OSF announces Regional Vice President of Finance to act as Interim President
Written by Riley Klump on November 28, 2023
Photo provided by OSF Healthcare
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On Nov. 10, 2023, Former Vice President of Finance for the Eastern Region Jennifer Ulrich announced her decision to accept the role of Interim President of OSF Healthcare St. Joseph Medical Center.
Prior to transferring to OSF, she graduated with a degree in accounting, passed the CPA exam and worked for a Big Four accounting firm.
As an auditor with most clients working within healthcare, Ulrich learned “how gratifying it is to take your craft, especially in something like business, finance, or accounting and be able to apply it in an area that serves human life.”
Witnessing the impact her knowledge and training had on patients and their families instilled a desire within her to shift from public accounting to the healthcare industry.
She credits her skills in finance for not only easing that shift but also as a steppingstone into her new role.
“Hopefully I will be able to leverage all that background and familiarity with this market to make sure our patients and the community don’t feel any disruption in this transition,” Ulrich said.
Despite only being a few weeks into her role, Ulrich has found the experience to be incredibly life-giving. She is grateful for the opportunity to continue applying her skills and looks forward to making a difference for OSF’s mission partners, as well as the community.
Ulrich claims ethics and moral standards are a key pillar to her character and she wants her behavior to always exemplify that.
She also emphasized the importance of noting what moves you. She believes moments of inspiration are given for a reason.
“I just encourage any learners, young or old, to find those things that create joy and give you life and spend time and mental energy thinking about those; you’ll find yourself being so much more rewarded than if you maybe just follow the path that you think is directly in front of you,” she said.
Ulrich, who has found herself working in Bloomington, despite growing up in a small town, touched on her belief in the importance in going after one’s dreams.
She said, “There is not a particular formula or recipe or list of prerequisites about where you have to come from to achieve your dreams.”
