prepared to face the headwinds facing our county health system which is heavily dependent on Medicaid.”

"Kara has been an invaluable partner in shaping and sustaining our provider governing board. Her expertise, impartiality, and dedication ensure that physician and clinician voices remain central to our decision-making, keeping us focused on governance while strengthening our medical group’s leadership and impact."

"Over several years, Kara has become a trusted advisor to both me and our board. Her governance expertise helped Marshall rethink how our board spends its time, makes decisions, leads and creates value. She guided us through committee redesign, board education, self-assessments, retreat facilitation, and governance improvement initiatives that have had a lasting impact. Our board is more focused, more strategic, and better equipped to guide the future of our organization because of her work. If you want a consultant who simply delivers a report, Kara is not the right choice. If you want someone who rolls up her sleeves, builds trust, educates the board, facilitates difficult conversations, and helps create meaningful change, she is great."

"I reached out to Kara for a quick conversation about my board and our retreat and came away with some great ideas on how to present information and have better discussion. Kara listens carefully, understands situations quickly, and gives really smart advice."

We can help if your board...

Would benefit from a governance refresh or redesign.
Needs greater clarity on its role, responsibilities.
Is seeking to strengthen fiduciary, strategic, and generative decision-making.
Is navigating leadership transitions or having board recruitment or retention challenges.
Wants to deepen its understanding of key governance and healthcare topics.
Feels stuck or uncertain about what to do or where to begin.

Witalis LLC is a national healthcare governance consulting firm advising hospital and health system boards on governance design, board effectiveness, retreat facilitation, and strategic thinking.