Jose Acevedo, MD, president and CEO of Geneva, N.Y.-based UR Medicine Finger Lakes Health, has been in his role for more than 14 years, but his passion for saving lives began when he was just 18 years old during his first job as a lifeguard.
From protecting the safety of swimmers to protecting patient health, the safety of others has remained a top priority for Dr. Acevedo.
Becker's connected with Dr. Acevedo to discuss his nearly 20 years at Finger Lakes Health and why he encourages other CEOs to never forget the mission of care behind their titles.
Editor's note: This is a regular series of conversations with CEOs of the nation's health systems. Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What was your first job? How old were you? What was the biggest thing you learned?
Dr. Jose Acevedo: My first job was serving as a lifeguard at the University of Puerto Rico when I was 18 years old. The biggest thing that I learned was reliability. I knew that people were depending on me to keep them safe while they were enjoying being in and around the water. Their safety was my responsibility.
Q: What was the hardest day of your career? How did you get through it?
JA: September 11, 2001, was the hardest day of my career. I was working at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn as Director of Hospital Medicine. I experienced the devastation, heartbreak, and grief resulting from the events of this day as I cared for survivors, spoke to their families, and mourned those we could not save.
What kept me going and allowed me to get through the day was thinking about my family being safe at home. This kept me centered and focused so that I could care for the many patients who needed my help that day.
Q: If you could give one message to other health system CEOs, what would it be?
JA: The most important message I can give to other health system CEOs is to NEVER forget the mission. We are here to take care of those in need. When you are having a hard day, leave your office and go out onto the floors or into the emergency department and see all the good work that your teams are doing for those in need. It will make you feel good and restore your energy to continue.
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?
JA: I will have no regrets when I retire knowing that my amazing coworkers have done a fantastic job taking care of our community members. My hope is that the legacy I leave at Finger Lakes Health will be defined by all the community members we cared for while I was team leader. I will miss all the great connections that I made over a period of 20 years.