Who is Your Healthcare “Hero”?

Lawrence Weed, MD, best known for creating the problem-oriented medical record, as well as one of the first electronic health records

“Dr. Weed was my mentor, and would qualify as my healthcare hero. Many senior physicians in healthcare are familiar with his name and leadership in driving forward the problem-oriented medical record and the pioneering SOAP note format, but today, few young physicians even know his name. As early as 50 years ago, he was predicting the use of clinical decision support and the need to have cognitive tools in the exam room. Having him as a mentor shaped my career, and continues to enhance our innovation to this day.”

-Art Papier, MD, CEO of VisualDx

Jack Duffy, DDS, co-founder of Sonoma County Dental Well-Being Collaborative

“Dr. Duffy is a healthcare hero as his entire life and career as a periodontist have been guided by the principle that you must give people simple, realistic tools to prevent disease and that you must advocate for those who have no voice. He believes that by helping underserved populations live free of dental disease, it eliminates one more burden from their lives and helps to lift them out of poverty and suffering. He has an unrelenting passion for social justice. He is a life enricher. He is also my father.” 

-M. Bridget Duffy, MD, chief medical officer of Vocera

My Grandfather

“A veteran of the Korean War and without the means to pursue a college career, he built his own successful business (an automobile service station) and instilled in my brother and me the critical importance of honesty, hard work; accountability; commitment to quality in everything we do; and never losing site of the importance of balancing work life with family.”

-David Calabrese, RPh, MHP, senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer, OptumRx

John Henderson, CEO and president of the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals

“I first met John several years ago when I was president and CEO of FirstCare Health Plans during a visit to Childress, Texas, where he spent 16 years as CEO of Childress Regional Medical Center, a rural hospital in the Texas Panhandle. John grew up in Childress-which is located about halfway between Amarillo and Wichita Falls. I also met his father who has practiced medicine there since the 1970s. I was impressed by John’s passion for the plight of rural and community hospitals in Texas where the rural hospital closure rate had reached crisis stage. John is my healthcare ‘hero’ for leading this charge.”

-Darnell Dent, principal, Dent Advisory Services, LLC

Gail Boudreaux, CEO of Anthem

“I have known Gail for over 25 years from the early days in her career at Aetna. We were co-workers. She has had a very successful career in healthcare and has always treated people with respect and been humble. She is a role model for any person on how to balance life, family and work. I truly admire her.”

-Perry Cohen, CEO, The Pharmacy Group, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Daniel J. Hilferty, CEO of Independence Blue Cross

“Dan is an inspiring leader, one who is truly passionate about improving the health and well-being of his community. Under his leadership, Independence Blue Cross is highly focused on improving access to care, health outcomes, and affordability. Dan excels at building unique partnerships, especially ones that create innovative ways to transform health care. Dan is also an avid supporter of diversity and inclusion, employee growth and development, and has created a corporate culture centered on respect, openness, and work-life balance.”

- Ginny Calega, MD, vice president, medical affairs, Facilitated Health Networks Independence Blue Cross

Stan Nelson, founder of the Scottsdale Institute and CEO of the Henry Ford Health System

“Stan founded the Scottsdale Institute, a not-for-profit membership organization of prominent healthcare systems whose goal is to support members as they move forward to achieve clinical integration and transformation through information technology. He was one of the kindest, highest character leaders I have met. He had a passion to change and improve healthcare and pioneered many of the organizational strategies that have become accepted practice for today’s health systems. Stan inspired me to be a better leader.”

-Angie Franks, CEO of Central Logic

Nurses

“At the heart of our healthcare system, nurses are often the conduit between many factors affecting overall care. The breadth of care provided by nurses extends beyond physical care to social and emotional support-informal care, which is impossible to measure but is obvious when absent. As the industry continues shifting to value-based care, nurses’ practical knowledge and capabilities are increasingly crucial to drive quality and efficiency in every setting along the care continuum. Nurses are the everyday heroes in the industry.”

- Nathan Ray, a senior principal in West Monroe Partners’ healthcare practice

Molly Coye, executive in residence at AVIA and elected member of the National Academy of Medicine

“Molly Coye is someone I admire because she has always focused on trying to help hospitals and health systems to see what’s coming down the pike-procedures and methodologies that are moving closer and closer to everyday commercial use. She is always asking, ‘What’s next?’ Molly is adept at identifying technologies or best practices that are being used in a small way in healthcare or in a non-healthcare way that are going to be coming to healthcare really fast. She’s always looking just over the hill and sees connections other people haven’t seen yet. Molly has inspired me to think in a different way with her futuristic approach.”

