Celebrating 21 Years as Barrington’s Signature Magazine
Celebrating 21 Years as Barrington’s Signature Magazine
Karen Lambert doesn’t describe healthcare as a job. She calls it a privilege.
Lambert arrived at Advocate Good Shepherd in 2000 as VP of Operations and, within a year, became the hospital’s fourth president. She describes the promotion as timing and luck. Others saw it differently. Leaders at Advocate Health Care recognized her ability to lead at scale and made the decision quickly.
Today, she oversees a team of roughly 1,800 employees. Each year, more than 250,000 patients come through the hospital, including about 40,000 of those as visits to the Emergency Department.
As she prepares to step away from her role at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, her career offers something more than a résumé of accomplishments. It reflects a steady, practical approach to leadership—built on experience, not theory.
Born in New York City and raised in Newtown, Connecticut, Lambert grew up in a family that valued both discipline and openness. Her father, an MIT graduate, spent his career with one company, while her mother, who worked in New York’s garment district before raising a family, created a home that was always open to others. “There was always an extra place at the table,” Lambert recalls. That sense of inclusion would later shape her leadership style.
Early on she wanted to work in healthcare—not from a business perspective, but from a desire to help people navigate difficult moments. After earning a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from IIT, she began her career at Christ Medical Center, in Oak Lawn, Illinois, working with patients recovering from traumatic injuries and life-altering diagnoses.
“That work was about helping people move from being a patient back into being part of a community,” she says. “It was about what comes next.”
She stayed at Christ for 15 years, eventually overseeing multiple divisions and managing large teams. But it was during those early years that her leadership philosophy took shape. Working closely with a physician mentor, she learned the importance of preparation, curiosity, and collaboration. Every voice mattered. Every decision required thought. And every outcome—good or bad—was an opportunity to improve.
“I’ve always believed that mistakes are for learning,” she says. “As long as you take the time to understand what happened and what you would do differently.”
From the start, Lambert approaches her leadership role with clarity and structure. Communication wasn’t optional; it was essential. Each day begins with a hospital-wide safety huddle, where leaders report on concerns, operational challenges, and immediate issues. It’s a disciplined process, but one designed to keep everyone aligned.
“People think of meetings as routine,” she says. “But they should always have purpose. If they don’t, you need to rethink them.”
Her approach to leadership is grounded in a few consistent principles: transparency, preparation, and shared accountability. Results—good and bad—are openly discussed. Teams are encouraged to speak up. And decisions are anchored in a single question: what is best for the patient?
That clarity became critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. As uncertainty spread, Lambert and her team shifted into a command-style structure, focusing entirely on safety, staffing, and resources. Daily priorities replaced long-term planning. Systems adapted in real time.
“It wasn’t about panic,” she says. “It was about urgency—managed urgency.”
What stood out most during that time was the response from the team. Nurses volunteered to support overwhelmed hospitals within Advocate’s system. Staff remained committed despite the strain. The organization adapted quickly, sharing resources and finding new ways to operate—including virtual care models that continue today.
Through it all, Lambert remained focused on the people around her. Not just patients, but the staff who carry the emotional weight of the work.
“You’re dealing with life at its most vulnerable,” she says. “That affects everyone.”
At home, that same sense of intention shaped her family life. Early in her career at Christ, both she and her husband, Jack, worked full time while raising their three young children—Tyler, Lindsey, and Erin—often relying on au pairs to balance demanding professional roles.
As her responsibilities grew, they made a deliberate decision: Jack would stay home. “It allowed us to have a parent fully present,” she says. “And it worked because Jack was completely comfortable in that role.”
He coached sports, managed the day-to-day rhythms of family life, and became a constant presence as their children grew. Lambert remained equally committed, drawing a clear boundary between work and home. “When I walked through the door, I was mom,” she says. “That was non-negotiable.”
Looking back, she’s candid about the impact of that partnership. “Jack made our children more independent than I probably would have,” she says. “I might have done more for them. He expected them to figure things out.”
Leadership in the hospital setting, required similar balance. Lambert is direct about one of her early missteps—delivering a difficult organizational change affecting jobs in a way that felt too detached. The feedback was immediate, and she acted on it.
“I went back and apologized, to everyone” she says. “That experience taught me to bring my full self into those moments. People need honesty, but they also need to feel it.” That lesson—authenticity over control—became a defining part of her leadership style. So did her belief in surrounding herself with strong, capable people.
“You don’t have to know everything,” she says. “But you do need to know your team—and trust them.”
Now, as she looks ahead, Lambert is focused less on what she’s leaving and more on what continues. She speaks with confidence about her successor, Mr. Lanndon Rose, someone she has mentored and is confident is ready to lead.
“That gives me a sense of contentment,” she says. “The work is in good hands.”
If there’s a single thread that runs through Lambert’s career, it’s consistency—of values, of approach, and of purpose. The same principles also shaped her life at home—be present, make thoughtful decisions, and allow others the space to grow.
It’s not complicated. But it is intentional.
And in both leadership and life, that has made all the difference.
I had the good fortune of living across the street from Karen and her family for 25 years. We raised our children together and shared countless neighborhood barbecues, swim meets, backyard camping adventures, first days of school, and graduations.
Karen is an extraordinary human being. She is filled with compassion, empathy, and a genuine positive energy that draws people in and lifts them up. These qualities are at the heart of her accomplishments at Good Shepherd Hospital and her contributions to numerous community organizations.
The Barrington community is stronger and better because Karen is part of it—I hope her legacy of leadership, kindness, and service will continue to inspire and shape our community for years to come.
