Amanda Olderog is a senior healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, clinical operations, and service line growth across academic medical centers and health systems. She oversees 12 hospital outpatient department clinics at UCHealth’s University of Colorado Academic Medical Center, leading a $29M operating portfolio that supports approximately 180 employees and 160 providers across three campuses. Known for translating strategy into operational execution, she drives multidisciplinary program development, ambulatory optimization, financial performance, and physician alignment. She previously held leadership roles at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Sg2, and UnityPoint Health, and serves on the Executive Advisory Committee of the Academic Orthopedic Consortium.
Leadership and Impact
If you had a magic wand and could permanently solve one of your departments biggest challenges right now, what would that be?
Access to the operating room and clinic space remains a top priority as demand for complex care continues to grow. Despite having more than 40 operating rooms at the academic medical center, OR availability remains a constraint, resulting in cancelled clinic days and limited flexibility for add-on cases. As systems look to offload elective cases to lower-acuity locations, surgery scheduling complexity increases.
For example, this challenge is especially acute for the hand service, where most cases could be performed at an ASC or alternate facility, but payer restrictions and time-sensitive clinical needs often limit scheduling options. Ensuring reliable OR access, appropriate site-of-care alignment, and fully utilized surgical days is essential to maintaining operational efficiency and provider productivity.
Looking back over the past three years, what are the two most impactful things you have accomplished in your role?
While not directly related to orthopedics, one of my proudest accomplishments was leading a full cultural turnaround in a clinic that had struggled with longstanding workforce and operational challenges. When I assumed the role at University of Colorado Hospital, the clinic faced decades of cultural dysfunction, high staff turnover, strained provider–staff relationships, and escalating concerns about care quality that had led to requests to limit patient volume.
I began by meeting individually with every team member to understand root causes and barriers to success. Partnering with the providers and care team, I assessed staffing models and operational resources, built a data-driven case for increased support, and implemented a structured transition and training plan. I also established clear accountability expectations, made difficult personnel decisions to align with desired cultural standards, and applied a highly selective hiring strategy.
Within one year, employee engagement improved from 29% to 98%, patient volumes were fully sustained, and collaboration between providers and staff significantly strengthened. Although the work required significant personal investment, including extended hours and weekends, it remains one of the most meaningful and rewarding leadership transformations of my career.
The AOC and the Power of the Collective
What is the most valuable way that the AOC helped you and your Department?
The Academic Orthopedic Consortium is artfully designed to promote collaboration and connection. Without question, the most value has come from meeting in person with leaders across the country who are facing the very same issues. I’ve found the AOC community to be very generous in sharing time and information when I’m looking for creative solutions to challenges. I stay in contact with AOC members frequently and look forward to the annual symposium which I find to be the most valuable conference I attend.
How can the AOC better utilize its digital platform to support meaningful, efficient connections between members?
The AOC could further leverage its digital platform to foster more meaningful and efficient member engagement by hosting small, topic-focused discussion groups. Facilitated by the executive advisory committee and limited to fewer than 10 participants, these sessions could focus on high-interest topics identified by members. AI-enabled transcription could capture key insights and enable timely publication for broader member access. Participation could be invitation-based or driven by expressed interest.
For example, many members are interested in staffing models, and there is growing curiosity around how academic organizations are managing the CMS TEAM bundled payment program. Facilitated discussions that include shared contact information would support ongoing peer collaboration. Recording these sessions and making them available on-demand would further extend their value to the membership.
The Human Side of the Role
What is your “superpower,” a skill or strength you have that you genuinely love to use in your job and feel you are especially good at?
After decades of working with surgeons, I’ve learned to separate emotion from intent and focus on understanding underlying drivers. Curiosity and seeking multiple perspectives are central to how I build collaborative solutions. At this stage in my career, mentoring is my most meaningful contribution, and I enjoy coaching teams through complex challenges while reinforcing an environment of mutual respect.
Just for Fun
If you were snowed in for a weekend and could binge watch one TV show, what would you choose?
I’m patiently waiting for the final season of Outlander! If you know, you know!