Dr. Kenneth P. Anderson, D.O., M.S., CPE, Chief Operating Officer for the Health Research & Educational Trust

Today’s guest is Dr. Kenneth Anderson, DO, the Chief Operating Officer for the Health Research and Educational Trust, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association in Chicago, Illinois. In this podcast, we trace Ken’s career in medicine, from his training in both family practice and internal medicine, then as nephrologist and kidney transplant specialist, followed by his movement into the physician executive ranks, specializing in quality and data management as the Chief Medical Quality Officer for the NorthShore University HealthSystem before his current position as COO of HRET. As the COO of HRET he helps to influence health policy at the national level through research and educational programs.

I really enjoyed speaking with Ken about his career – his passion for medicine and improving the quality of care for patients at the individual and system level is evident in everything he has done.

ADDENDUM: Since the recording of this podcast, Dr. Anderson has been promoted to Acting President of HRET and Acting Senior Executive for Health Improvement for the AHA (American Hospital Association). 

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/anderson-interview

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

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

Podcast Outline

Time	Topic
0:01:47	Educational background, choosing to enter the medical profession
0:04:00	Going to medical school, osteopathic vs. allopathic medicine
0:06:47	Residencies in family practice and internal medicine, falling in love with nephrology
0:09:50	Fellowship in nephrology
0:10:55	The “Physician Identity”
0:12:40	First jobs after residency & fellowship training at Iowa Lutheran (IL)
0:14:17	First experiences in a leadership role at IL
0:15:25	Early clinical career experiences
0:16:58	Furthering education through an executive program in health management, a master’s degree in administrative medicine, and the college of physician executives
0:18:55	Initial involvement in Quality Improvement (QI)
0:20:53	Work as Chief Medical Quality Officer at the NorthShore University HealthSystem
0:22:05	Transitioning away from clinical practice
0:24:16	Work as Co-Director of the Center for Clinical Research & Informatics at NorthShore
0:26:58	Developing a mobile application to distribute health informatics, passion for health informatics
0:28:04	Information on the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET)
0:29:07	Interaction between HRET and the American Hospital Association
0:30:51	Governance structure of HRET
0:32:09	Interaction between the President and COO of HRET, Ken’s role as COO of HRET
0:33:39	Staffing and organizational structure of HRET
0:34:37	Obtaining revenue at HRET
0:35:14	Business lines at HRET
0:36:10	Areas of research at HRET, sharing research results with other hospitals and health systems
0:38:25	Being a researcher vs. running a healthcare delivery system
0:39:58	Day in the life of Ken Anderson as COO of HRET
0:41:45	Importance of the physician perspective in healthcare delivery research
0:43:45	The “Physician-Executive Identity”
0:45:03	Personal leadership philosophy
0:45:52	What makes a good leader?
0:48:23	Learning a difficult leadership lesson
0:51:24	How to evaluate the performance of leaders
0:52:09	The importance of organizational culture, influencing organizational culture as a leader
0:54:08	The importance of mentorship, mentoring other leaders
0:57:50	Involvement with and importance of professional organizations
0:58:46	Advice for clinicians, others interested in healthcare management

Links to Topics Discussed:

Health Research and Educational Trust

American Hospital Association

NorthShore University HealthSystem

Iowa Lutheran Hospital




Thanks to Sameer Panesar for production support!

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Dr. Joseph Pepe, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMC Healthcare System

Today's guest is Dr. Joseph Pepe, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Medical Center Healthcare System. Dr. Pepe has served the CMC Healthcare System since 1990, first as a staff physician, then as Chief Medical Officer, and since 2012 as the system President and CEO. The advice he gives early careerists entering the field of administration is to volunteer for additional responsibility, and that positions will follow. His own career reflects that fact. In the interview, Dr. Pepe describes his choice to become a primary care physician, and how his interest in improving the operations of the practice resulted in him being "volun-told" that he would be the Chief Medical Officer. After thirteen years of successful leadership as the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Pepe was selected to lead CMC as the CEO and president. We discuss strategy and how Dr. Pepe is working with the board and senior management to ensure CMC's success in a rapidly changing health care environment, while remaining true to CMC's Catholic identity. We conclude with a discussion of leadership and mentorship.

