BOSTON, MA – October 1, 2025 — Laudio, an innovator in frontline leader solutions that drive efficiency and engagement for health systems, today announced the appointment of Jill Ragsdale as Chief Human Resources Advisor, helping advance the company’s mission, platform, and growth. With more than 30 years of experience driving cultural transformation and workforce strategy at some of the nation’s most respected health systems, Ragsdale will advise Laudio in shaping the next wave of people-centric innovation for healthcare’s frontline and expanding the Laudio platform's role as critical infrastructure for health systems.
Health systems are navigating increasingly complex workforce challenges. Labor costs account for more than half of hospital operating budgets, while widening spans of control frequently leave frontline managers responsible for 50-plus direct reports. These leaders form the bridge between executives and frontline staff, but their bandwidth for individualized team engagement, coaching, and recognition remains under pressure just as their people and organizations need it most. Close collaboration between nursing and HR is critical to alleviating strain on these leaders and freeing up their capacity for meaningful employee and patient engagement.
“I’ve seen throughout my career how essential frontline leaders are to employee engagement, system culture, patient experience, and so much more,” said Ragsdale. “I’ve also seen the disconnect between what they want to do for their teams and what’s actually feasible for them given their workloads and gaps in technology designed for their day-to-day reality. Laudio is changing that, and I’m thrilled to play a role in helping more health systems leverage Laudio’s unique technology to empower their leaders and advance their system goals.”
Ragsdale’s career has focused on solving the above challenges at scale. She most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief People & Culture Officer at Sutter Health, where she led system-wide cultural transformation and advanced a unified HR strategy that strengthened engagement and reduced turnover. Previously, she was also Chief Human Resources Officer at Mayo Clinic, where she redesigned HR service delivery, instituted executive succession planning, and created leadership development programs that reinforced the Mayo Model of Care.
“Jill has an incredible track record of designing and deploying HR strategies that drive culture, enhance employee experience, and advance people outcomes in some of healthcare’s most complex environments,” said CJ Floros, COO of Laudio. “Her perspective will be instrumental in further shaping the Laudio platform to bridge people strategies with frontline actions, helping health systems operationalize the leader best practices so central to a healthy culture and strong workforce.”
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About Laudio
Laudio, an Ascend Learning brand, empowers healthcare leaders to drive large-scale change through everyday human actions. Our AI-enhanced leader operations platform streamlines workflows for frontline leaders, strengthens interpersonal connections, and aligns C-suite objectives with frontline efforts, boosting operational efficiency, employee engagement, and patient experience. Laudio makes it possible for patients, frontline workers, and health system leaders to thrive together. Discover how at www.laudio.com.
About Ascend Learning
Ascend Learning is a leading healthcare and learning technology company. With products that span the learning continuum, Ascend focuses on high-growth careers in a range of industries, with a special focus on healthcare and other licensure-driven occupations. Ascend Learning products, from testing to certification, are used by physicians, emergency medical professionals, nurses, allied health professionals, certified personal trainers, financial advisors, skilled trades professionals and insurance brokers. Learn more at www.ascendlearning.com.
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