Jaclyn Mucaria serves as president of NewYork-Presbyterian Queens in the Flushing neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough, part of the New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian’s 10 hospital campuses.
Ms. Mucaria held several leadership roles at NewYork-Presbyterian during her fifteen years at the organization before being named president of NewYork-Presbyterian Queens in August 2016.
In her current role, Ms. Mucaria oversees the entire 535-bed acute care hospital, which typically admits more than 32,000 patients and sees more than 162,000 outpatient visits and 124,000 emergency room visits per year.
Here, Ms. Mucaria answers Becker's Hospital Review's seven Corner Office questions.
Editor's Note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What's one thing that piqued your interest in healthcare?
Jaclyn Mucaria: As a child, I grew up with a sick family member. I was in and out of hospitals with my dad a lot. My original intent was to be a physician, but along the way, I decided that maybe the administrative route was the best way to go. I was interested in healthcare administration specifically because it offers the ability to impact the health of many people, through program or policy development. It is really rewarding to be able to improve the quality of health and life for a larger population of people, rather than one or two individuals at a time.
Q: What do you enjoy most about New York?
JM: The diversity, especially in Queens, where my hospital is located. We are one of the most diverse places in the entire world. We have patients here who, at any given time, speak 40 different languages. Appreciating the cultural awareness and sensitivity of all these different constituents is interesting and challenging. I also appreciate that our patients come from varied economic and social backgrounds. Our mission is to provide excellent care to everyone.
Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems overnight, what would it be?
JM: Oh boy. That’s a tough one. If I could eliminate one of the healthcare industry's problems overnight, I would be tempted to eliminate insurance pre-authorizations because they can delay care.
Q: What would you consider your greatest talent or skill outside of the C-suite?
JM: Outside of the C-suite, I'm a good cook. If I were not in the C-suite, I would like to own a restaurant — probably an Italian restaurant — or a bed and breakfast. I've always been very interested in hospitality.
Q: How do you revitalize yourself after a particularly stressful or hard day at work?
JM: That is something that I don't do enough of. My family is the most important asset in my life and occupies most of my free time. I get great joy from talking to and doing things with my husband and children. I have 22-year-old twins and we have a great relationship. Speaking to them at the end of the day and sharing stories revitalizes me.
I do read and watch a little TV, not too much though because I go to bed early. It's ironic that I totally enjoy medical shows. My friends all make fun of me for it. I will work for 15 hours and then go home and watch "Chicago Med" or "Grey's Anatomy," which is really weird, but I do it anyway. I love to be critical and say, "That would never happen," or comment on a procedure I know we would never do at our hospital. I try to watch comedies as well to decompress.
Q: What's one piece of advice you remember most clearly?
JM: Be humble. I believe very strongly that one should treat people that work five levels below you the same as those who are many levels above you. Having started out my career as a lab tech, I saw how people in some of the ancillary and support fields could be disrespected by people who were considered higher-ups.
A mentor of mine always said to me, "No matter how high in the organization you get, always be humble. Remember how hard you had to work to get here. Be an inspiration to those below you and around you." I try very hard to do that. When I walk around the hospital and staff say, "Good morning, Ms. Mucaria," I always say my name is Jackie. I really try to not have any airs about me and be very relatable to staff at all levels to build trust and mutual respect.
Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens so far?
JM: I think you have to start by surrounding yourself with a fantastic team. The first thing one needs to do, because healthcare is a team sport, is recruit great people. I have a fantastic team, some new and some who were already in place. We share the same values, which is extremely important. We are all committed to driving quality, safety and the best possible patient experience. After recruiting this great team, we then were able to start building a lot of new programs we have in place here. We don't do it alone. We are part of NewYork-Presbyterian collaborate with Weill Cornell Medicine, both based in New York City, to build programs and recruit the best physicians.
Our goal is to create enough primary care and specialties in Queens so that residents no longer have to commute to Long Island or to Manhattan for care. That's why I came to Queens! We are on our way to having world-class care and clinical programs here so that people can get their care where they live. That would be a major achievement!