Healthcare United Team | Physician Recruiting Leadership

Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Healthcare United

Mike Croke leads Healthcare United’s recruiting strategy, client development, and provider placement operations, working directly with healthcare organizations and candidates to drive permanent hiring success across multiple specialties. His approach is built on clear communication, rigorous candidate evaluation, strong client alignment, and a consistent focus on long-term fit.

Based in Milford, Connecticut, Mike (Kelly) brings over a decade of executive experience across healthcare recruiting, business development, sales leadership, operations, marketing, and contract strategy. His background gives him a broad understanding of how organizations grow, how hiring decisions are made, and how to connect the right provider with the right opportunity.

Prior to co-founding Healthcare United, Mike held senior business development and leadership roles across multiple companies, including Fludder, where he built strategic B2B partnerships with colleges, universities, and graduate programs. In that role, he helped design and implement virtual, hands-on, industry-specific mock interview programs that improved graduate job placement outcomes and strengthened employer engagement.

Since launching Healthcare United, Mike has built a recruiting practice that has placed more than 1,000 physicians and advanced providers across a wide range of specialties and care settings. He works closely with hospitals, health systems, medical groups, and private practices to understand their hiring goals, evaluate provider alignment, and deliver candidates matched to each organization’s clinical, operational, and long-term workforce needs.

Mike combines sharp talent acquisition expertise with relationship-driven dealmaking, allowing him to manage searches with both urgency and precision. His command of interview dynamics, contract negotiation, candidate evaluation, and client communication helps him navigate competing priorities and move searches forward without losing sight of long-term fit.

Through consistency, follow-through, and direct communication, Mike has built a nationwide network of relationships with hospitals, healthcare systems, medical groups, private practices, physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. His recruiting approach is focused on delivering strong, lasting placements that benefit both the provider and the healthcare organization well beyond the initial hire.

Bio Contact: Mike.Kelly@Healthcare-United.org

Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Healthcare United

Matt Ramos leads Healthcare United’s business development, client relationships, and strategic growth, working closely with healthcare organizations to understand hiring needs, build long-term partnerships, and develop efficient recruiting processes around each client’s goals.

Based in New Haven County, Connecticut, Matt brings a strong background in entrepreneurship, dealmaking, relationship-driven business development, and high-value negotiations. His experience across competitive business environments has shaped his ability to identify opportunity, build trust, manage complex decisions, and create lasting partnerships.

Prior to co-founding Healthcare United, Matt built a career in high-value real estate transactions and investment projects, where he developed a reputation for structuring complex deals, managing strategic relationships, and navigating high-stakes negotiations with precision and confidence. That entrepreneurial background gave him a strong instinct for evaluating opportunities, managing risk, and closing deals under pressure.

At Healthcare United, Matt applies that same disciplined, relationship-focused approach to physician and advanced practice recruiting. He works with hospitals, health systems, medical groups, and private practices to clarify hiring priorities, strengthen recruiting strategy, and identify candidates who align with each organization’s clinical needs, culture, location, and long-term growth plans.

Matt remains closely involved in the firm’s day-to-day operations, supporting both client strategy and recruiting execution. He has played a key role in expanding Healthcare United’s client base, deepening long-term healthcare partnerships, and helping providers relocate into new markets where community fit, client expectations, and long-term retention are critical.

In addition to his work in healthcare recruiting, Matt continues to operate in real estate as a parallel venture, reflecting his entrepreneurial drive and strong understanding of market dynamics. His ability to combine business development, negotiation, client service, and recruiting execution has been central to Healthcare United’s continued growth and its reputation for responsiveness, reliability, and long-term value creation.

Bio Contact: Matt.Ramos@Healthcare-United.org

Vice President of Recruitment, 

Healthcare United

Austin Woods leads day-to-day recruiting operations, candidate outreach, interview coordination, and client communication for Healthcare United. He manages the critical details that keep searches moving forward and ensures candidates and clients remain aligned throughout every stage of the hiring process.

Austin works directly with physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and healthcare leaders across a wide range of specialties, helping candidates evaluate opportunities while supporting clients with clear communication, organized follow-up, and consistent search execution. His role is central to maintaining momentum, coordinating interviews, gathering feedback, and keeping complex recruiting processes on track.

Austin is recognized for his strong communication, reliability, and ability to manage the moving pieces involved in healthcare recruiting. He brings structure and accountability to each search, ensuring that candidates understand the opportunity, clients receive timely updates, and no important detail is missed during multi-stage hiring processes.

Before focusing exclusively on healthcare recruiting, Austin built a strong track record across highly technical, regulated, and mission-critical sectors, including Department of Defense programs, Top Secret/SCI environments, and advanced technology recruiting. He led full lifecycle recruitment efforts for senior executives, directors, and specialized technical professionals in environments where precision, accountability, confidentiality, and execution were essential.

That experience gave Austin a disciplined, detail-oriented recruiting style that translates directly into healthcare staffing, where each placement has a meaningful impact on patient care, provider stability, and organizational performance. His ability to manage urgency while maintaining accuracy makes him a valuable resource for both candidates and clients.

Before entering the recruiting industry, Austin competed as a collegiate and professional basketball player, playing internationally in Spain and Lithuania. That background shaped many of the qualities that define his work today, including preparation, adaptability, competitiveness, teamwork, and the ability to perform under pressure.

Bio Contact: Austin.Woods@Healthcare-United.org