Patricia "Patsy" Aprile, Senior VP and COO, Southern Maine Health Care

Today’s guest is Patricia "Patsy" Aprile, FACHE, the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford, Maine. Patsy started her career on the clinical side as a medical technologist, working her way up through leadership positions in the laboratory, then clinical operations. In this podcast she talks about her experiences in a variety of organizations, including her time as CEO of Goodall Hospital during its merger with Southern Maine Health Care, as well as her role today. I think this podcast is especially useful for the insights Patsy offers on leadership and organizational culture, both in the context of leading through a merger as well as how she leads for operational excellence today. Patsy also talks about her service as the American College of Health Care Executives Regent for the state of Maine, and concludes with advice for early careerists.

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/patricia-patsy-aprile-senior-vp-and-coo-of-southern-maine-health-care

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-health-leader-forge

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/healthleaderforge/id981989377

Transcript of the interview.

Podcast Outline

Time Topic
0:01:42 welcome, educational background
0:03:32 beginning in leadership at The Elliot Hospital
0:05:02 Executive director of clinical services, Catholic Medical Center
0:06:42 Coming to Goodall Hospital, in Sanford, ME
0:07:37 VP of Operations at Goodall Hospital
0:18:32 Goodall Merger
0:22:09 CEO of Goodall Hospital
0:26:58 Governance during the merger
0:31:52 Working with the Goodall staff during the merger
0:33:35 Merging the cultures of SMHC and Goodall
0:35:17 Being part of Maine Health
0:37:17 Board composition at SMHC, role of physicians as trustees
0:38:33 SMHC locations and operations
0:41:26 Senior Vice President and COO of SMHC
0:43:01 Lean Daily Management
0:48:22 Leadership
0:55:50 Organizational culture
0:57:15 Mentorship
1:00:13 Experience as a woman leader
1:01:03 Being the ACHE Regent for Maine
1:04:09 Advice to early careerists

Links to Topics Discussed:

Southern Maine Health Care

Colby-Sawyer College

Elliot Hospital

Catholic Medical Center

American College of Healthcare Executives

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Kathy Bizarro-Thunberg, Executive Vice President, New Hampshire Hospital Association

Today's guest is Kathleen Bizarro-Thunberg, MBA, FACHE, Executive Vice President for the New Hampshire Hospital Association ("NHHA"). Kathy has worked at the New Hampshire Hospital Association for thirty years. In this podcast, Kathy tells how she worked her way up in the organization from data technician to Executive Vice President. We talk about how the Hospital Association works with member hospitals in the state to establish the organization's priorities and messages, and how the Hospital Association represents the interests of the member organizations at the state and federal level.

We also talk about leadership, and Kathy’s role as a leader both inside of her organization, as well as her role as a thought leader working with the organization’s membership, the state legislature, and other organizations and the similarities between those two forms of leadership.

We then discuss Kathy’s extensive leadership experience within the American College of Healthcare Executives where she currently holds a seat on the ACHE Board of Governors, a leadership position at the national level.

We conclude with Kathy’s recommendations for early careerists, and the importance of getting involved with a professional organization earlier rather than later.

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/kathleen-a-bizarro-thunberg-executive-vp-new-hampshire-hospital-association

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-health-leader-forge

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/healthleaderforge/id981989377

Transcript

Podcast Outline

Time               Topic
0:02:01 educational background, coming to NHHA
0:03:56 about the NHHA
0:04:42 early career at the NHHA
0:08:43 going back to school at Health Management and Policy
0:11:56 the Foundation for Health Communities
0:15:31 value proposition of the NHHA
0:16:53 establishing a common message for the membership
0:19:31 advocacy at the state level
0:24:29 advocacy at the federal level
0:28:49 internal organizational leadership
0:33:17 leading and influencing externally
0:35:41 mentorship, working with interns
0:39:00 being a woman and a leader, work-life balance
0:41:42 role in ACHE, national leadership on Board of Governors
0:46:20 importance of professional organizations
0:47:44 advice to early careerists

Links to Topics Discussed:

New Hampshire Hospital Association

NewHampshire Technical Institute

University of New Hampshire's Health Management and Policy

American College of Healthcare Executives

ACHE Board of Governors

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