SENIOR MANAGER PROFILES Newest executives take charge in midst of pandemic

In the first months of 2020, four leaders transitioned into new roles in Bryan Health’s executive team. Although they might be familiar faces by now, we interviewed them to get a better sense of their backgrounds, leadership roots and impressions of Bryan amidst a health care crisis.

This story is brought to you by Cornhusker Bank.

John has been with Bryan for a decade, transitioning to his new role in January. Hard work has defined a career spanning eight hospitals/systems, and it’s what led him into health care, as we found out when we asked him about his childhood.

I grew up in a relatively poor family in Omaha. There were seven of us living in a one-bedroom house. So, I earned my way at most things. I was always working, and I saved. I went to a Catholic high school and paid my own tuition. I bought my own car. I paid all my own college expenses at Bellevue University and never had to take out a loan.

I actually started college the June after graduating from high school and completed it in two and a half years. I worked full-time in a hospital on the night shift in sterile processing. Once I got my work done, I’d sit there and do my homework.

So when did you find time to sleep?

I’m one of those people who’s good on about five to six hours. I’ve always been that way. Going back through high school I had a job at a bakery where my shift started at 3:30 a.m.

Have you always been in the Midwest?

I was away for 24 years and have been back for 10.

My first big break was as a materials management director at University of Missouri Health. Since then I’ve gotten an MBA and held leadership positions at hospitals in Michigan and Virginia and in corporate health care with Mercy in Kansas.

What’s kept you in health care for over 40 years?

It’s constantly challenging, that’s what makes it great.

Jumping in and figuring it out, that’s how I got my first senior leadership position at Trinity. They were building a new hospital and my mentor wanted me to oversee it. At the end of the process, he asked if I was interested in being vice president of operations, and when I said yes, he responded, “Good, I was planning on telling the leadership team tomorrow.”

Hometown: Omaha Education: Bachelor of Science in Business, Bellevue University (Bellevue, Nebraska); Master of Business Administration, California National University (La Jolla) Years in health care: 44 Prior roles: President & CEO, Mercy Health System (Independence, Kansas); CEO, Wright Memorial Hospital (Trenton, Missouri); COO, Prince William Health System (Manassas, Virginia); COO, Battle Creek Health System (Battle Creek, Michigan); Material Management Director, University of Missouri Health (Columbia, Missouri) Favorite class in school: Accounting Family: Wife, Jeannie; children, John, Cara, Michael and Adam

What’s been different about working in senior leadership in the midst of COVID-19?

COVID-19 has been the ultimate challenge of just jumping in. We do so much preparation and research, but then you brainstorm and get creative to do what’s best for your patients and community.

We were the first in the state to do drive-through testing and have mobile testing. The creativity of our people and ability to meet these challenges has just been astounding. It reenergizes me about why I love this industry.

I don’t think I ever expected to be doing a press briefing every day, as we did online this spring.

Beyond that, I think it gives us the opportunity to very quickly let people judge our leadership style. I’ve always been lucky to have great mentors, and that made me realize early on that you have to surround yourself with good people and let them do their job.

We have incredibly talented people at Bryan, and if we can create an environment where they feel protected and safe, where they’re proud about what they do and what our collective team does, that’s all I can ask.

Hometown: Fargo, North Dakota Education: Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Minnesota State University (Moorhead); Master of Business Administration, Wayne State College (Wayne, Nebraska) Years in health care: 30 Prior Roles: CFO, Unity Point Health (Des Moines); CFO and CEO, UnityPoint Health (Fort Dodge, Iowa); CFO, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center (Storm Lake, Iowa); Finance Coordinator, Banner Health (Fargo) Favorite Class in School: Math and Accounting Family: Significant other, Robin Stewart; sons, Ross (24) and Brett (22)

Mike joined the Bryan team in April. He says a transition during a pandemic has unique challenges, but he has also been impressed with the role Bryan’s culture has played.

One of the toughest parts of being new right now is everyone I’m meeting is wearing a face mask. It makes it a little hard to integrate into the sense of community. That team-first culture is one reason I chose to come to Bryan. It’s something that’s been part of my leadership philosophy since college.

I had a track coach at Minnesota State who used to emphasize that all goals are team goals first. Our team hero was the one who usually didn’t place, but would come through with a fifth place finish in a big meet to put us over the top to win the meet. Being on a track team is a lot like working in health care — everyone has an individual role to play, but we are all working toward a common goal.

That really formed my philosophy, and I could tell in talking to Bryan’s senior team that they believe that too.

How did you get into health care?

My first job out of college was with an accounting firm specializing in health care. From there, I joined the corporate office of Banner Health in my hometown, working with 20 to 30 hospitals across the country. Being in those big consulting roles, you don’t get a sense of ownership or community — after about five years I felt like I really wanted to be at “my own” hospital. So, I went to work for Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa — a town of 10,000 people.

How has your work experience forged your leadership goals?

I think Storm Lake is where I grew up professionally. I spent 10 years there and realized how important the hospital is to a community. People are almost never coming to the hospital because they want to, and it’s our job to put them at ease. It’s important to me to be in a role that facilitates the people that do that work. I’m not on the front lines, but I still help lead the team.

Tell us something about your childhood.

I grew up in Fargo, and its reputation for being really cold is true. Some of my fondest memories are about playing with my friends outside during the winter. The colder the better. If it was below zero, we were still out there playing football.