I really enjoyed this interview because Dr. Pepe made it clear that CMC’s identity as a faith-based organization goes beyond just a historical origin; it is critical to the organization’s mission today, and influences its strategy on an ongoing basis. 

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/dr-joseph-pepe-md-president-and-chief-executive-officer-of-cmc-healthcare-system

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

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

Transcript

Podcast Outline

Time	Topic
0:02:23	Educational background, wanting to become a physician
0:04:48	Medical school at Tufts
0:06:45	Residency in internal medicine
0:07:37	The “Physician Identity”
0:08:46	Working at Catholic Medical Center (CMC) after residency
0:09:50	The community of Manchester, New Hampshire
0:11:10	History and mission of CMC
0:15:04	Size of CMC
0:16:03	Being a hospital-employed physician at CMC
0:17:34	Transitioning from clinical practice into hospital administration
0:20:05	Role as Chief Medical Officer at CMC
0:21:37	Organization of CMC’s medical staff, peer review
0:24:13	Helpfulness of CMO experience in the CEO role, conflict resolution
0:26:34	Day in the life of a hospital CEO
0:27:34	Advantages of being a physician-administrator, moving to value-based reimbursement
0:29:26	Do you see patients as the CEO?
0:30:09	What metrics do you track?
0:31:26	For people outside of healthcare: what’s it like to run a hospital?
0:32:34	Function, responsibilities, and composition of the CMC Board of Trustees
0:35:54	Most difficult part of being the CEO
0:37:46	CMC’s partnerships with other hospitals, external entities
0:39:48	Biggest surprise upon becoming the CEO, growing into the position
0:42:39	Strategic planning processes at CMC
0:46:22	Adapting to value-based reimbursement at CMC
0:48:26	Growth opportunities in healthcare
0:50:12	Partnerships and reimbursement in “population health”
0:52:38	Personal leadership philosophy
0:54:17	What makes a good leader? Why?
0:56:52	Hiring and evaluating good leaders
0:59:41	Personal mentors
1:00:51	Developing leaders within an organization
1:03:21	Membership in professional organizations, professional career development
1:05:30	Importance of involvement in professional organizations, networking
1:07:22	Advice for young clinicians and others looking into a career in healthcare administration

Links to Topics Discussed:

Catholic Medical Center

St. Anselm College

Tufts School of Medicine

Granite Health

Tufts Health Freedom Plan

Thanks to Sameer Panesar for production support!

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Gerald J. "Gerry" Vicenzi, President, Synernet Inc.

Today’s guest is Gerald “Gerry” Vicenzi, the President of Synernet, Inc. Synernet is a for-profit provider of a broad portfolio of administrative and management services to healthcare organizations including workers compensation administration, clinical engineering, credentialing, coding, and transcription. Gerry has been the President of Synernet since 1999, and under his leadership, Synernet has grown from 25 to more than 270 employees. Gerry brought a wealth of experience with him when he moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Portland, Maine where Synernet is headquartered. Starting out his his career as an industrial engineer and it is fascinating to hear how his engineering background influenced his management approach. He shares his successes and struggles over his forty three year career. We discuss organizational leadership and mentorship, and close on the importance of networking through professional organizations such as ACHE.

I was particularly interested in interviewing Gerry because Synernet represents a very different kind of organization than we have had on the podcast so far. It was fascinating to listen to how he made strategic decisions to adjust the portfolio of services over the years in response to changes in the marketplace, changes in technology, and changes in the competitive environment for his clients.

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/gerald-gerry-vicenzi-president-of-synernet-inc

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/health-leader-forge/the-health-leader-forge/e/gerald-gerry-vicenzi-president-of-synernet-inc-43177697

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

Transcript is available here.

