Spotlight on Michelle Leibach: Sages of Clinical Services Award Winner

Optum Care’s Michelle Leibach, associate director, Medical Management, understands the importance of providing patient-centered care — caring for patients in a manner that respects their values, needs and preferences. It is among the many reasons she’s a UnitedHealth Group Sages of Clinical Services award winner. The awards recognize clinical professionals who exemplify UnitedHealth Group values in action, including integrity, compassion, relationships, innovation and performance.

Michelle’s Story

Michelle works diligently to improve patients’ experiences and care by speeding up their access to health services. She quickly gained a reputation among her colleagues for her solid work ethic and ability to put members first while making them feel valued. These attributes moved many of her colleagues to nominate her for the company’s Sages of Clinical Services award just 19 months after she joined the company.

Michelle has since taken advantage of UnitedHealth Group’s tuition reimbursement program to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing degree specializing in health care administration from Capella University, completed the company’s emerging leader program, obtained her Accredited Case Manager and MCG certifications and more.

Sages Award Reinforces Excellence

Each year, Sages award winners are selected from more than 1,500 peer and manager nominations representing the most exceptional of the 51,000+ eligible UnitedHealth Group licensed clinicians. Only 10% of those nominated — or about 150 people annually — receive this honor.

  • 10%

    of those nominated receive this honor

“It’s important for our organization to recognize our outstanding clinicians as they support our patients, business segments and team members. The Sages award program reinforces to all clinicians how much our organization appreciates them and the impact they have living our mission.”

Mary Jo Jerde Senior Vice President, Center for Clinician Advancement, UnitedHealth Group

Go Deeper

Center for Clinician Advancement

The Sages of Clinical Services awards program is one of many that UnitedHealth Group’s Center for Clinician Advancement offers to help clinicians navigate the demands of their roles, build their leadership skills and innovate in their areas of expertise. The Center also forms internal and external partnerships focused on advancing clinicians to lead the evolution of the next-generation health system.