75
PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
people in a position to be required to improve their work
every day.
Another valuable piece of advice came to me a few decades
ago: Keep your passion in check. I was about 35 years old at
a hospital committee meeting in Toledo, Ohio. I was so pas-
sionate about what we were discussing, but I thought every-
one was moving too slowly to improve. When the meeting
was over, the medical director took me aside and said I would
have gotten much further in the meeting if I had toned it down
a bit and started from the same place as everyone else at the
table. They all wanted the same thing as me — to find a way to
improve quality — they just didn't know how to get there. He
reminded me I needed to thank them for all they have already
done. Sometimes coming on really strong and passionately
doesn't work. There is a place for passion, but there is also a
place for calmness and reflection.
What do you consider your greatest achievement at
Greater Baltimore Medical Center HealthCare System so
far?
It is clearly our movement to transform our company from
being hospital-centric to patient-centric. Our team has done
a phenomenal thing since I joined the organization six years
ago. We now have 12 patient-centered medical homes
throughout the county.
Our organization's vision is to provide the highest quality of
care to every patient, every time. We want to provide every
patient with the same quality of care that we would want for
our own loved ones. Our people are doing a fantastic job of
moving from volume- to value-based healthcare. n
