Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1203108
55 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PRACTICE MANAGEMENT Living Like a Leader: A day with Cleveland Clinic Florida CEO Dr. Wael Barsoum By Alia Paavola B etween driving growth, meeting clinical objectives and navigating complex payer dynamics, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day for healthcare executives. Leaders succeed despite these challenges, each with their own habits, hacks, styles and methods — and Wael Barsoum, MD, president and CEO of Weston-based Cleveland Clinic Florida, is no exception. Dr. Barsoum became president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Florida in 2014. Under his leadership, the system has grown from a single 150-bed hospital and eight remote sites to a five-hospital system with more than 40 outpatient clinics. e $1.8 billion system also now has a staff of 11,000 caregivers. In addition to his CEO duties, Dr. Barsoum cares for patients as an orthopedic surgeon and publishes about 20 research papers a year. Here, Dr. Barsoum participates in our "Living Like a Leader" series, which examines influential decision makers' daily routines to offer readers an idea of how they manage their energy, teams and time. Editor's Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Question: What's the first thing you do when you wake up? Dr. Wael Barsoum: Part of my wake-up routine is done the night before. If I need to wake up early, I will have a double shot of espresso when I go to bed. at makes me get up around 3 a.m. If I don't need to get up early to work, I will wake up around 5:30 a.m. When I wake up, the first thing I will do is pray. Q: What do you do in the mornings before work? WB: I will prep for my first meeting of the day, read the news on my phone or work out. e early morning hours are usually the quietest for me, so I use that time to prepare for the day. Once a week I will drive my three beautiful daughters to school. ey are ages 7, 13 and 16. Additionally, I oen make phone calls about operational metrics from overnight on my commute. Q: What's the first thing you do when you arrive at work? WB: When I arrive at work, I usually walk into the first meeting of the day. If it is a surgery day for me, I will walk into the operating room. On an average day, I am in the office by 6:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. However, the days I drop my kids off, I am there a little later. Q: Is there anything that makes your physical office setup unique? WB: I have a plethora of pictures of my kids. I also have a telepresence. We are part of a global operation, so having this soware video system allows me to be in contact with hospital leaders in Cleveland, Abu Dhabi and Indian River via video. [Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital is in Vero Beach, Fla.] Q: Do you take a lunch? WB: I have lunch every day around noon. It is almost always a working lunch. If we are having a talk about strategy, I will invite my strategy officer, or if we are talking physician staffing issue, I'll invite my chief of staff. Q: How much of your time is spent with direct reports? WB: About 50 percent. It's a combination of joint meetings and one-on-one meetings. Q: How often do you perform rounds? WB: I round at least twice a week. We make leadership rounds every other week as a group, where we will go visit a hospital in the system. At Cleveland Clinic our executive offices are in our hospitals, so I pass through clinical areas daily. Q: How do you think your routine differs from that of other healthcare executives? WB: Most healthcare execs are not practicing doctors. Usually when folks become CEO of a health system, even if they are doctors, they eliminate their clinical practice. I still have my clinical practice, and my academic work is still alive, too. I still publish 20 papers a year, and I am still active in helping getting research grants. ose things are near and dear to me, so I keep them. Q: What is the hardest part of your day? WB: e hardest part is when I hear about an issue that came up with a patient where they felt like we could've done better. ose weigh on you as a CEO. Whenever I get those complaints, we will follow up on them in an excruciating amount of detail. e good thing is that those reports and issues are rare. Q: What is the most rewarding part of your day? WB: It's rewarding to see someone walk in aer having a hip or knee replacement surgery and say, "Wow, I really wish I had done that sooner." Additionally, having caregivers tell me that they are proud of what we are doing and are excited about the growth is rewarding. As CEO, it doesn't get any better than that. Q: What's the last thing you do before leaving the office? WB: I will walk through the executive floor and pop my head into the offices of my colleagues that are still at work. I will thank them for a great day. I usually leave the office by 6:30 p.m. However, four times a week I have dinner meetings, so I don't get home until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. When you're looking to grow, you can't take your foot off the gas. Q: Do you work at home? WB: I do work at home. However, I have made a strong effort to not check email as frequently when my kids are around. is is why I frequently wake up at 3 a.m. n "When you're looking to grow, you can't take your foot off the gas." — Dr. Wael Barsoum, President and CEO, Cleveland Clinic Florida