I vividly recall the first time I met Karen, which was about 25 years ago. She was walking along the service road on our campus, a path that led to the Emergency Department, long before it became the facility we know today.
For those who have not had the opportunity to meet Karen, you have truly missed out. Karen has remained steadfast in her values. She is renowned for her kindness, compassion, and respectful treatment of everyone. Her empathy ensures that those around her feel valued and understood. Karen’s approachable demeanor fosters a supportive environment where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns. Her caring nature has earned her the trust and admiration of her colleagues, patients, and the broader community. Karen’s dedication to the community is evident in her involvement with Art in the Barn, Barn Dance, Corn Roast, and Smart Farm.
It has been both an honor and a privilege to work under Karen’s leadership for so many years. She is the best administrator Good Shepherd Hospital has ever had.
Karen is hands down the best human being I ever worked for and within my entire career. We started out as teammates, she became my boss, and she endures as one of the most valued friendships in my life.
Among her many strengths is her sense of humor. She never takes herself too seriously. She is genuine. Just a flat-out good person. For anyone to remain in executive leadership for 25 years in a tumultuous industry, much less in one place, is unparalleled. Karen’s team-building skills are second to none. She had an uncanny ability to find and coalesce talented people in ways that others may not have considered. Her success rate in helping to develop leaders throughout Advocate has been outstanding. Her impact will live on for decades.
One of her superpowers is her X-ray vision on a multitude of subjects. Karen is one of the smartest hospital operations leaders I ever encountered. She has that persnickety gene, but in all the best ways. There was always one more why, one more angle to consider, which was frustrating at times, but was one of the keys to her immense success. She built a small, suburban hospital into an outstanding place of healing and community treasure by every measure.
Many people don’t realize that she refused repeated offers of promotion to bigger and allegedly better opportunities throughout the last 20 years. She chose to remain. Both are so much better because she loved them.
When I think of leadership and community, I think of Karen Lambert. Karen has led Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital since 2001 and within that timeframe the hospital has seen an incredible physical expansion, and expansion of highly sophisticated medical services which has resulted in achieving some of the highest levels of national distinction including
Magnet Recognition, the highest honor for professional nursing practices.
I met Karen soon after moving to Barrington 1997 and I had the honor to be asked to join the Good Shepherd Governing Council, serving two years as president. Firsthand I witnessed Karen’s leadership qualities. She was genuine, compassionate and thoughtful, and highly respected and admired by the leaders of Advocate Health and the doctors, nurses, staff and colleagues. She was fully committed to bringing the hospital to the community, not only by herself, but with other hospital staff and professionals taking leadership roles. Karen served with the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce advocating for the support and growth of small local businesses; she has been serving as a director of the Barrington Area Community Foundation helping to identify, support, and fund unmet needs in the community. Above all, Karen is real. She is sincere and has genuinely been a driving force behind not only the success of the hospital, but the growth, development and the health of the Barrington area.
Karen and I have been neighbors for over 25 years, and two of each of our kids were classmates. Most of our time together was on the Good Shepherd Hospital Governing Council, where I served for 15 years. As part of Advocate Health, Good Shepherd experienced near-constant growth and change during Karen’s tenure. The cardiac unit expanded and renovated emergency department, the building of the north tower, the shift to increased outpatient care, the center for integrative medicine, and the housing, then partnership, now absorption of Smart Farm all happened under Karen’s leadership. Simultaneous goals of improving health outcomes, attracting and retaining quality care providers and associates, increasing access, serving local communities, and driving down costs have been consistent throughout.
Karen holds accomplishments and relationships not in tension, but in harmony. She has earned the respect of everyone in the room and is able to draw from a wide range of stakeholders to make optimal decisions. There is no ego involved in getting to the root causes before making needed changes. Karen is also exceptional at identifying and developing professional and volunteer leaders. All of us count it a privilege to serve alongside Karen.
For 25 years, Karen has been more than a president at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital—she has been its heartbeat. As a practicing anesthesiologist for over three decades, I have seen many seasons of change. Yet since Karen took the helm, the hospital’s transformation has been extraordinary. Karen has fostered a culture of collaboration and inclusivity that has transformed the administration in deeply meaningful ways.
Her vision wasn’t just for a superb medical facility, but for a “Hospital of the Future” that stayed rooted in the community with care that rivals that of institutions in the city. My time as medical staff president and my nine-year term on the Governing Council gave me the front row seat to Karen’s leadership in action. Under her leadership, she guided the hospital through its historic $200M expansion project, multiple nursing Magnet recognitions, and expanded critical care and oncology services. She ensured Barrington residents never had to go far for world-class care.
Early in her new role, we were walking down a hallway of the hospital. She noticed a small piece of trash on the ground and picked it up and threw it away. That action stuck with me because I knew she cared about every little detail and took pride in our workplace as much as I did.
Karen showed up for the medical staff where she championed our needs, but also for the employees and the patients. She has been an advocate for all staff whether they are the person sweeping the floors or a physician who needs special equipment for a difficult procedure.
I also had the pleasure of knowing Karen outside of work. Our daughters were all involved in Barrington High School Lacrosse together and Karen was just as warm and comfortable speaking with parents on the bleachers as she was in the boardroom. Her involvement in Rotary and other local boards demonstrates this.
Leadership is often measured in metrics, but Karen’s legacy is measured in lives of patients who found healing in their private room, and by physicians and staff who felt seen and heard. Karen’s steady navigation, warm heart, and unwavering commitment to excellence has changed Good Shepherd Hospital and our community for the better. She has guided this institution to become one of the best within Advocate and in the area. She will be dearly missed, but her enduring impact will remain.
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