Vicki DiFrancesco Joins New U.S. HealthTek Advisory Board
While U.S. HealthTek is excited to celebrate its 20th year serving the lab industry, we aren’t pausing to reflect. And it’s not because of modesty, believe me; we are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done, the clients we served, and are grateful for the exemplary people who have joined our team over the years. It’s because we’re gearing up for all that is happening in our immediate future. This includes adding critical team members and introducing new services and turnkey solutions in response to a growing client base. As part of this expansion, we are thrilled to announce that Vicki DiFrancesco has joined our team as the first member of our newly implemented Advisory Board.
Vicki DiFrancesco’s Path to U.S. HealthTek
In addition to being insightful and extraordinarily knowledgeable about this business, Vicki is a supportive and generous mentor. As for me personally, 34 years ago I interviewed for a position at California Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory and had the luck of meeting Vicki DiFrancesco for the first time. I remember being extremely intimidated by this smart, dynamic woman, who owned and ran her own lab. (And yes, I did get the job!) Over these last 34 years, Vicki’s career continued to rise as the AVP at National Health Lab/LabCorp, EVP at American Medical Laboratories, VP of Hospital Sales and Marketing at Quest Diagnostics, Senior VP at Specialty Laboratories, Executive VP at Spectrum Laboratory Network, President and CEO of Patholgy Inc., and Chief Strategy Officer at XIFIN.
As expected from someone who has achieved and contributed so much to the industry, Vicki sets a high bar for those who work with and for her; she’s always clear on what is expected of them and leads by example. Her emphasis on communication is something she sees as critical at every level of a healthy company, and she has often brought in U.S. HealthTek as a facilitator of communication with our clients, as we embrace Vicki’s view in daily practice.
During Vicki’s rise in the industry, I became part of what is today U.S. HealthTek. And while our relationship changed as our careers evolved, her positive influence on me, and on U.S. HealthTek, never wavered. In 2012, when I reached out to Vicki looking for a partner to join U.S. HealthTek, she recommended Robert Negosian, who, eleven years later, recently took the reins as President and CTO.
As our company looks forward, we can’t wait to tap into Vicki’s insightfulness as an advisor. We recently caught up and discussed just a few of the challenges and opportunities labs face: financial pressures, the extraordinary growth in the molecular marketplace, AI’s role and functionality, mergers and acquisitions, and more. We both agreed that Information Technology should be one of the core pillars of excellence within a laboratory, and that IT should always have a seat at the executive table. At the end of the day, she noted that “Ultimately, laboratories produce information that must be shared seamlessly with many different providers across the healthcare spectrum, so it’s imperative to have experts managing and providing recommendations related to Information Technology.”
Mergers & Acquisitions
While there has been an increase in mergers and acquisitions in our field (something Vicki has lived through several times), she sees it as reciprocal. “I’ve seen the amount of this activity ebb and flow through the years, but it does seem more intense now than usual. Costs are going up, and there’s a
Cristy Reiter & Vicki DiFrancesco
lot more direct-to-consumer testing going on.” In noting the trend towards pharmacies moving into testing and clinical work, she sees it as potential for growth. “CVS and even grocery stores and others are increasing access to laboratory testing to patients that would have gone through doctors and traditional labs years ago.” Her ability to recognize a company’s strengths and weaknesses, then respond accordingly, is an asset our company is looking forward to leveraging.
The U.S. HealthTek Advisory Board: Looking to the Next 20 Years
Our company’s deep ties and history with Vicki, in addition to her sphere of influence and unique talent, are all reasons why we’re thrilled that she has agreed to join our Advisory Board. The board will provide valuable insight into our operations and management, help guide us in developing new business, and provide valuable feedback on strategic direction. Vicki is the first in a team of advisors with exemplary senior management experience in the lab industry.
There are exciting changes and substantial growth happening here at U.S. HealthTek on the anniversary of our 20th year, and we’re honored that Vicki has agreed to join our journey. She and the rest of the board will allow us to thrive as leaders in the healthcare industry, and to expand our capabilities to serve a wider breadth of clients. But there are some key aspects that will never change, no matter how big we get. Our amazing team members, who come with their own in-depth clinical lab experience and talents, will continue to bring to every project the same sense of dedication, commitment, and urgency that they have from Day 1. A warm welcome to Vicki DiFrancesco, and here’s to our next 20 years!