When people see the words 'Don't underestimate Dean,' they might think of the legendary Dean Smith, former head basketball coach for University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. In Chicago and in healthcare, we increasingly associate these words with Dean Harrison, president and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
Here are six quick thoughts on Dean Harrison.
1. Dean joined Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in 1998 and took over as CEO of the system in 2006. Today, Dean presides over a system comprised of seven hospitals, more than 100 sites of care and more than 4,000 physicians. The nonprofit system records more than $3 billion in total annual revenue. It's anchor hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was ranked No. 8 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2016-17" list. Dean succeeded the remarkable Gary Mecklenburg, who led the system and its flagship hospital since 1985.
2. Over more than two decades at the helm, Gary really helped build NMH into both a leading teaching hospital and a great care system. For a large cross section of people in Chicago, it's been the go-to place for core specialty care for a long time.
3. Dean took over with a different leadership style than Gary. Initially, it seemed unclear what direction NMH was heading under Dean's guidance. When NMH extended itself financially and spent more than $1 billion on rebuilding, many stakeholders and community members questioned the wisdom of this move. But expansion continued to play a key role in Northwestern's strategy over the last decade as Dean led the system through a flurry of mergers and acquisitions.
4. In 2010, NMHC merged with Lake Forest (Ill.) Hospital in a suburb north of Chicago. In 2014, NMHC merged with Cadence Health in Winfield, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago. A year later, NMHC clinically affiliated with nonprofit KishHealth System, a two-hospital system in DeKalb, Ill.
5. Now several years later, we've come to view Dean as a more focused, driven and effective leader than was immediately noticeable. NMHC has come into the generation of leadership as a thriving competitor to other great systems in Chicago, such as the magnificent NorthShore University HealthSystem, the highly ranked Rush and highly ranked University of Chicago Medicine and the great western corridor system Advocate Health Care.
6. UNC's Dean Smith had two NCAA championship rings, current UNC head coach Roy Williams now has 3. Dean Harrison is a real leader. Don't underestimate Dean.
Editor's note: This article was updated on April 13.