An MBA Helps ‘Wound Wizard’ Build a Health Care Empire
Dr. Traci Kimball used Daniels as a lab to create a holistic clinic for research and treatment
Wound care specialist Dr. Traci Kimball views each patient at her WISH Clinic as Dorothy Gale, starting their journey down the yellow brick road. The wound is the wicked witch, challenging patients and disrupting their lives. A patient’s friends and family are their support system, much like Dorothy’s lion, tin man and scarecrow. And Kimball is the “Wound Wizard,” stepping in to help the patient get back to where they need to go.
The story of the Wizard of Oz resonates strongly with Kimball. You can see it in the name of her clinic, its Emerald City logo and even her tagline, “Where the yellow brick road ends and answers begin.” And much like her patients, Dr. Kimball has been on a journey of her own — one that started with a calling, curved through medical school and wound care, and made a pit stop at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business—where she solidified her drive to open a practice of her own.
A “penchant for healing humanity”
A drive to care for others runs deep in Kimball’s family. Both her mother and stepfather worked in health care, as did numerous other family members. She studied zoology as an undergrad but pivoted to human health, earning a medical degree and taking on a surgical internship and fellowship, where she began specializing in the vascular system.
“I left the fellowship to jumpstart my career as a general surgeon, and that is when I was introduced to wound care,” she said. “The penchant for healing humanity and healing wounds really came to fruition at that moment. It was affording me the rigor of the medicine, the pathophysiology, and all the wonderful, glorified, romanticized things about medicine.”
According to Kimball, there are very few dedicated pathways to entering the wound care field; specific medical school training is even less common. Most specialists learn on the job and earn additional certifications, and that’s exactly what Dr. Kimball did. Over the course of 12 years in the field, she developed both a skill and passion for wound care, which she primarily used in service of people living in nursing homes. She rose to the role of medical director of wound management services at an organization called InnoVage, and built an interdisciplinary wound care team.
A need to understand business
When InnoVage decided to expand its programs beyond Colorado, Kimball realized that medical knowledge alone was not enough. This work would require business acumen.
“They came to me and said, ‘We need to replicate this in other markets,’” Kimball recalled. “So, I thought, well, for me to understand all of this, I think I need to really understand business. That is what brought me to apply to the Daniels College of Business.”
Attending business school while working in the business arena felt like a perfect match. Over the course of three years, she brought her real life into the classroom, where she could vet her ideas and grow as a leader.
“It really was just all this alignment that happened, and it really made it very easy to get to journey through an MBA while I was a full-time clinical practitioner,” Kimball said. “I was able to really cultivate an executive mindset with very practical experience.”
In fact, before she had even completed her coursework, Kimball decided to make a major shift. She left InnoVage with the goal of opening her very own practice. She earned her degree in August 2023 and, by November, the WISH Clinic officially opened its doors.
Applying Daniels’ holistic approach
Soon after, spurred by Daniels’ focus on creativity and disruption, she opened WISH Innovations, LLC, the research and discovery arm of her practice, which is focused on creating and commercializing specialized products for specific conditions. So far, she’s formulated two products: a diaper cream and a serum for hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic inflammatory skin condition that can cause painful wounds. Patients with the condition currently have few avenues for recourse; Kimball is passionate about changing that.
Her approach to care is to treat the whole person, not just their condition — something that stems from what she learned during her time at Daniels. Through a neuro leadership course, she came to understand the importance of each person’s different motivations, and the value in listening to them and meeting them where they are. That’s something she’s brought to her leadership style as well.
“The whole programming and structure of the MBA program gave us access to those intangible lessons that are vital to the success and sustainability of any organization that one may own, operate or participate in,” Kimball said. “We learned to meet people on their page, understand what motivates them, and other intangible pearls and lessons that help everyone align themselves in an environment so a group can work cohesively.”
With all these tools at her disposal — medical expertise, an entrepreneurial spirit, and an understanding of both leadership and patient care — the Wound Wizard’s alchemy is far from complete.
“We’re helping patients get to a state of wellness and health and giving them tools to do that. We’re surrounding them and providing resources so that they can eliminate the barriers to healing,” she said. “And that nefarious player—the wound or the infection—is no more.”
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