William "Mitch" Heroman

Dr. Heroman is a board-certified Neonatologist and served as a Navy-Marine Corps physician for 30
years. He is currently employed by ASM Research, an Accenture Federal Services Company as a
Veterans Health Administration High Reliability / Patient Safety Coach/Consultant. Most recently, he was
the Chief Medical Officer for United Health Group’s Optum Serve Clinical Services and Quality,
Preparedness and Emergency Response. As CMO, Dr. Heroman was the clinical lead in a massive
response to the COVID-19 pandemic establishing testing sites, monoclonal antibody sites, vaccine sites,
and test to treat sites across the nation for state, county, and municipal public health departments, FEMA,
and private industry. He was the Optum Serve lead in the quest for High Reliability Organization (HRO),
quality, and patient and workforce safety. Prior to Optum, he held the position of CMO, UnitedHealthcare
Military & Veterans (UHCM&V), the managed care support contractor for TRICARE West Region covering
21 western states and 3 million beneficiaries. As a consultant for M&V to the Military Treatment Facilities
(MTF) / clinics, hospitals, and medical centers, he personally worked with MTF Commanders and
executive staff in strategic and operational planning. He also worked with providers and staff at the
service line and clinic level to increase efficiency and to deliver measurable quality and value using a
rapid-cycle improvement approach. He has consulted in over 250 MTF clinics and service lines, first as
VP, Health Plan Design and Management, TriWest Healthcare Alliance and then as CMO, UHCM&V.

His military medicine background is extensive and diverse. In 1981, he was assigned to Naval Medical
Center, San Diego (NMCSD) and became Director of the Newborn ICU. He designed, justified, and
oversaw construction and implementation of the Navy’s first Pediatric Intensive Care Unit that opened in
March 1991. He justified and implemented AHA Pediatric Advanced Life Support courses throughout the
military, teaching 22 instructor courses in MTFs worldwide. In 1994, he was appointed Director, Graduate
Medical Education, and in 1996 he was named Deputy Commander (COO). In 1998, he became Chief of
Staff, TRICARE Management Activity (TMA), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health
Affairs. He led TMA strategic planning and development of performance metrics. He also led a Tri-Service
effort of optimization of the MTFs. From 2000-2003 he was the Commanding Officer (CEO), Naval
Hospital, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA and from 2003 to 2004, he was the Force Surgeon,
Commander, Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific and Atlantic Fleets.

He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for Physician Leadership and a Fellow of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He is the recipient of the AAP Uniformed Services Pediatric
Section Lifetime Outstanding Service Award and the American Hospital Association Federal Healthcare
Executive Award for Excellence.