Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/549045
66 I really work at being a good listener. I'm a behaviorist, and I like to under- stand the meanings behind words people are using. [I] really try to get down to what they are trying to communicate to me and how I react to that com- munication, whether it's a question or concern or just a statement. And so I think if you talk to people who know me, [they'd say] when you're speaking with me, you've got my full attention. How do you revitalize yourself? I'm a very disciplined individual with my workout habits, my eating habits and my structured prayer habits. [Also,] my wife [and I] have date nights. We've been married 38 years and we have date nights to reconnect. And obvi- ously our four grandchildren [play a role]. If you ask them, I'm the greatest grandfather in the world because I let them do anything they want to do, especially everything I wouldn't let my children do. What's one piece of advice you remember most clearly? I had a great mentor who happened to be my godfather through our faith, and he was just a very successful businessman who I really looked up to. I always remember, as I was starting my career, he said to me, "In order for any leader to be successful, [first] go out and get people that are smarter than you. Don't be intimidated by that. Don't be afraid of hiring people that are smarter than you. Give them the resources that they need to do their job and just get the heck out of their way." And I've never forgotten that. I'd like to think that I have lived that formula for the most part. I've got the best healthcare team in the country who's much smarter than I will ever be. We've done some re- markable things because of their leadership capabilities. What do you consider your greatest achievement at Ascension so far? I don't have any great achievements. My team has great achievements. One is our Call to Action, which we created in 2002, which was to promise to the communities we serve healthcare that works, healthcare that's safe and healthcare that leaves no one behind. We have stayed true to that course over the last 13, 14 years. We've made some tweaks along the way to respond to the market, but we've stayed true to that Call to Action. I think that's a hallmark of a great organization. Secondly, I would say our commitment to the poor and vulnerable. Last year alone, we invested $1.8 billion in charity care and community benefit and that has grown substantially since 1999. e reason I say that is we've been on a mission. We need to have everybody with 100 percent access, 100 percent cov- erage, and until we do that, we will continue to invest in those kinds of services and programs that will take care of people [who] fall through the cracks. e last achievement is [Ascension's] Leadership Academy. It's our legacy of trying to create the next generation of leaders for this great ministry. n United Hospital District in Blue Earth, Minn., hired Richard Ash as CEO. Kennewick, Wash.-based Trios Health appoint- ed Brenda Atencio CNO. Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, S.C., named Tod Augsburger president and CEO, effective Oct. 1. Chicago-based Presence Health appointed Sam Bagchi, MD, chief quality and medical officer. Edward "Ed" Banos was named COO and execu- tive vice president of San Antonio-based Univer- sity Health System. St. Louis-based SSM Health picked Kate Becker to serve as president of Saint Louis University Hospital. MemorialCare Health System, a six-hospital net- work based in Fountain Valley, Calif., announced that John Bishop, CFO of Long Beach (Calif.) Memorial, Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach (Calif.), Community Hospital Long Beach (Calif.) and Seaside Health Plan, was ap- pointed CEO of the three hospitals. Lakeway (Texas) Regional Medical Center chose Philippe Bochaton as CEO. Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center named Courtney Burke, a state government official, chief strategy officer. Milwaukee-based Children's Hospital of Wiscon- sin named Marc Cadieux CFO. Ann Marie Capo was named vice president for quality and patient services and CNO at Farming- ton-based UConn Health. Chris Champlin is the new chief strategy officer for San Francisco-based Dignity Health in the Sacramento, Calif., area. St. Peter, Minn.-based River's Edge Hospital & Clinic named Gregg Chartrand CFO. Robert "Bo" Cofield was named vice president and chief clinical operating officer of Lexington- based UK HealthCare, effective mid-August. Gary Conner was appointed senior vice president and CFO at Reading (Pa.) Health System. Sheila Daly, RN, president and CEO of Clinton (Mass.) Hospital, will retire at the end of the year. CarePoint Health, a health system based in Bay- onne, N.J., appointed W. Peter Daniels executive vice president and COO. Andrew L. Davis was named interim CEO of United Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Barbara S. Dember, president and CEO of Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Ariz., re- signed. Alfonso "Al" Diaz Jr., MD, CMO of Harbin Clin- ic in Rome, Ga., announced he would be leaving the organization to become CEO of Kindred Hos- pital Rome (Ga.). David Fuller, CEO of North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview, Fla., resigned June 23. Jeffrey Grossman, MD, was selected as interim CEO of Madison, Wis.-based UW Health. Panama City, Fla.-based Bay Medical Center Sa- cred Heart Health System named Steve Grubbs president and CEO. David Hamlin, RN, joined the staff of Catalina Is- land Medical Center in Avalon, Calif., as the new CNO and director of patient care services. Richard Hammett was named president and CEO of HealthONE's Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., effective Aug. 3. West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Idaho, appointed Geoff Hill CFO. Buffalo, N.Y.-based Erie County Medical Center Corp. appointed two new executives. Mary Laski Hoffman, RN, was appointed COO, while Julia Culkin-Jacobia was appointed chief people of- ficer. Guthrie Corning Hospital in Corning, N.Y., named Garrett Hoover president and CEO, effec- tive in August. Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville, Ga., chose Randall "Randy" Hoover as the hos- pital's new interim CEO. Val Verde Regional Medical Center in Del Rio, Texas, named Xochy Hurtado CEO. St. Louis-based SSM Health named Laura Jelle president of its St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, Wis. Jani L. Johnson, RN, was appointed CEO of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City (Mo.). Vibra Hospital of San Diego named Yameeka Jones CEO. Brian Kellar was named CEO of Page (Ariz.) Hospital, part of Phoenix-based Banner Health. Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital in Westerville, Ohio, appointed Unhee Kim, RN, president. Hospital & Health System Executive Moves