We had a sense of pride about it, but my fingers and toes are probably showing signs of damage from frostbite as I’m getting older!

Hometown: Saginaw, Michigan Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Colorado State University (Fort Collins); Master of Public Administration, Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York); Master of Science in Human Resource Management, The New School (New York City); Master of Education, Colorado State University Years in health care: 18 — with 26 years in human resources altogether Prior Roles: Executive Director of HR, Saint Francis Health (Tulsa, Oklahoma); HR Director, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Boulder); VP of HR, SCL Health System (Denver); VP of HR, St. Mary’s Hospital (Grand Junction); VP of HR, Swedish Medical Center (Denver) Favorite Class in School: English Family: Husband, Dave Willower

Maria transitioned into her new role in January, just weeks before the onset of the pandemic. She has been impressed with the sense of camaraderie at Bryan in the midst of current challenges.

Even before things changed, everyone I met was very open and supportive. Bryan is a very relationship-based organization and people have a connectedness to the Bryan community. When the pandemic hit, everyone jumped in and helped. The core value of “one team, one purpose” really comes alive here.

Have you always been in health care?

I started my career in the government sector and then transitioned. My first position in health care led to a lot of professional growth and challenge. I briefly worked for a research company but quickly found that I missed health care and the sense of urgency that comes with this industry.

How has COVID-19 changed your focus in human resources?

I went from trying to meet people and get to know my team to diving in deep to quickly develop strategies to support our staff. Our focus has been on how we can be more flexible, to ensure immediate needs are met and reduce the stress that has impacted our employees. The focus has been on employee benefits, employee relations and employee health. We modified our short term disability program, our child development center program, modified how we administer our attendance policy, and created a gap pay program — to name a few. And we continued to hold our annual employee engagement survey in the midst of the pandemic.

Why did you decide to go ahead with it?

We wanted to have another method of receiving feedback to determine if the staff felt supported. We were so proud to see the results. Our staff feedback was at the 94th percentile with 88 percent participation. It was higher than last year, with no identified needs. It’s one of the best results I’ve ever seen.

What’s been hardest about transitioning?

I get to know people best by face-to-face interaction, so meeting on conference calls and video has been a challenge. I wish I had more time to get to know people and for them to get to know me.

What would you like them to know?

One thing is my love of learning. My parents came from large families — both the oldest of 12 kids. They got pulled out of school to help bring in whatever field needed to be picked as migrant farmers. Formal education meant a lot to them because they didn’t have it, and they instilled that in me.

On the fun side: My first job after I finished college was in New York City and every Friday after work, I used to go to Rockefeller Center and hang out near the elevators to meet celebrities after “Saturday Night Live” rehearsals to get autographs. Then I would sleep on the mezzanine floor to get standby tickets for SNL on Saturday morning. It was so much fun!

Pat has been with Bryan Health for nearly a decade and moved to his new position in June, which he sees as a bit of a return home

Hometown: Montevideo, Minnesota Education: Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications, Buena Vista University (Storm Lake, Iowa); Master of Health Services Administration, University of St. Francis (Joliet, Illinois) Years in health care: 30 Prior roles: President & Executive Director, Bryan Health Connect and CEO of Bryan Health Connect ACO; CAO, Bryan Heart; Administrator, Lincoln Orthopaedic Center; Executive Director, Evercare (Omaha); Administrator, Horizons West Medical Group (Scottsbluff); Administrator, Panhandle Health Services (Scottsbluff); Administrator, Steindler Orthopedic Clinic (Iowa City) Favorite class in school: Humanties Family: Debora and Pat have four children — Cody (34), Nathan (24), Connor (23), Zachary (21)

and the values he was raised with.

I grew up in rural America, in a small town in Minnesota called Montevideo. In a rural community, health care is a door that swings both ways: Rural physicians commit to taking care of the community and the community commits to supporting them. Critical access hospitals are so integral to these communities.

What strikes me most is the closeness of knowing everybody. Being a part of family neighborhoods and knowing everybody on your block — playing sports with all the kids my age and going to the lakes are my fondest memories.

What do you think that tight-knit community taught you?

To be humble, observant and hard working. A lot of that comes from being in a smaller town. You can’t get a big head. Someone will always snap you back into your place. In a small town people don’t just look the other way if someone’s out of line.

Has your work experience reinforced those values?

Certainly. When I first started in health care, I had a really good mentor who was CFO of the hospital. He was extremely bright but never arrogant. He listened first, talked second. He helped others be successful because he realized it helped him be successful. That’s a large part of how I lead. I’ve been in health care for more than 30 years, but I know I can always learn from others.

It’s given us a better understanding of the social limits of health and how we can continue to be a leader in the Midwest by removing those barriers and getting folks the care they need.

Telemedicine is also definitely growing. It’s kind of amazing how resistant people were to it and suddenly they are seeing it works really well. Patients who thought they’d have to wait three months or drive three hours to see someone are getting the care they need now. Payers have acknowledged that this ground swell across the country shows its success.

What’s unique about the way Bryan has dealt with COVID?

I’ve held three different leadership positions at Bryan, and I’ve always seen people with the same focus, even in the middle of a pandemic. Putting patients first has always been the case at Bryan, long before I started working here, and it still is. At the end of the day we’re in the taking care of people business. If you focus on the patient and do what’s right, everything else will take care of itself.

What’s something not many people know about you?

I’m quiet about it, but I’m very competitive — I try to focus that inward to constantly improve myself. n