"Gene Woods is not one to avoid challenges. In fact, he seems to thrive on them. And it's a good thing. A Catholic Health Initiatives search committee recently was happy to oblige, naming Woods as its unanimous choice for chief executive officer of a new organization being formed by the consolidation of CHI's Kentucky facilities.
Within two years of his arrival in Lexington, Woods, 43, has gone from overseeing the operations of two hospitals to leading seven facilities in Central Kentucky, with more to come.
The prospect of expansion had been influential in Woods' decision to accept the Saint Joseph's position. "I was attracted by a regional approach to care. That was very clearly part of the discussion when I was hired," he said during an interview in his newly renovated office. "Commerce Lexington and Bluegrass Tomorrow have this regional vision of economic development. Part of the challenge there is to work with local governments, including preparations for the World Equestrian Games. But we're doing it. We've been able to bring together leaders from Lexington, Berea, Mt.Sterling, London, Bardstown and from Martin. It's exciting to play a role in that through this new consolidation."
Straight out of Penn State with an MBA and a master's degree in health administration, Woods was managing a small 59-bed rural hospital in Pennsylvania. At 33, he was drawn to St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands, to untangle a legal and bureaucratic mess and free a Caribbean hospital to better manage its operations. Three years later and only four days after stepping into the role of senior vice president and chief operating officer for the 907-bed Washington Hospital Center, the events of 9/11 sent to his emergency room the severely burned from the attack on the Pentagon. In 2006, Woods was wooed to Kentucky, impressed by the heart program and dreams of expansion at Saint Joseph Hospital.
CHI's expansion in Kentucky has enabled Woods to draw on all of those previous experiences. "It was reaffirming," he said. "I know what it feels like to wear many hats in a rural facility, but I also know what it's like to work in a complex, sophisticated tertiary center. I think all of that has prepared me for this role. I will say that this is the biggest opportunity that I've had in my career to make a difference on such a large scale. We really are talking about creating a statewide system here. This is an opportunity to influence lives in one of the sickest states in the union."
Under Woods' leadership, it was determined that CHI's network of hospitals in Central Kentucky were in need of more efficient coordination. "It's tough for a rural hospital without the resources of a larger hospital to be able to make it," he said. "CHI happened to have seven hospitals here in Kentucky. We were working together, but when we looked at the structure, we had four different boards, four different administrative structures; we just thought it was important to change that in order to become a much more agile system. So now we're one board and one administrative structure."
One significant result is the infusion of dollars in the local economy, with ground broken at Saint Joseph East on Sept. 26 for a $60 million facility devoted exclusively to women's services. "CHI will be making a half-billion dollar investment in Kentucky, partly because they feel that the structure here will have much more coordinated strategic plans." He quickly added, "With that comes the responsibility to deliver on what it is that we're saying that we intend to do, which is — and I know it sounds lofty — but fundamentally to transform the way health care is delivered. That will manifest itself in many different ways in the coming years. That's what CHI is holding us accountable to."
Woods acknowledged a highly competitive environment among health care institutions in Central Kentucky, with nearly $1 billion in expansions planned or underway at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville and with Central Baptist considering significant growth in the area. "I respect those facilities. I think fundamentally we have a different strategy. Just building new facilities here in Lexington, to fill up those beds, you have to bring in patients from outlying areas. We're actually going to those outlying areas and building hospitals there, trying to bring better service to those communities."
Not lost on Woods are the deep community histories of the seven institutions now in his charge. "Some have served their communities for almost a century. So it really emanates back to the mission — why these organizations were created — and to continue to expand the healing ministry of the church. So that's what this is about."
Berea Hospital, Woods noted, just ended its fiscal year with its best financials in decades. "As far back as we can see, it's finished the year with the highest patient satisfaction performance in its history." Woods said CHI initially encountered trepidation in Berea that all of the local hospital services would be transferred to Lexington. "In fact, we just opened a new heart center there; we've added sleep lab services; we're doubling operating room capacity. Our strategy is to go out to these communities and help expand the care there. For those tertiary services that can't be provided by the local institutions, our strategy is to create a seamless connection to tertiary services elsewhere. So if you're in Berea right now and you have a heart condition that needs to be transferred to Saint Joseph's Hospital, those digital images will be read by our specialists before you leave the door there. We're creating that type of connectivity."
Another aspect of the CHI strategy being developed under Woods entails providing services to institutions outside of the CHI system, including management of the heart program for Harrodsburg's Hagin Memorial Hospital as well as the nine-hospital Appalachian Regional Healthcare system serving eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia.
Confidential discussions are underway with additional hospitals that have expressed interest in joining the new CHI system. "I think that within the next three years, there will new additions to the family," Woods said.
For Gene Woods, there is more to the business of health care than systems, infrastructure and medicine. With a gift of $150,000 from hospital volunteer Joan Weber, the new entrance to Saint Joseph will serve as a gallery to display the work of Kentucky artists. More than 3,000 works were submitted for consideration by 225 Kentucky artists. Plans are to continue financing purchases and growing the hospital's public display of local art by hosting an annual gallery auction event.
According to Saint Joseph spokesperson Jeffrey Murphy, Woods was very involved in the design of the expansion and renovation, and he even spent some time personally choosing some of the art that was chosen for the Gallery Walk.
"Gene has a strong belief in the environment as a major influence of the healing process," Murphy said.