Katie Swenson
Fellow | Co-Chair, Military Caregiver Resource Group and Executive Clinical Director, Surgical Specialties & Digestive Health Clinical Program, Intermountain Health
Belmont Collaborative for Health Systems Innovation
DMSc, MBA, MPAS, MSc, PA-C
katie@beyondtheblade.orgBiography
Dr. Katie Swenson is a seasoned healthcare strategist, clinician, and entrepreneur dedicated to transforming health systems through digital enablement, optimization of workforce talent, and principles of value-based care and high-reliability. As the Executive Clinical Director of Surgical Specialties-Digestive Health at Intermountain Health, she leads enterprise-wide initiatives that improve surgical outcomes and drive cost-savings- most notably spearheading preoperative optimization tactics totaling over $30M in annual cost-avoidance.
Katie is a practicing Physician Assistant specializing in Pediatric Transplant (2019-current), and formerly Pediatric General Surgery-Trauma (2014-2022), at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. She also previously practiced in Orthopaedic Surgery, specializing in Sports Medicine, Adult and Pediatric Hip and Knee Arthroscopy at the University of Utah Orthopaedic Center (2013-2014). Her experience across these high-acuity surgical specialties gives her deep understanding of clinical operations, patient-centered care, and the intersection of frontline medicine with system-level innovation.
A military veteran whose leadership career began as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Swenson now serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where she designs and delivers Clinical Leadership curricula for physician trainees and junior faculty within the Department of Pediatrics. A fierce advocate for healthcare policy, Katie is the former President of the Utah Academy of Physician Assistants (UAPA) and continues to influence healthcare broadly as a Board Member on the One Utah Health Collaborative Innovation Advisory Board and the KLAS Research Emerging Solutions Top 20 Board.
Katie completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at the United States Air Force Academy (2001-2005). While stationed abroad, her interest in medicine and post-9/11 emerging science led to thesis work on Biological and Nuclear Criminalistics and completion of a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England (2006-2007). Dr. Swenson subsequently completed Physician Assistant studies at A.T. Still University (2010-2012) and later conferred her doctoral degree from the University of Lynchburg in Medical Sciences with an emphasis on Clinical Leadership, and Organizational Behavior and Development (2018-2019). Katie completed the Executive MBA program from the University of Utah (2020-2022), and most recently, graduated from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Business Analytics Program (2023-2024). Always learning, Katie also maintains executive certifications in Business Applications for AI in Health Care (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) and Digital Business (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management).
Between academic and professional pursuits, Katie enjoys traveling abroad and spending time outdoors with her husband, Eric, and their four children in Salt Lake City, UT. As a Fellow of the Belmont Collaborative for Health Systems Innovation, Dr. Swenson is eager to contribute her expertise in navigating change management in highly-matrixed organizations, designing sustainable models of care, and driving innovation that empowers caregivers and enhances patient outcomes.