Barbara Brockmeier brings wealth of experience to new role

04/20/22 05:45:pm

Throughout her career, Barbara Brockmeier, chief operating officer of Hospital Services, has felt called to implementing change and improvement in the mental health and addiction field. Her current role comes after joining Rogers in December 2019 as the vice president of operations for West Allis.

“My role is to build connections and drive positive work culture,” Barbara explains. “I’m responsible for the oversight and execution of system priorities and ensuring that the services we provide are meeting our Mission. To do this, I work to empower leaders and staff to their highest potential and then get out of their way so they can do what they do best.”

Prior to joining Rogers, Barbara served in a variety of roles for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Her career began as a licensed clinical social worker specializing in children’s mental health, until she felt a calling to move toward a leadership role.

Following time as a program director, clinical director, and regional vice president, she worked in northern Florida for a managing entity where she brought providers together to increase access and quality of care for 100,000 consumers across 23 counties and conducted licensing surveys of those facilities.

She then spent several years serving as vice president of operations for adult dual diagnosis treatment centers offering inpatient detox, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient care. After working for such a wide variety of organizations and gaining valuable experience in different environments, it was time to find something more permanent.

“What really impressed me the most about Rogers was the stability of the organization, its rich history, and, most importantly, the way Rogers lives its Mission and Vision,” Barbara says. “Every organization has a mission statement, but what I found is that Rogers uses its mission and values as the lens through which decisions are made. I’m also a self-described data nerd and was inspired by the robust quality metrics and data-driven care Rogers provides. I’m impressed by our ability to show, with data and facts, what is – or isn’t – working, so we can recognize our strengths and know we are solving the right problem.”

Additionally, Barbara says that organizational culture is an important piece of the puzzle. She’s been impressed by the ethics and integrity Rogers shows, and says the care and compassion demonstrated by Rogers and our staff throughout the pandemic reaffirmed her belief in Rogers.

“I wholeheartedly believe I am in the right place at the right time and am incredibly proud and grateful to be a part of Rogers,” Barbara says.

Looking toward the future, she’s excited for where Rogers will go.

“I’m so grateful and impressed with everything our staff has accomplished,” she says. “The past few years have brought many challenges, but it’s been such an honor to work with everyone and see their integrity, dedication, passion, and how they show up for one another on a daily basis. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together.”

Getting to know Barbara

One priority for Barbara is family. She has been married for 23 years and has two children: a son who is in college and recently completed his combat medic training as part of his enlistment in the Army Reserves, and a daughter who is a high school senior looking forward to starting college in the fall, with a roster spot on the volleyball team and a dream of pursuing a career in medicine.

“We’re a sports family, so for the past 15 years or so I’ve spent almost every weekend going to my kids’ sports events and being their biggest cheerleader,” explains Barbara. “My son played baseball and football since the age of 5, and my daughter has done cheer, softball, and volleyball. I’m always the mom with all the spirit wear!”

One fun fact? Though the Brockmeier family lived in Florida for 25 years before moving to Wisconsin, Barbara’s son has always been a Green Bay Packers fan. This past Christmas, the family fulfilled a bucket list dream when they attended their first game at Lambeau field – complete with a Packers win.

Another thing people may not know about Barbara is that she loves adventure activities and has taken part in scuba diving, deep sea fishing, skydiving, hiking, and backpacking, among others.

“The common theme with all of these activities is that when I’m in nature, that’s when I feel the most centered and grounded,” Barbara says.