Iowa City-based University of Iowa Healthcare recently has focused on expanding its footprint across the state, and Suresh Gunasekaran, the new president and CEO of UI Hospitals and Clinics, does not expect the growth mindset to change anytime soon, he told The Gazette.
Mr. Gunasekaran, who took office Nov. 15, said his new system's expansion is necessary in order to touch as many lives as possible, because "I've not been to an academic medical center that has this kind of demand for surgical services."
"I don't see a future for UI Health Care that doesn't include growing," Mr. Gunasekaran said. "What the right way to grow is — whether that is a new tower, whether that is more clinics, whether that is more outpatient operations — it probably has to be a check on all of the above and what can you afford over what period of time and what patient impact are you trying to have. But I think growing our services is critical to our future."
Mr. Gunasekaran also emphasized the importance of partnerships for the future of UI Health Care.
"It's always a very fluid and dynamic environment," said Mr. Gunasekaran. "However, the commitment to partner with others — whether it's others as referral centers to us, whether we’re going to develop joint programs with them, whether we’re going to simply be better citizens on how we transition care from one setting to another — we have to continue to work on partnerships."