Change Together

Our Mission: We help healthcare leaders navigate ambiguity and lead people-centered change with confidence and clarity.

JW Collaborative is a strategic consulting and facilitation partner led by Joel Worthington, supported by a trusted network of collaborators in healthcare strategy, design, and transformation.

We work with intrapreneurial healthcare leaders—clinical, operational, and strategy-focused—who are committed to meaningful change but often feel overwhelmed by the ambiguity, complexity, and pressure that comes with it. You know the value of stakeholder engagement, but need a structured and supportive partner to make it efficient, inclusive, and actionable.

That’s where we come in. Our structured, human-centered approach helps you:

  • Clarify the path forward when the stakes are high and the answers are unclear

  • Align diverse stakeholders across silos and priorities

  • Build trust and shared purpose

  • Create measurable strategic and cultural outcomes

We help leaders like you create the conditions for clarity, collaboration, and meaningful action—so you can lead at your highest level.

 
 

Our Who

 
 

Joel worthington

Joel Worthington has led strategic initiatives and innovation efforts with organizations like BlueCross BlueShield Association, Medical University of South Carolina, HDR, Lurie Children’s Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. As founder of JW Collaborative, he brings a blend of strategic design, executive partnership, and human-centered facilitation to every engagement. Joel leads projects as well as client and collaborator relationships.

The Collaborative

JW Collaborative draws on a trusted network of experts across sectors to expand capacity and deliver full-spectrum results when needed. Collaborators are brought into engagements through formal project partnerships or as needed.

 
“[Joel is] everything you want in an advisor - empathetic yet steadfast in his viewpoint, approaches challenges as the glass being half full, and he’s easy going which makes tough issues easier to navigate.”
— Minni Marwaha | VP Core Innovation, Advocate Aurora Health
“Joel’s ability to pose thought-provoking and relevant inquiries helped foster a deeper understanding of complex issues and encouraged collaborative problem solving. ”
— Lauri Mills | Director, Consumer Experience at BlueCross BlueShield Association
“[Joel’s] work was outstanding, moving, and inspiring. We have implemented many of his observations with great success, and are working towards a second partnership.”
— Morsal Tahouni, MD | ED Medical Director, Medical University of South Carolina
“The [human-centered design] session was engaging, fun, educational and really helpful to everyone’s day-to-day...It was his thought process and innovative approach that most impressed me. He is a great healthcare and design thinking THINKER, who I’d recommend in any number of capacities.”
— Jeremy Krashin | Director of Strategic Planning, Saint Luke's Health System
 

Our Clients

We’ve been honored to serve our growing list of client collaborators

  • University of Chicago Medicine

  • Hawaii Medical Service Association (an independent licensee of BlueCross BlueShield Association)

  • Medical University of South Carolina

  • Saint Luke’s Health System Kansas City

  • Rush University, Health Systems Management Graduate School Program

  • Center for Care Innovations

  • American Health Information Management Association