A Sense of Purpose

from Pacesetter 2019 Issue

Annual Scholarship Banquet Connect Donors and Students

A SENSE OF PURPOSE

ROY CHEW REFLECTS ON A 43-YEAR CAREER AT KETTERING HEALTH NETWORK

Early in his career, Roy Chew knew exactly what he wanted to do: practice respiratory therapy and teach it to others. In fact, that’s what brought him to Kettering Health Network (KHN) in 1976. But by the time he retired 43 years later, Chew had served at the highest levels of leadership at KHN, including as its president.

Chew’s interest in medicine began after his freshman year of college, when he was still undecided about a major. A family friend, a radiologist, began talking to him about a growing field called respiratory therapy. Chew shadowed a respiratory therapist at a local hospital for a week and loved the experience of caring for patients at the bedside. That summer, he enrolled in a hospital-based respiratory therapy program at Temple University in his hometown of Philadelphia, then worked there after graduation. He later went to the University of Missouri to pursue a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy.

During his college years, Chew began hearing about a nationally recognized pulmonologist at Kettering Medical Center named Richard Krumholz, MD, who had started one of the first pulmonary intensive care units in the United States. Eager to challenge himself and grow professionally, Chew applied for a position at the hospital and was hired as the clinical coordinator for the respiratory therapy technician program. The job gave him opportunities to care for patients and teach students—a perfect fit for his career interests.

A MOVE TO THE COLLEGE

Chew never applied for another job at Kettering Health Network. Instead, he would simply be asked to consider new roles within KHN—and he rarely said no. This trend began in 1980, when Kettering College President Winton H. Beaven asked him to serve as chairman of the school’s respiratory therapy program. Chew agreed and remained at the College for five years, including two as director of allied health programs. During that time, he spent three years in California on academic leave earning a doctorate in administration and policy analysis at Stanford University. He also met and married his wife, Shelley, who graduated from the nursing program at Kettering College and eventually became director of nursing at Kettering Medical Center.

Chew remembers his years at Kettering College fondly. "I had amazing opportunities to work with incredibly talented colleagues at a pivotal time in my life," Chew said. "People like Anna May Vaughan in nursing, Margaret Rodenburg in the chemistry department, Edith Applegate in anatomy and physiology, and President Beaven, who was probably one of the deepest thinkers I’ve ever known. They were among the most talented and deeply passionate teachers and mentors I’ve ever worked with.”

Rodenburg, now retired, recalls working closely with Chew when she led the general education department and he was responsible for the respiratory therapy department. The first word that comes to her mind when asked to describe him is fun.

"Roy and I would joke around together before meetings, and he was always very laid back,” she recalled. “He never got worked up about anything. It was just not his personality to get stressed out. I had great respect for him because he ran his department so well and really knew what he was doing. I hated to see him go.”

LIFE WON’T BE EASY, AND YOUR CAREER WON’T BE EASY, BUT IF YOU HAVE A SENSE OF PURPOSE, IT WILL HELP YOU PERSEVERE AND BE SUCCESSFUL.”

HIS BIGGEST ROLE YET

In 1984 the president of Kettering Medical Center asked him to become vice president of human resources at the hospital. For the next 15 years, Chew served in three vice president roles at the hospital. In 1999, soon after Kettering Health Network purchased Grandview Hospital in downtown Dayton, Chew was asked to take on another leadership role—his biggest yet. He would serve as president of Grandview and Southview Medical Center for the next 10 years.

At the time, Grandview was in dire straits financially, and Chew recalled that many on the medical staff were highly skeptical about Kettering Health Network’s commitment to the hospital’s future. Faced with daunting challenges, Chew was in his element, according to Dave Seidel, a long-time colleague who worked with and for Chew for much of his career at Kettering Health Network. Seidel, an alumnus of the Kettering College respiratory care program, was vice president of clinical services during Chew’s “Grandview years.”

“Roy took on a whole slew of challenges when he got to Grandview,” said Seidel, who retired from KHN in 2015. “The hospital was losing a lot of money, and many people thought we would eventually have to close it. But Roy isn’t intimidated by anything, and he is about the most determined person I’ve ever met. He is caring, too; people are just as important to him as results. He told people at Grandview that he might not be able to walk in their shoes, but he would walk shoulder to shoulder with them, and that’s what he did.”

Chew won over the medical staff, all of whom were osteopathic physicians. He also developed a genuine personal interest in the osteopathic philosophy, and became active in osteopathic institutions statewide and nationally. Under his leadership, Grandview and Southview reached new heights of clinical quality, receiving recognition from U.S. News & World Report, Thomson Reuters, and HealthGrades.

ON TO NEW CHALLENGES

In 2010, Chew was asked to return to Kettering Medical Center and serve as president. There, over the next six years, he initiated the development of a Level II trauma center, a Level III newborn intensive care unit, a neurorehabilitation and balance center, and a service line growth strategy. Chew also developed plans for a new Kettering Cancer Center across the street from Kettering Medical Center and helped secure major gifts to enable its construction. In 2015, at the request of CEO Fred Manchur, he became president of Kettering Health Network — a position he held until retiring on Feb. 15, 2019.

Chew remains active with KHN in retirement, serving on the boards of the Grandview Foundation, the Kettering Medical Center Foundation, and several other local organizations. He is also facilitating a strategic planning process for Kettering College, and is enthusiastic about contributing to the school’s continued success.

Chew attributes his own success to a sense of purpose he discerned early in his career at Kettering Health Network.

“Initially, I was drawn here because of Dr. Krumholz’s work and Kettering Health Network’s commitment to clinical excellence,” he said. “Then when I arrived, I discovered KHN’s wonderful culture, where faith is paramount in what we do. I also grew to appreciate that KHN always encouraged employees to get involved in the community. That gave me remarkable opportunities to work with a wide array of individuals and organizations in greater Dayton.”

Chew said he hopes graduates of Kettering College can find a similar sense of purpose in their own careers. “That is the number one thing to look for, the most important place to start,” he explained. “Once you find that, everything else flows. Life won’t be easy, and your career won’t be easy, but if you have a sense of purpose, it will help you persevere and be successful.”

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