Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/462190
47 Leadership & Management S teven Gabbe, MD, took the helm of Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in 2008, when the healthcare industry was plagued with uncertainty. A new president had just been elected, new health- care policy was going to reshape the entire industry and the medical center itself was getting ready to dive into its largest construction project to date. Indeed, Dr. Gabbe had a full plate when he entered his role. Under his leader- ship, however, OSU Wexner Medical Center used these challenges as oppor- tunities to enhance the culture among medical professionals and other staff, improve quality of care and patient satisfaction and create structures that will allow for the maintenance of these improvements long after he leaves his post. Dr. Gabbe will step down as CEO at the end of February. In the meantime, Becker's had the opportunity to catch up with him and discuss some of the biggest challenges and successes he experienced during his tenure, his plans for the future and advice to other physicians and healthcare leaders. Question: Can you describe Wexner Medical Center and the healthcare industry in general when you became CEO in 2008? Dr. Gabbe: The biggest changes were coming to the healthcare industry dur- ing that time. President Barack Obama was elected and we anticipated there would be changes in healthcare legislation — which ultimately led to the Pa- tient Protection and Affordable Care Act — and people were uncertain about what that would do to our traditional models of care and reimbursement. Right about that time, we were preparing to go to our board of trustees with a plan for the largest construction project in the history of the university: a $1.1 billion expansion that would include the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and Critical Care Center. We were very fortunate to obtain a $100 million federal grant that allowed us to build a radiation and oncology floor in the hospital. It is probably one of the few radiation floors above ground in the country. As a patient, if you're diagnosed with cancer and told you are going underground every day for six weeks for radiation treat- ment, it's not very uplifting. Now patients getting radiation will be able to see the sunlight and the beautiful parks around the hospital. Q: What were some of the biggest challenges you've faced dur- ing your tenure? Dr. Gabbe: I think one of the biggest challenges we faced was preparing for the changes that were brought in by the PPACA. But overall, the biggest chal- lenges were changing the culture of our medical center. For example, the PPACA emphasizes not volume, but value. We were no longer getting paid for how many tests and procedures we provided patients, but for doing it right and safely. This required a big culture change. Another cultural change was implementing our electronic medical record system throughout our health system. The transition from paper records to only electronic ones required participation in all departments. In October 2011, we threw the switch to systemwide electronic medical records. It was the "big bang." With this change, we had to educate over 14,000 people to be well-versed in the EMR. We worked really hard to give everyone the resources they needed to learn it. Having EMRs is so important for quality and safety and determin- ing patient outcomes. Now we actually have over 100,000 patients who have access to their records on OSUMyChart. They don't have to call the office or wait for the doctor to call them — they can go to OSUMyChart and commu- nicate electronically with their physicians. Also, to improve safety, we brought Crew Resource Management, a quality safe- ty practice based on the aviation industry, to the medical center. It uses checklist tools, similar to the aviation industry, to reduce errors. We've trained over 5,000 physicians and nurses in CRM, and that has helped us become one of the safest and highest-quality hospitals in the country. This year we were ranked third for excellence in patient safety and quality by the University HealthSystem Consor- tium and received the 2014 Quality Leadership Award. Q: What were some of Wexner Medical Center's biggest accom- plishments during your tenure? Dr. Gabbe: We've had several major accomplishments over the last six or so years; the completion of our new hospital and its completion on time, on budget and on scope for the project; our remarkable success in patient qual- ity and safety and satisfaction scores; and our strong financial position at this time despite the changes in healthcare. I think even more important is the great team of people we've assembled over the last six or seven years — people we've promoted from within and recruited from outside of the organization have really made a difference. It isn't only the ambulatory clinics we've built or the medical center expansion, but the people who really make change happen. Q: The Wexner Medical Center has shown remarkable improve- ment in patient care under your leadership. What kinds of efforts led to these improvements? Dr. Gabbe: With all of our different efforts, and with Crew Resource Manage- ment specifically, unless the senior leadership is fully committed to the pro- cess, it just doesn't work. It will be a flavor of the month and then pass. I was Do Good, and Don't Complain: Q&A with Dr. Steven Gabbe, CEO of OSU Wexner Medical Center By Tamara Rosin Dr. Gabbe speaks at a quality meeting in December 2011