Today’s guest is John Polanowicz, the Executive Vice President of Steward Health Care’s Hospital Services Group. Steward Health Care is a large, for-profit hospital system with a national presence.
In this podcast we talk about John’s fascinating career, beginning with his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his tour as an Army aviation unit commander and Black Hawk pilot, and then on to his experiences as a hospital CEO, his service as the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services for the State of Massachusetts, and finally his role today at Steward. We close on a discussion of leadership and John’s advice to early careerists.
Links to the Podcast
Soundcloud:
Edited: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/john-w-polanowicz-evp-of-the-hospital-services-group-steward-health-care-1
Full length: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/john-w-polanowicz-evp-of-the-hospital-services-group-steward-health-care
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-health-leader-forge
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/healthleaderforge/id981989377
YouTube: https://youtu.be/sx1XjhwfpDsTranscript
Podcast Outline (applies to full length interview)
0:01:04 US Military Academy at West Point
0:02:18 why military service?
0:03:16 what sold him on WP
0:03:55 entry onto active duty - Black Hawk pilot
0:04:21 Company Commander for an assault helicopter company
0:05:40 leadership lessons from military service
0:06:56 decision to leave the military
0:08:56 first healthcare experience - Stryker
0:10:35 Stanford MBA
0:11:49 healthcare delivery - UMass Memorial - internal consulting
0:16:07 VP. Operations, UMass Memorial
0:16:37 committing to healthcare delivery, operations
0:17:51 President & CEO, Marlborough Hospital
0:20:39 what was the attraction of the CEO role?
0:21:29 about Marlborough Hospital
0:22:26 the influence of the organized medical staff
0:24:22 surprise at the extent of external roles of the CEO
0:25:52 President, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
0:28:07 switching from not-for-profit to for-profit
0:32:16 should healthcare not be for-profit?
0:33:23 culture differences
0:35:32 becoming Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services
0:37:54 scope of HHS in MA
0:39:03 challenge of taking on new areas of interest as Sec EOHHS
0:41:35 pressing policies facing HHS at the time
0:44:28 biggest accomplishments as Sec EOHHS
0:47:01 about Steward Health Care
0:49:06 rapid growth through acquisition - leadership challenges
0:52:01 what scales well with growth?
0:53:49 how does Steward go about making acquisition choices?
0:55:22 what is the process of integrating a new facility?
0:58:22 role as EVP of Hospital Services Group
1:02:09 what makes Steward so successful?
1:04:03 concerns as the EVP of Hospital Services
1:08:07 leadership philosophy
1:09:30 characteristics and behaviors of a good leader - importance of thank you notes
1:12:45 leadership lesson learned the hard way
1:15:06 importance of mentoring networks
1:16:09 executive coaching
1:16:39 Mentoring as creating managerial scale
1:18:33 Advice to early careerists
0:02:18 why military service?
0:03:16 what sold him on WP
0:03:55 entry onto active duty - Black Hawk pilot
0:04:21 Company Commander for an assault helicopter company
0:05:40 leadership lessons from military service
0:06:56 decision to leave the military
0:08:56 first healthcare experience - Stryker
0:10:35 Stanford MBA
0:11:49 healthcare delivery - UMass Memorial - internal consulting
0:16:07 VP. Operations, UMass Memorial
0:16:37 committing to healthcare delivery, operations
0:17:51 President & CEO, Marlborough Hospital
0:20:39 what was the attraction of the CEO role?
0:21:29 about Marlborough Hospital
0:22:26 the influence of the organized medical staff
0:24:22 surprise at the extent of external roles of the CEO
0:25:52 President, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
0:28:07 switching from not-for-profit to for-profit
0:32:16 should healthcare not be for-profit?
0:33:23 culture differences
0:35:32 becoming Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services
0:37:54 scope of HHS in MA
0:39:03 challenge of taking on new areas of interest as Sec EOHHS
0:41:35 pressing policies facing HHS at the time
0:44:28 biggest accomplishments as Sec EOHHS
0:47:01 about Steward Health Care
0:49:06 rapid growth through acquisition - leadership challenges
0:52:01 what scales well with growth?
0:53:49 how does Steward go about making acquisition choices?
0:55:22 what is the process of integrating a new facility?
0:58:22 role as EVP of Hospital Services Group
1:02:09 what makes Steward so successful?
1:04:03 concerns as the EVP of Hospital Services
1:08:07 leadership philosophy
1:09:30 characteristics and behaviors of a good leader - importance of thank you notes
1:12:45 leadership lesson learned the hard way
1:15:06 importance of mentoring networks
1:16:09 executive coaching
1:16:39 Mentoring as creating managerial scale
1:18:33 Advice to early careerists
Topics Discussed:
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