-Harry Soza, CEO of CAREMINDr

Dr. Edward Jenner

“Jenner took notice of what was referred to as ‘an old wives’ tale’: Milkmaids who purposely scratched their arms with cowpox pustules seemed inoculated against a much worse disease-smallpox. Dr. Jenner experimented with his theory and proved that an awful infectious disease could be prevented. Fast forward to 2019, and we now have at least 28 effective vaccines, and smallpox has been eradicated. Taking that a step further, given the access we now have to high-quality aggregated data, we are able to easily identify gaps in care-specifically children, teenagers, and adults-who are missing vaccines and can use automated outreach to close those gaps. Dr. Jenner would be amazed at how far we have come.”

-Rich Parker, MD, CMO of Arcadia.io

Peter Goltra, an electrical engineer with a passion for improving healthcare delivery

“I met Peter 20 years ago and for the first time, was inspired by his vision in the field of medical informatics. For over 30 years, he has had a driving force in the convergence of medicine and technology. His vision has always been to improve medical care by giving doctors a comprehensive system that enables them to electronically review and update medical records without compromising time with patients. He has long been an industry thought leader whose vision has shaped EMR development across the industry.”

-Jay Anders, MD, chief medical officer of Medicomp Systems

Eric Weidmann, MD, practicing family physician and chief medical officer

“Dr. Weidmann represents my ideal of a modern doctor. He puts his patients and their care above everything. The much-talked-about move from volume to value is a non-issue with him; he has always been focused on quality. In addition, as a leader and administrator of a medical practice and the CMO of a technology company, he is also a person who knows you cannot practice in the past. Instead of resisting technology, Dr. Weidmann has taken an active role in careful education and practical approaches. He has shown that when technology is embraced and used in a considered and careful way, it can be leveraged to improve care and the operations of medicine.”

-Derek Pickell, CEO, eMDs

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis

“Dr. Semmelweis was known as the ‘savior of mothers’ for championing hand-washing standards in obstetrical clinics. In his day, he was severely reprimanded by peers because his views contradicted established norms. The Semmelweis reflex or ‘Semmelweis effect,’ has become a metaphor for the reflex-like tendency to reject new evidence or new knowledge that contradicts established norms. In the age of digitalized healthcare, new evidence is often discovered from combining structured and unstructured data. When that new evidence rejects our current standards, we must be mindful of our reflex to dismiss contradictory findings and be open to new knowledge.”

-Elizabeth Marshall, MD, MBA, director of clinical analytics at Linguamatics

Chester "Trip" Buckenmaier, III, MD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), and associate professor & director, Defense & Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management

“Dr. Buckenmaier performed the first successful continuous peripheral nerve block for pain management in a combat support hospital. In 2009, while deployed in Afghanistan, he organized the first acute pain service in a theatre of war. ‘Trip’ has created opportunities for collaborative discussions on non-pharmacological approaches to pain to ensure the best interest of our Veterans and active military. He is a steadfast leader promoting the least invasive pain management options to avoid addiction and adverse side effects.”

-Sherry McAllister, DC, executive vice president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress

Joseph Hahn, MD

“He was formerly the Chief of Staff at the Cleveland Clinic and I had the gift of working with him for many years. There are a lot of things you need to know to be a good healthcare leader, but what he taught me wasn’t about that. It was about the importance of treating every single employee like they are a member of your family. From the person cleaning the patient’s rooms, to the security officers and food service workers, they all play a big part in making our patients feel taken care of. So they deserve to be taken care of too.”

-Cynthia Hundorfean, a Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisor, president and CEO, Allegheny Health Network (AHN)

Loran Hauck, MD, physician, researcher, author, executive, leader, retired chief clinical officer of Adventist Health System

“Dr. Hauck is a healthcare hero to me and many others. He was a leader in the charge to systematically applying evidence-based medicine though standard protocols on paper and in CPOE. The most impressive is his mission and principle-driven approach to decisions and direction. When he said, ‘We are going to do the right thing for patients regardless of challenge or financial impact,’ he meant it-and people believed it. He also was fearless in reporting the results in a transparent manner that revealed what worked and didn’t. His principles, transparency, and results make him a hero for many to follow.”

-Will Shevlin, vice president, Zynx Health

Brian Lobley and Michelle Obama

“Brian Lobley is our executive vice president of health markets. He’s mentored me and I’ve looked up to him for years because he’s incredibly smart when it comes to the business but he also has this superpower of making everyone around him feel confident, capable, and amazing. “The other one that’s a bit more cliché but so true is Michelle Obama. She is the coolest, strongest women of my time-smart, graceful, stylish, and a little bit of edge. If I could be someone when I grow up, it would be Michelle Obama! She’s taken an active role on education of girls across the globe and also stands for health and wellness with her get fit initiatives. Simply put, she’s incredible.”

- Michelle Histand, director of innovation at Independence Blue Cross