Emily Seitz Pawlak: Career, TriHealth Role and Leadership Work

Introduction

Emily Seitz Pawlak is a healthcare revenue cycle leader from the Cincinnati area in the United States. She is best known for her long career in healthcare financial operations and for serving as Vice President of Revenue Cycle at TriHealth.

Her professional experience includes patient access, medical billing, collections, financial counselling, customer service, compliance, and healthcare technology. She has also worked with Mercy Health and has taken part in professional leadership organisations connected with healthcare finance.

As of August 2026, the latest strong institutional record found during research identified her as TriHealth’s Vice President of Revenue Cycle in July 2025. However, her more recent LinkedIn headline describes her as a “People-First Leader,” “Culture Builder,” and “Problem Solver” who is “Designing My Next Chapter.”

Because of this change, it is safer to describe the TriHealth position as her most recently verified major executive role rather than assume she still holds the job today.

Quick Facts About Emily Seitz Pawlak

Detail	Information
Full name	Emily Seitz Pawlak
Profession	Healthcare revenue cycle leader
Known for	Leadership in healthcare financial operations
Major organisation	TriHealth
Previous organisation	Mercy Health
Notable position	Vice President of Revenue Cycle at TriHealth
Education	University of Cincinnati and Xavier University
Professional area	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Industry	Healthcare

Who Is Emily Seitz Pawlak?

Emily Seitz Pawlak is an experienced healthcare executive whose career has mainly focused on the financial and administrative side of patient care.

Revenue cycle management covers many steps that happen before and after a patient receives medical treatment. These can include appointment scheduling, insurance approval, coding, billing, payment collection, and answering financial questions.

Her work has therefore connected healthcare operations with the patient experience.

Unlike a clinical role such as a doctor or nurse, revenue cycle leadership focuses on making sure healthcare organisations manage payments and financial processes correctly while helping patients understand their bills and responsibilities.

Readers interested in more professional and business-focused profiles can also explore Forma Magazine.

Early Career at TriHealth

Her career with TriHealth began in 1997.

According to previously published professional information, she started in a newly created call centre. This gave her direct experience dealing with patients and healthcare service operations.

She later received promotions and moved into roles with greater responsibility.

This early experience became important because call centres often sit at the first point of contact between a healthcare organisation and a patient. It allowed her to understand how scheduling, communication, insurance questions, and customer service affect the overall healthcare experience.

Move to Mercy Health

After spending around eleven years with TriHealth, she moved to Mercy Health.

Her work there helped her build deeper experience in patient access and financial operations.

By 2011, she had been publicly identified as Divisional Director of Patient Access at Mercy Health Partners.

Patient access teams often manage registration, insurance verification, scheduling, and financial information before a patient receives care. These services can strongly affect both hospital revenue and patient satisfaction.

Her Mercy Health period also expanded her experience beyond one healthcare system.

Recognition as a Rising Star

In 2011, Pawlak was named among the YWCA’s Rising Stars in Cincinnati.

The recognition was linked to her professional work while she was serving in a leadership position at Mercy Health Partners.

This was one of the earlier public signs of her growing position within Cincinnati’s healthcare and business community.

Return to TriHealth

Emily Seitz Pawlak returned to TriHealth in January 2017.

This time, she came back in a much more senior position as Vice President of Revenue Cycle.

The role placed her in charge of a large part of the financial journey connected with patient care.

Her responsibilities included areas such as:

• Scheduling
• Insurance authorisation
• Financial counselling
• Medical coding
• Billing
• Collections
• Patient financial experience

These functions are important because they help a healthcare system receive payment while also making the billing process easier for patients to understand.

Large Revenue Cycle Operation

A professional profile published in 2018 showed the size of the operation Pawlak was helping lead at TriHealth.

At that time, the revenue cycle organisation reportedly included more than 700 team members.

The same historical profile stated that the operation was responsible for collecting around $1.8 billion each year.

These numbers describe the organisation at that time and should not be treated as current 2026 figures.

Still, they show that her position involved responsibility for a large healthcare financial operation rather than a small department.

Leadership Approach

One of the clearest explanations of her management style came from a 2023 professional profile.

She described three major priorities in revenue cycle leadership:

Cash, customer service, and compliance.

Cash refers to making sure the healthcare organisation receives payment for the services it provides.

Customer service means helping patients receive clear information and support during the financial process.

Compliance involves following healthcare regulations, billing rules, and financial standards.

This approach shows how revenue cycle work must balance business needs with the experience of patients.

Focus on the Patient Experience

Healthcare billing can be confusing.

Patients may need to understand insurance rules, deductibles, payment options, authorisations, and medical bills.

For this reason, Pawlak has spoken about revenue cycle teams as an important part of the patient experience.

These teams may communicate with patients before treatment, during their visit, and after care has been completed.

That means financial departments can influence how people feel about a healthcare organisation even though they are not providing medical treatment directly.

