Leckman was the first woman resident to finish the surgery program at the University of Utah.
One in a series of profiles of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare (sponsored by Furst Group)
Linda Leckman was in her car – again – driving up to Ogden, Utah, from Salt Lake City, to meet with a group of thoracic surgeons. Road trips like this one – which Leckman actively seeks out to keep in touch with her colleagues and staff — are common for the vice president of Intermountain Healthcare and the CEO of the Intermountain Medical Group.
“I’ve learned the value,” says Leckman, a general surgeon herself, “of sitting down face to face and actively listening to people.”
While Leckman’s reputation precedes her as one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare, she is transparent about her growing pains in moving from a career as a surgeon in private practice to an administrator. Listening, she says, was actually something she had to grow into. Read more…
O'Kane: “There is great work being done, but it's uneven.”
One in a series of profiles of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare (sponsored by Furst Group)
If healthcare has anything like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, it is probably accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the organization that Margaret “Peggy” O’Kane founded in 1990.
Besides her appearance as one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare, O’Kane often is also recognized as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare by the magazine. And for good reason. The Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set is NCQA’s quality measurement tool that is the gold standard in the industry.
O’Kane is a champion of healthcare institutions, but she is also tough on them. Read more…
Bride Taryn Bragg, M.D., visits with her patients.
The true meaning of healthcare can sometimes get lost beneath the necessary distractions of governmental agencies, provider and payor budgets, accountable care organizations and health insurance exchanges. But every once in a while, we get a poignant reminder about why we are involved in this great industry – to find and develop the best leaders possible so they in turn will build organizations that make a difference in people’s lives.
This week’s example comes from Madison, Wis. We were first tipped to it by Fierce Healthcare’s Twitter feed. The Wisconsin State Journal reported on the recent nuptials of pediatric surgeon Taryn Bragg, M.D., who held her wedding at American Family Children’s Hospital so her young patients, past and present, could attend. Read more…
McNutt: “There is a sense that healthcare has been behind other industries in adopting information technology.”
One in a series of profiles of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare (sponsored by Furst Group)
Computerworld Magazine covers its industry to a T – make that IT. But amid major stories on automakers (“How IT is fueling Ford’s turnaround”) and competing systems (“Clash of the Clouds”), last Nov. 22’s cover features senior vice president and chief information officer Pamela McNutt of Methodist Health System in Dallas, who weighs in on “Healthcare IT: No Quick Cure.”
McNutt’s national stature also made her a wise choice to chair the policy steering committee for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, and she and her colleagues have spent time advising the CMS on what works and what doesn’t in the federal government’s new regulations. Read more…
Nancy Schlichting became an EVP and COO at 28.
One in a series of profiles of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women in Healthcare (sponsored by Furst Group)
If you ask Nancy Schlichting about what sparked the most professional growth in her career as she rose to become chief executive officer of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, she is quick to point to people other than herself.
“Having strong mentors has probably been the most important element of my career,” she says.
The two key ones, she adds, are Al Gilbert and Gail Warden, who led Summa Health System in Ohio and Henry Ford, respectively.
“They are two individuals who had profound impact on my career,” Schlichting says. “Al Gilbert appointed me at the ripe old age of 28 to be executive vice president and chief operating officer of a 650-bed teaching hospital. That was what launched my career in so many ways.” Read more…
Pete Eisenbarth
The winners in any organization think beyond their role. This is especially true in staffing and recruiting. Understanding the impact individuals will make far beyond the “must-have” qualities in the defined job description is paramount. One needs to think boldly. In some industries, the bottom dollar rides on it. In healthcare, the quality of patient care, safety and, ultimately, people’s lives are at stake.
When you’re interviewing a slate of candidates and begin to narrow the field, it’s very important to ask yourself some questions that go against the grain of standard hiring practices. These questions won’t always be a major factor in your ultimate decision, but they are worth considering:
Culture: Regardless of someone’s career accomplishments, ask yourself: Should this person fit in with the team we have? Sometimes an organization needs someone to fit in neatly with the rest of the team. At other times, an organization’s best decision is to hire someone whose personality or style is a marked contrast to many others in the company. Do you need someone who will come in, work hard, be successful and not stir up the waters? Or do you need a change agent who will be successful and may challenge the status quo (including you)? Talk openly to the candidate about the current state of your culture, its challenges and what changes you believe may be needed. Read more…
In his classic comic strip “Pogo,” artist Walt Kelly came up with a number of classic lines, but the most famous is this one:
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
That’s the sentiment on display in a new website created by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina to discuss the rising cost of healthcare, www.letstalkcost.com.
“With clear purpose, unwavering principles, and steadfast leadership, the people at UCLA have established a new bar, a compelling promise, for what healthcare can and should be.”
—David M. Lawrence, M.D., former CEO, Kaiser Permanente
Organizational consultant and author Joseph Michelli has previously mined the inner workings of a coffee revolution (“The Starbucks Experience,” McGraw-Hill, 2006) and hotel king Ritz-Carlton (“The Gold Standard,” McGraw-Hill, 2008). Now, he’s trained his gaze on healthcare, and the inside view is one we’ve been privileged to witness as well.
Michelli’s new book, “Prescription for Excellence: Leadership Lessons for Creating a World-Class Customer Experience from UCLA Health System” (McGraw-Hill, 2011) comes from his team spending a year observing the inner workings of the organization. Furst Group’s involvement with UCLA comes from helping to fill the system’s roster with more than 15 leaders, in addition to several consulting projects. Read more…
Archelle Georgiou
In a thought-provoking blog post at “Archelle on Health,” she suggests an experiment. Write the words “Healthcare is important” on a sheet of paper, and ask a few people to describe what “healthcare” means.
“What is the first thing they say?” she writes. “Most likely, they refer to insurance, access, costs, and/or health reform. Do any even refer to the quality of care that they receive from doctors or other care providers? Do they refer to the importance of their own lifestyle behaviors? Probably not.” Read more…
The Medical University of South Carolina recently endowed a chair in Joanne Conroy's honor.
As long as she can remember, Joanne Conroy has been a risk taker.
But the biggest roll of the dice of her career may have come in 2008, when she resigned as a hospital president to become chief healthcare officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Three years later, it’s evident the risk paid off – she’s been honored as one of the top influencers in healthcare.
“I love running a hospital, walking the halls at 2 in the morning,” she says of the 700-bed Morristown Memorial Hospital, part of Atlantic Health, where she served. “Every single day, there are great miracles that happen. But I realized that I could only affect care in a very small area, and even then I could be hamstrung by external forces. I could stay there, or I could actually go where I could be part of change on a national level.” Read more…
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