Her Story
About Colleen
Colleen Bingaman serves as Associate Vice President of Operations for Ohio Health Marion General, where she has worked for 22 years in healthcare operations. She advanced from Senior Advisor of Operations, where she managed lean initiatives and daily operations, to her current executive role supporting the leadership team. Bingaman earned an associate's degree in business administration from Columbus State while working multiple jobs, including 15 years in retail. She then completed a bachelor's degree in technical and applied studies from Ohio University through a 3 Plus One program, followed by a master's in health administration and a doctor of business administration, both from Capella University. Her professional focus remains on operations, and she attributes her success to a willingness to learn, accept feedback, and continuously improve. Outside her role, she has been active in 4-H as a member and advisor for 36 years and serves on the Marion Matters board in Marion County, Ohio, while volunteering with the Shane Center in Knox County and Inner Church Social Services.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Colleen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's being willing to learn new things, and always know that you're not the expert, and it's okay not to be the expert, but being willing to take advice, take feedback, and improve every day, I think, is what kept me around.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Not just to continue to do more. Make sure you're starting to do different, so getting pushed to do more and more and more in one position, how are you doing different things and expanding your capabilities?
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I always give the advice of really getting to know who the frontline team is, and helping to support them in their problem-solving process, and removing barriers, because I think really, the team that's closest to the work is the team that can make the biggest impact. So as an operational leader, how can you support that team, remove their barriers so that they can move the work forward?
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
With healthcare as a whole, being able to keep costs appropriate for our patients and visitors, keep costs down is something that's a challenge, and so how do we continue to have cutting-edge and leading care with being mindful of the operational cost of these items? And I think that's a consistent challenge for everybody.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Definitely, honesty and trust. That's your brand, I agree. Yeah, and then just compassion for others.
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