Tammy Czarnecki understands that healthcare staffing, and the systems that support it, are directly tied to patient safety. As executive vice president for health services at Aptive, Czarnecki supports the organization’s work on crisis hotlines, patient records modernization, staff credentialing and more — all while maintaining her clinical licensing as a registered nurse.
Czarnecki is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private & Public Company Healthcare Executive of the Year category. The event takes place live June 2.
In this spotlight, she relays Aptive’s recent milestones, reflects on her early career as a bedside nurse in Pittsburgh, and stresses the importance of staying focused on the patients and communities you serve.
What key achievements did you have in 2025/2026?
In 2025, Aptive made significant strides in strengthening the nation’s healthcare workforce, delivering high-impact staffing solutions across federal, state and local health systems during a time of considerable disruption across the federal landscape. While much of the industry pulled back, Aptive leaned into areas of greatest need by expanding support for veterans facing persistent barriers to dental care and cancer services and positioning itself as part of the infrastructure working to close those gaps.
A major milestone for us was earning The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Health Care Staffing Services Certification, underscoring our rigorous credentialing processes and commitment to patient safety and quality care. At the same time, we expanded our impact by adding the Indian Health Service to our portfolio, supporting a produce prescription program that connects food access with chronic disease prevention — an example of Aptive’s growing role at the intersection of health care delivery and public health innovation.
The year also marked a period of strategic growth and transformation. We entered the commercial health care market for the first time and welcomed our first chief medical officer, Dr. Adi Gundlapalli, signaling a deeper investment in clinical leadership and long-term health system impact. Through our joint venture, Arrow ARC, we secured a position on the VA Integrated Healthcare Transformation 2.0 IDIQ, a decade-long contract vehicle that positions Aptive to support the future of VA health care transformation well into the future.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
Looking ahead, my focus remains in addressing what I consider the most fundamentally human problems in federal healthcare. A key priority is supporting VA’s electronic health record modernization, where deployment is now underway. From both a clinical and operational perspective, the challenge is not just technological implementation but enabling thousands of clinicians to safely and effectively adapt their workflows without compromising patient care, quality or access.
Equally important is our behavioral health work with SAMHSA, supporting the national evaluation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and the Zero Suicide in Health Systems Program. When you’re talking about systems that touch suicidality and crisis response, the stakes are about as real as it gets. My focus is ensuring Aptive is consistently in these high-impact, mission critical areas, where clinical quality, systems performance and human outcomes converge and we deliver with rigor, reliability and excellence.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Stay grounded in the mission and never lose sight of the patients and communities you serve. I started as a bedside nurse in Pittsburgh, and that clinical foundation has shaped every leadership decision I’ve made since — from operations to policy to large-scale system transformation. Even when your role moves further from direct care, that perspective is critical; it keeps your work anchored in real outcomes and ensures that strategy and execution remain connected to patient impact.
I’d also say: don’t be afraid of complexity. The most important federal health challenges are messy and politically difficult and span multiple agencies and stakeholders. That’s not a reason to avoid them — that’s where the interesting work is. As a leader at Aptive and in my time at VA, I’ve found that the ability to operate in those spaces bringing together clinical insight, operational discipline, and strategic vision is what ultimately enables you to make a meaningful difference at scale.
What is something about you that most people don’t know?
I’m still a registered nurse. I’ve held that license for my entire career, through every role and title change.
