How Valerie Barckhoff Is Turning Healthcare Chaos Into Opportunity
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The following interview with Valerie was included in the October issue of MDRN Leader. Read the full magazine here.
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What do you do when your hospital’s financial systems are attacked, patient care stalls, and your revenue cycle is complete chaos?
If you’re Valerie Barckhoff, you don’t panic.
You roll up your sleeves and build a system to make sure it never happens again. In this exclusive MDRN interview, we dive into Valerie’s journey as a healthcare entrepreneur, her mission to protect hospitals from cyberattacks, and how she turned one messy crisis into REACT.—a financial continuity lifeline that every healthcare CFO will want in their back pocket.
How it All Started: From Registration Clerk to C-Suite
Valerie’s healthcare hustle began at Good Samaritan Hospital, where she worked the front lines as a Registration Clerk while attending the University of Kentucky.
Fast forward 30 years, and now she’s running the show as Windham Brannon Principal-in-Charge, Healthcare Advisory Services, and CEO of SHOAR Health, a subsidiary of Windham Brannon, building solutions that keep hospital finances running smoothly—even when everything else isn’t going as planned.
In between, she spent time at consulting giants Ernst & Young and Deloitte, where she helped create the revenue cycle consulting playbook. After an intensive period leading operations at Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta, she went back into consulting to merge strategy with operational reality.
When Cyber Chaos Hits, REACT. Fast
So, how did REACT. come to life? Picture this: A healthcare system with 15 hospitals in the Midwest is hit by a cyberattack. Medical records? Gone. Revenue cycle? Dead. Patient care? Scrambling. Systems were down for two weeks, but the financial fallout? That lasted 40 weeks. If that sounds like a nightmare, it was.
Valerie had two choices: Sit back and wait for someone else to fix it or build something better. She went with option two.
“We realized that while everyone is scrambling to get IT systems back online, the financial side was just left hanging,” Valerie says. “Hospitals need more than recovery—they need a way to keep revenue flowing.”
That’s where REACT. comes in. It’s an emergency financial continuity tool that Valerie’s team designed to preserve essential financial operations during a crisis.
The Five-Step REACT. Playbook
Valerie knows that hospitals can’t afford long-winded strategies when systems crash. They need actionable steps—fast. Here’s her REACT. survival guide for healthcare CFOs:
- Keep the Cash Coming
Revenue cycles don’t take sick days. If billing and collections stop, you’re toast. Valerie built REACT. to ensure that even during downtimes, revenue keeps flowing.
- Deploy Emergency Systems Fast
Speed matters. Valerie’s philosophy is simple: “No downtime, no excuses.” The goal is to have pre-configured digital financial processes ready to launch within hours, not weeks.
- Protect Financial Data
Manual workflows and temporary systems ensure transactions don’t go missing in the chaos. “If it’s not on paper, it didn’t happen” applies to emergency finance, too.
- Use Real-Time Dashboards or Be Ready to Fly Blind
“Without real-time monitoring, you’re just hoping for the best,” Valerie says. CFOs need live dashboards to track irregularities and stay ahead of problems. No guessing games allowed.
- Audit Everything. Twice.
In Valerie’s world, data integrity is everything. Regular audits and airtight backups aren’t optional—they’re essential.
From Consultant to CEO: A Masterclass in Reinvention
Valerie isn’t just another executive with a fancy title and an MBA. She’s lived through the healthcare trenches—compliance nightmares, mergers, tech transformations—and came out swinging. Her career has been a blend of consulting for Big Four firms and rolling up her sleeves in hospital operations, which is why she knows how to get things done.
“Consultants like to tell you what you should do. We like to show you how to actually do it—without wasting time or budget,” she explains.
Her knack for building practical solutions and driving operational change is what makes her one of healthcare’s most respected problem-solvers. Whether it’s revenue cycle transformations or turning cyber chaos into opportunity, Valerie always finds a way.
The Future of Healthcare: Less Talk, More Action
Valerie’s philosophy is rooted in actionable innovation. It’s not about trends; it’s about delivering real results when it matters most. At SHOAR Health, she’s focused on helping organizations integrate AI-driven tools and automation to improve compliance, reduce friction, and increase net revenue.
“AI isn’t some sci-fi solution. It’s a tool—like a hammer. The only thing that matters is how you use it to solve real problems,” she says.
For Valerie, the future of healthcare isn’t just about technology—it’s about equipping leaders with the tools they need to thrive, no matter what the world throws at them.
Advice for Future Entrepreneurs: Make Your Own Rules
When asked what advice she’d give to entrepreneurs breaking into healthcare, Valerie keeps it real:
“Don’t wait for permission. If you see a problem, solve it—and solve it fast. The industry needs people who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.”
She warns that the road isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.
“If you’re going to survive in healthcare, you have to be comfortable with chaos. Make decisions quickly, pivot faster, and always focus on what delivers the most value.”
What’s Next for Valerie Barckhoff?
Valerie’s not slowing down anytime soon. With REACT. already making waves in the industry, she’s focused on expanding the product’s reach and helping more healthcare systems become cyber-resilient and financially stable.
“We’re just scratching the surface. There’s so much more we can do to modernize healthcare and help organizations navigate the challenges ahead,” she says.
The Takeaway
Valerie Barckhoff isn’t your typical healthcare executive. She’s a problem-solver, trailblazer, and unapologetic doer. Through REACT. and her work at SHOAR Health, she’s showing the industry how to turn crisis into opportunity—and how to keep the cash flowing even when everything else is falling apart.
“In healthcare, survival isn’t just about patient care. It’s about keeping the lights on—and that’s exactly what we’re here to do.”
You can learn more about REACT. here.