Prioritizing a unified health system enables an ecosystem for continuity of care, according to Carol Gomes, CEO and COO of Stony Brook (N.Y.) University Hospital.
The approach breaks down silos and optimizes services, she said. Ms. Gomes has served as COO of the 628-bed hospital since 2013 and added the CEO title in 2020.
Becker’s connected with Ms. Gomes to learn more about her leadership at Stony Brook Medicine’s flagship hospital, how her first job shaped her executive approach and what she is studying to prepare for the next decade of healthcare delivery.
Editor’s note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What was your first job? Biggest thing you learned?
Carol Gomes: After graduating with a degree in medical biology/medical laboratory science, my first professional job was as a laboratory technologist in a hospital setting. Within the first several months, I learned many valuable lessons that have stayed with me through my experience as a CEO.
The first is the importance of direct communication. Before automated integration of systems, laboratory technologists relied upon phone conversations and face-to-face discussions with healthcare providers to communicate critical information. Direct communication fosters relationship building and foundational trust, and ensures clarity to avoid confusing messages. Relationship building also fosters cross-functional collaboration to enhance alignment.
The second lesson learned is the importance of using data to drive decision-making. Data ensures a sense of credibility to reinforce decision-making and supports the management of processes and outcomes. These lessons learned, emphasizing enhanced communication and data-driven decision-making, have paved the way for executive-level relationship building, analytical thinking and problem solving.
Q: If you could share one strategy with other health system CEOs, what would it be?
CG: As health systems continue to emerge and grow, it is important to facilitate a unified approach to patient-centered care that focuses on the importance of an ecosystem that addresses continuity of care across all types of provider sites, including academic medical centers, community hospitals and ambulatory environments. Focusing on the benefits of a unified system allows organizations to ensure financial sustainability while collaborating and innovating with a shared purpose and mission.
This approach also sets forth the importance of a culture that models the desired values and expectations which will allow a health system to succeed. A strategy to work as a unified system enables the ability to break down silos, eliminate inefficiencies and optimize provided services and the connective tissue that defines its infrastructure. Most importantly, by focusing on a health ecosystem, patients benefit from the seamless continuity of services offered to coordinate the quality of care.
Q: What are you reading up on now to prepare for the next three to 10 years?
CG: As care models for health services evolve, technology also continues to progress. As a result, it is imperative for healthcare leaders to remain knowledgeable regarding technological trends that will change the shape of how care is delivered in the future.
Future planning involves the need to learn about the trends and impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning. From assisting in decision-making to addressing administrative burdens and improving upon the use of predictive analytics to enhance early disease detection, it is critical for healthcare leaders to stay on top of trends that will improve operational and clinical efficiencies and effectiveness.
In alignment with technological trends, another area of focus includes the use of personalized and precision medicine — a field that is constantly evolving, which is based upon the foundation of genomics to support customized care. In addition, interoperability associated with health system platforms is key to ensuring a seamless system across the continuum of care.
Finally, healthcare leaders must understand and recognize global health threats which can significantly impact care delivery, from pandemics to supply chain crises.
Q: Picture this. It’s the first day of your retirement. What, if anything, do you worry about regretting? What do you hope your legacy will be?
CG: To leave a meaningful legacy as a CEO is genuinely about creating a lasting and positive impact for those whom the health system serves, which includes patients, staff and the community at large, well beyond my years of service.
Our leadership team strives to build a culture in which every single employee and faculty member feels valued, empowered and responsible for delivering high-quality, safe, patient-centered care, while embedding Stony Brook Medicine’s organizational values: integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence.
In addition, we have focused on creating a system of collaborative leadership across disciplines, fostering a “one team” approach that addresses clinical, operational and administrative gains. Over the course of many years, my roots lie with quality management principles, so elevating clinical quality and patient safety, which is inherent in the fabric of our health system, is an important component of a lasting, highly reliable organizational model. This model is reinforced within a sustainable environment that adeptly addresses evolving community health needs. Legacies are about lasting impacts, and the goal is always to leave the organization in a thriving and successful position.
