Leadership in healthcare isn’t about command and control. It’s about service and stewardship — lifting others to their full potential while shaping systems that last long after we’re gone. During my time as CEO of HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital, I learned that high-performing organizations are not built on charisma or compliance, but on clarity, consistency, and care.

Culture by design, not default

When I first arrived at Oak Hill, we were a 200-bed facility with 600 employees. By the time I retired, we had grown to 350 beds and 1,600 employees, expanded into new towers, and became the largest non-government employer in Hernando County. But I don’t measure our success in numbers. I measure it by how people felt walking through our doors as employees, patients, or partners.

I’ve often said, “Make people feel important and they will make you important.” Our culture was grounded in that principle. Every physician we recruited, every resident we trained, every decision we made was about creating a place where people belonged and could do their best work.

Start with people, stay with people

As I outlined in my ACMPE Fellowship paper, “Interviewing and Selection: The Foundation of High Performing Organizations,” the key to building excellence is putting the right people in the right roles and supporting them over time. We applied a behavioral-based, team-driven interview model that emphasized not just skills but alignment with values.

Why? Because culture eats strategy for breakfast. And in healthcare, culture is transmitted by people, not by policies. We invested in our hiring processes because retention starts with recruitment. We didn’t just look for degrees — we looked for drive, compassion, and team fit.

Leadership during crisis: Calm is contagious

COVID-19 tested every healthcare leader. At the height of the pandemic, we had 70 ICU patients and two tents outside our ER. We implemented daily updates to staff and physicians, sharing real-time data and practical insights. That communication wasn’t just operational — it was human. People needed clarity and calm. As leaders, we had to model both.

Being steady in the storm is not about pretending to have all the answers. It’s about showing humility, listening, and making decisions based on evolving evidence, not ego. Our leadership team did just that, and I credit them for navigating one of the toughest times in modern healthcare.

Mentoring tomorrow’s leaders, today

One of my proudest contributions was expanding graduate medical education at our hospital to include 160 residents across five specialties. It wasn’t just about clinical training. It was about shaping the kind of doctors you’d want treating your own family.

Leadership is never a solo act. It’s a relay. My goal was always to pass the baton with intention — mentoring young leaders and giving them opportunities to learn, fail, and grow. I never asked someone to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. As I’ve said often: “We will lead in only one way — by example.”

The MGMA impact: Elevating through community

MGMA has been a cornerstone of my professional journey. During my time as Board Chair and long before, I saw the power of shared knowledge, credentialing, and community. From MGMA Stat to national conferences, this organization equips its members not just to survive change — but to lead it.

The Body of Knowledge for Medical Practice Management helped ground our operational decisions in best practices. And the friendships I built — over hallway chats, committee calls, and yes, the occasional late-night brainstorming session — reminded me that none of us leads alone.

Legacy is built daily

Now in retirement, I find myself reflecting more on impact than accolades. Did I help someone grow? Did I leave the organization stronger? Did I live my values?

The answer, I hope, is yes. Because legacy isn’t about what you do in one big moment — it’s what you do in a thousand little ones: How you show up, who you include, what you model, and what you leave behind when you move on.

Leadership is a privilege. And in healthcare, it’s sacred ground. Let’s never forget that.