Podcast Outline


Time         Topic
0:02:13 training in industrial engineering
0:06:35 Rhode Island Hospital Administration
0:09:35 joining Health Information Management Society
0:10:04 consulting with Medicus Systems in Chicago
0:11:23 Medicus moves Gerry to Cleveland, begins relationship with Mt. Sinai
0:13:36 Saudi Arabia
0:15:21 transition to employment at Mt. Sinai
0:15:57 trying out recruiting
0:17:44 back to Mt. Sinai - rising to Vice President
0:19:36 resiliency - dealing with being layed off
0:22:11 creating a consulting practice
0:23:16 VP for Material Management Services, Greater Cleveland Hospital
                        Association
0:29:24 leadership roles with the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association
0:30:43 recruited to lead Synernet, coming to Maine
0:37:23 revitalizing Synernet - refocused vision and mission
0:44:27 acquisition by Maine Health
0:51:30 expanding the Synernet portfolio, adding credentialing
0:57:13 expanding the Synernet portfolio, adding coding
0:58:26 summary of changes of the Synernet portfolio
1:03:13 discussion of the current strategic direction of Synernet
1:08:23 the hard decisions as CEO - not strategy, people
1:10:59 role of the President/CEO
1:20:42 leadership philosophy
1:22:00 characteristics of a good leader
1:25:16 organizational culture
1:26:50 mentorship
1:34:53 the influence of ACHE

1:38:49 advice to early careerists

Links to Topics Discussed:

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Kevin Donovan, CEO, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center

Today’s guest is Kevin Donovan, FACHE, FACMPE, the CEO of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor, Vermont. Mt. Ascutney Hospital is a critical access hospital in rural Vermont and in this podcast Kevin explains the role the hospital and hospital CEO play in a small town where it is the largest employer and major part of the social safety net for the local community. Mt. Asctuney is such an important part of the community fabric that it won the American Hospital Association’s Foster G. McGaw Prize for demonstrated exceptional commitment to community service.

Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center made the strategic decision under Kevin’s watch to become an affiliate of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System.  We discuss this critical decision, and how it was essential to the ongoing success of the organization, but also, surprisingly how a small, rural community hospital contributes value through its affiliation to one of the country’s best known research and teaching hospitals. One would expect the relationship to be one sided, given the size and influence of Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Northern New England, but it is clear from our conversation that the relationship is a win-win for both organizations.

As regular listeners will know after many interviews, most senior health care executives seem to come to the field through trial and error, almost discovering their destiny by accident. Kevin is one of the few I have interviewed who knew from the time he was a young man that he wanted to be a hospital CEO, and through dedication and hard work has accomplished that goal. We conclude the podcast with a discussion of leadership and mentorship, and Kevin gives advice for early careerists who want to follow his path.

Links to the Podcast:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/kevin-donovan-ceo-mt-ascutney-hospital

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

0:00:00 introduction
0:02:44 education at Syracuse Univeristy, first exposure to healthcare admin
0:06:40 MHA at George Washington University
0:09:35 work as a practice manager
0:11:46 practice manager at DHMC Children's Hospital (CHAD)
0:13:32 becoming an ACHE Fellow
0:15:05 VP of Physician Services, Chief of Clinical Operations at The Elliott
0:22:59 Windsor, Vermont - home of Mt. Ascutney Hospital
0:26:18 recruiting skilled workers in a rural community
0:29:48 organizational structure of Mt. Ascutney Hospital
0:31:19 Mt. Ascutney as a critical access hosptial
0:34:05 becoming an affiliate of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
0:44:21 employed physician network
0:45:52 Mt. Ascutney's accute inpatient rehabilitation program
0:49:45 strategic decision to close the skilled nursing facility
0:51:29 Mt. Ascutney's assisted living facility
0:53:29 Mt. Ascutney 's grant foundation
0:55:58 being the CEO
1:00:18 employment relationship with DHMC, responsiblilites to DHMC
1:03:25 the board of Mt. Ascutney Hosptial and strategic planning
1:08:38 population health
1:11:09 the Mt. Ascutney grant foundation and receiving the Foster G. McGaw prize
1:13:36 leadership - servant leadership
1:15:36 hiring and evaluating leaders
1:19:11 mentors and mentorship
1:23:46 advice to early careerists

Links to Topics Discussed:

Mt. Ascutney Hospital

Syracuse University 

MHA at George Washington

Dartmouth-Hitchcok Health System

Medical Group Management Association

American College of Healthcare Executives

CARF accredited

OneCare Vermont

Foster G. McGaw Prize 

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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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