Mike is a leading force in redefining health care, public health and overcoming social determinants of health across the country to achieve the best clinical outcomes. His work is focused on the greatest health care and societal challenges of our time working on behalf of people who often have nowhere else to receive care.
Mike is a health care leader who applies the best principles of for-profit management and leadership to the non-profit sector.
Improved Performance and Outcomes
- Expanded Patients Served from 750 to 14,000
- Improved Successful Quality Outcomes from 69% to 96%
- Increased Annual Budget from $2 million to $264 million
- Established a comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion program
During his three decade tenure at Vivent Health, Mike led its transformation from a social service agency into one of the nation’s premier HIV health care providers. Mike’s leadership grew Vivent Health from a $2 million to a $264 million organization. He established the Vivent Health HIV Medical Home, the only one ever approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It is the country’s leading model for providing integrated health and social services to assure patients have unfettered access to comprehensive care.
With his business acumen and entrepreneurial commitment he established the Vivent Pharmacy, assuring that patients receive the medications they need and creating a new revenue source to sustain and expand services. He also expanded Vivent Health into a national organization through mergers and acquisitions of for-profit and non-profit companies. This led to the opening of Vivent HIV Medical Homes in Denver, Colorado; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; and Austin, Texas highlighting 14 locations throughout the country with one additional state scheduled to open in the coming months.
These patients are significantly exceeding national benchmarks and goals for health outcomes. At the same time health care costs are being reduced saving millions of dollars annually.
As a national leader in the evolution of health care service delivery, Mike has provided in-depth technical assistance to HIV, aging and sickle-cell anemia organizations in more than 30 states. He is a guest lecturer at universities across the country and a business consultant for non-profit organizations. He regularly engages policy makers at the highest levels of government on health care and social justice issues and serves on several boards of directors including as chair of OCHIN a national provider of health information technology solutions for community clinics, critical access hospitals and other safety net providers.
Throughout his career, Mike has been a strong and consistent voice for overcoming racial and social inequities in America. His work includes the near elimination of racial disparities in patient health care outcomes for Vivent Health patients. Mike’s leadership has included development of a majority minority board of directors, active participation in CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion — a national group of CEOs working to overcome racial injustice, creation of racial equity scholarships at two HBCUs and creation of LGBTQIA+ equity scholarships at two public universities. Mike consistently speaks out against injustices and lobbys to overcome them in health care, food insecurity and other policy areas.
Mike received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and International Relations from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He and his spouse Donna are proud parents of three adult daughters and reside in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
Mike Gifford 