Work With Healthcare Technology

Technology has also been an important part of her work.

In 2021, TriHealth announced the use of artificial intelligence and automation in parts of its operations.

Revenue cycle processes were among the first areas involved.

One example included automating claims-status checks. These tasks can take significant employee time when completed manually.

Automation can help staff spend less time on repetitive work and more time solving complicated problems.

Pawlak also discussed the wider possibility of using similar technology in other parts of healthcare when it could improve efficiency and the patient experience.

Payment Technology and Financial Services

Her work also included efforts to improve payment systems.

Healthcare payment technology can make it easier for patients to provide accurate information, understand what they owe, and complete payments.

For healthcare organisations, better systems can reduce manual work and improve the accuracy of financial data.

This part of her career shows that revenue cycle management is increasingly linked with digital tools rather than traditional paper billing alone.

Education

Emily Seitz Pawlak studied at two well-known universities in Cincinnati.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati.

She later completed a master’s degree in Health Services Administration at Xavier University.

Health services administration is a field that prepares professionals to manage healthcare organisations, systems, operations, and services.

Her education closely matches the leadership work she later performed in major healthcare organisations.

Professional Leadership With HFMA

Pawlak has also been involved with the Healthcare Financial Management Association, commonly known as HFMA.

She has been connected with its Southwestern Ohio Chapter.

Professional records have shown her involvement with chapter leadership, including board and programming activities.

HFMA brings together people who work in healthcare finance, revenue cycle management, financial strategy, and related areas.

Her involvement reflects a professional role that extended beyond her work inside one hospital system.

Cincinnati Chamber WE Lead Programme

In 2018, she was included in the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s WE Lead class.

WE Lead is a professional leadership programme designed for women in the Greater Cincinnati business community.

Her selection added another professional development and leadership milestone to her career.

Current Professional Status

The most important question for readers today is whether Pawlak is still Vice President of Revenue Cycle at TriHealth.

The evidence needs careful wording.

An HFMA document from July 2025 still identified her as VP Revenue Cycle at TriHealth.

However, by 2026, her public LinkedIn headline had changed.

Instead of displaying the TriHealth executive title, it described her as a:

• People-First Leader
• Culture Builder
• Problem Solver
• Professional “Designing My Next Chapter”

No newer verified employer announcement was found during the August 2026 research that clearly names a new executive role.

Therefore, the most accurate description is that she is best known for serving as Vice President of Revenue Cycle at TriHealth, which remains her most recently verified major executive position.

It would be misleading to state that she definitely still holds that role without newer confirmation.

Why Her Work Matters

Revenue cycle management is an important part of modern healthcare.

Hospitals and medical systems need accurate billing, insurance processing, collections, and financial planning to continue operating.

At the same time, patients need clear communication so they can understand costs and payment responsibilities.

Pawlak’s career sits between these two needs.

Her work has involved financial performance, customer experience, technology, compliance, and large-team leadership.

This combination explains why she has appeared in healthcare leadership publications and professional organisations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Emily Seitz Pawlak?

She is a Cincinnati-area healthcare revenue cycle leader best known for her executive work with TriHealth and earlier leadership experience at Mercy Health.

What did Emily Seitz Pawlak do at TriHealth?

She served as Vice President of Revenue Cycle, overseeing areas that included scheduling, insurance authorisation, financial counselling, coding, billing, collections, and the patient financial experience.

When did she join TriHealth?

Her first documented period with TriHealth began in 1997. She later left for Mercy Health and returned to TriHealth in January 2017 as Vice President of Revenue Cycle.

Did Emily Seitz Pawlak work for Mercy Health?

Yes. She spent several years with Mercy Health and was publicly identified in 2011 as Divisional Director of Patient Access at Mercy Health Partners.

Where did she study?

She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from Xavier University.

Is Emily Seitz Pawlak still at TriHealth?

A July 2025 institutional record still identified her as TriHealth’s Vice President of Revenue Cycle. However, her 2026 LinkedIn headline says she is “Designing My Next Chapter.” No newer verified employer announcement was found, so her exact current position should not be assumed.

What is revenue cycle management?

Revenue cycle management covers the financial process around healthcare services. It may include scheduling, insurance checks, coding, billing, payment collection, and helping patients understand financial responsibilities.

What professional organisation has she been involved with?

She has documented involvement with the Southwestern Ohio Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Conclusion

Emily Seitz Pawlak has built a long career in healthcare financial operations, patient access, and revenue cycle leadership.

She began with TriHealth in 1997, gained additional leadership experience at Mercy Health, and returned to TriHealth in 2017 as Vice President of Revenue Cycle.

Her work has covered large healthcare financial operations, patient service, compliance, payment technology, and automation.

Her latest confirmed institutional record from July 2025 still connected her with TriHealth. However, her newer professional profile suggests that she is moving into another stage of her career.

For that reason, readers should view the TriHealth vice-president position as her most recently verified major executive role, rather than assume it remains her current job in August 2026.