Groundbreaking Women
Skelly Wingard, RN, MSN & CEO: By The Bay Health
Photo provided by By the Bay HealthThis women-led business is the largest independent nonprofit hospice organization in Northern California.
Why is your business groundbreaking?
As the second oldest hospice organization in the U.S. and the first and largest independent, nonprofit pediatric and adult palliative and hospice provider in Marin County, By the Bay Health is one of the most visionary healthcare leaders transforming home-based care. Patients and families from the entire San Francisco Bay Area have come to know and trust By the Bay Health for the highest quality, most compassionate care for their loved ones. In an age of increasingly standardized care that seeks to commoditize healthcare, we remain committed to our community-based care model that wraps each family we care for with personalized guidance and dignity to navigate life’s most significant care decisions.
What makes women so effective at business?
At By the Bay Health, women are the lifeblood of our business. I am proud to say that we are a majority women-led business — more than 79 percent of our employees identify as female and 75 percent are in leadership. The women of By the Bay Health are successful because they not only deeply care about the communities we serve, but also because when they encounter a challenge, they go all in to find a solution.
How are you nurturing the next generation of female business leaders?
I was fortunate in my life to be blessed with so many amazing women who influenced me and changed the trajectory of my life. So, it is important to me that I pay it forward and do what I can to contribute to the development of the next generation of women in leadership. We are sitting on the cusp of transforming health care in the home, and I believe that women will drive the next-generation of what health care looks like to meet the growing needs of residents in Marin County — especially our most vulnerable populations.
By the Bay Health | 17 E. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Larkspur, CA 94939 | 415.927.2273 | contactus@bythebayhealth.org | www.bythebayhealth.org
