Lainey Waters

Lainey Waters, 33, is the Chief Operating Officer of Pinnacle Health Alliance, a $5.2 billion fully integrated delivery network spanning hospitals, clinics, physician groups, and value-based payer partnerships across the Pacific Northwest. Raised in Spokane, Washington, and educated at the University of Washington and Oregon Health & Science University, Lainey brings a rare blend of operational rigor and relational leadership to the role. As COO, she oversees systemwide operations, physician alignment, enterprise data integration, and financial risk management tied to bundled payments and population health contracts. Known for being fun, outgoing, and approachable, she balances analytical precision with a people-first leadership style that earns trust across clinical and executive teams. Under Lainey’s operational leadership, Pinnacle Health Alliance has achieved major integration milestones, including unified EHR adoption, improved quality outcomes, and steady growth in value-based revenue, now representing roughly 30% of total system income. Looking ahead, the organization faces mounting challenges: tightening margins, increased regulatory scrutiny, workforce shortages—particularly in rural and specialty care—and greater downside risk in value-based contracts, all while patient expectations for digital access continue to rise. Lainey’s focus on predictive analytics, workforce sustainability, and operational discipline positions Pinnacle to navigate these pressures, reinforcing your shared CEO–COO vision that scale and integration must ultimately translate into coordinated, high-quality, and financially sustainable care.