Matthew Primack, PT, DPT, MBA, serves as President for Advocate Christ Medical Center.
On April 3rd, Matthew will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Matthew's session, click here.
Question: What do innovators/entrepreneurs from outside healthcare need to better understand about hospital and health system leaders?
Matthew Primack: Healthcare leaders are being asked to do more with less every day. We are looking at vendors and innovators as “partners” in addressing our economic challenges and helping to develop solutions that work for the patient and providers. Solutions must be easily implementable and sustainable, as well as appropriately addressing our identified opportunities.
Q: Tell us about the last meaningful interaction you had with a patient.
MP: I had the opportunity to meet a woman in our emergency department who was the victim of a drive by shooting. She had been shot twice by an unknown gunman and was thankfully in stable condition. Due to the immediate activation of our trauma recovery team, she was offered a comprehensive evaluation and subsequent assistance with PTSD, housing, and child support. It is essential that hospitals begin to serve communities beyond an acute illness or injury, but as an ongoing community resource.
Q: Can you share some praise with us about people you work with? What does greatness look like to you when it comes to your team?
MP: Working in a large quaternary trauma center can be challenging. With soaring patient acuity, increasing expectations from patients and families, ongoing cost management initiatives, and exponentially increasing quality standards, the role of hospital leaders has become more difficult than ever before. I would like to recognize our department managers across the organization for the commitment they give to their teams. Despite all these challenges, they continue to inspire, develop and mentor, and build trust with team members to achieve excellence. They successfully engage teams to accelerate improvement and deliver exemplary care to their patients, physicians, and each other.