Gary Weller

Under Gary Weller’s leadership, Advocate Health’s contingent workforce program has evolved from a decentralized model to a centralized system spanning two states, more than 28 acute care facilities and 500 clinics. The consolidated version has saved the organization more than $100 million.

Weller began his career in the staffing space in sales. He progressed to the MSP space where he managed clients in the BPO, technology, medical products and airline industries.  

Today, Weller hires a variety of healthcare professionals — especially nurses. The pandemic made his job more challenging. While there already was a nursing shortage “the pandemic put almost unimaginable pressure on the market,” he says. Prepandemic, competition for talent was local. With Covid-19, “We were competing nationally in the most fluid and dynamic market any of us had ever seen.”

Before the pandemic, Weller worked to standardize Advocate’s third-party labor management and then drive efficiency and savings, although the pandemic shifted his focus. “Delivery was the sole focus. We’re not making widgets — we’re taking care of patients,” he says.

Advocate Health emerged from its pandemic model in early 2023. “Things started to get back to something like normal, not absolute crisis mode,” Weller says. “We had better controls around staffing. Estimates started to be more accurate, and we could start to find savings by fully utilizing the process efficiencies and lessons learned during the pandemic.”

What didn’t change was the lasting relationships Weller built with Advocate’s senior executive team. “Our model was pressure tested and stood the test successfully,” he says. “We came out of the pandemic better and more efficient, with established processes that continue to work today.”