For more than 25 years, Katie Ensign has devoted her career to serving individuals and families in need. Her path began as a volunteer, where she quickly realized that supporting nonprofit organizations was her calling. That realization led her to leave the corporate world and commit her professional life to helping others.
As vice president of Community Impact at Baptist Health, Ensign leads efforts to improve community health and well-being and eliminate health disparities through collaboration, civic engagement, responsible action and charitable service. Since joining Baptist Health in 2023, she’s brought deep experience from leading nonprofit and grantmaking organizations, giving her a firsthand understanding of the challenges communities face and the partnerships required to address them.
Ensign works closely with nonprofits across Northeast Florida, staying closely connected to community needs while advancing Baptist Health’s strategic priorities.
“Working to level the playing field and advance equity has been the driving force of my career,” Ensign said.
She helps guide the strategic direction of Baptist Health’s community initiatives, including oversight of the Community Health Needs Assessment, which identifies the region’s most significant health-related priorities. In fiscal year 2025, Baptist Health made strategic investments in 54 nonprofit organizations across five Northeast Florida counties.
Among the most recent investments, Feeding Northeast Florida received $250,000 to support people facing food insecurity.
Ensign is also passionate about expanding Baptist Health’s impact beyond financial support, including encouraging team members to volunteer with local nonprofits to help drive meaningful, lasting change.
“As the region’s only locally governed, faith-based, not-for-profit health care system, we’re deeply committed to improving the health and well-being of our most vulnerable neighbors – by meeting people where they live, work, play and learn,” Ensign said.
She points to partnerships extending beyond Baptist Health’s hospital walls. The Blue Zones Project is a comprehensive initiative focused on helping residents in high-need ZIP codes live better, longer lives. Baptist Health’s investment in the first phase of the Emerald Trail – the LaVilla Link – creates spaces that brings families and individuals together while fostering connection, physical activity and early literacy.
“These projects represent significant investments by our health system in creating environments where health and well-being are accessible,” Ensign said. “They empower community members
to make the healthy choice the easy choice.”
