President and Chief Executive Officer, Oswego Health
With the organization since: 2020.
In current position since: 2023.
Education: Mexico Academy; Le Moyne College; Norwich University; American Hospital Association.
Career Highlights: “Leading my hometown community hospital through a global pandemic and seeing the health system scale into a regional leader in quality care delivery for a growing economy and population.”
Current affiliations: American Hospital Association Healthcare Association of the State of New York, Iroquois Healthcare Association, CenterState CEO, Le Moyne College Board of Regents.
Skills that make you an effective leader? “I pride myself on being an active listener and willing collaborator.”
How do you describe your managerial philosophy or approach? “Two eyes, two ears, one mouth — use them in proportion. I am a keen observer of my surroundings and use those inputs to drive output effectively.”
How do you personally demonstrate leadership and inspire your staff? “Authenticity matters; I am unafraid to share the challenges with our team because I have seen them rise to the occasion every single time. In times of uncertainty, transparency creates buy-in and brings leaders to the forefront to solve complexity. I love being a leader of leaders; at Oswego Health, we have quite a few.”
How do you see the healthcare industry changing in the next few years, and how will you prepare your organization for those changes? “I have said publicly that healthcare will face some tough choices in the next several years as we see HR1 implemented and affect the budget of New York state. We are planning for not just 2026, but beyond and have made great strides to ensure our care delivery system is protected well into the future. Some other changes surrounding artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are very much top of mind right now as well. Our obligation to provide secure, safe healthcare in an increasingly connected world that is vulnerable to bad actors is a reality we need to face. AI helps and challenges us in that space. As more bots embed within healthcare systems, our team is dedicated to ensuring the quality of care remains our hallmark and a differentiator for patients who choose us.”
What are your top three priorities for your organization within the next year? “Continue building our primary and specialty care offerings through Oswego Health PrimeCare and Oswego Health Medical Practice by hiring more clinicians. Continued growth of our robotic surgery practice. Progress on our emergency department expansion and renovations to our 1st floor to add behavioral health treatment rooms for both adults and pediatric patients, along with additional radiology services.”
How can the healthcare industry in the region be improved? “I am a big believer in our Oswego Health urgent care centers. They help us quickly diagnose and treat patients that do not require hospital admission. That frees up our emergency department at the hospital to manage critical patients. Additional capacity in urgent care settings will improve the overall hospital emergency department experience.”
Tell us one thing about you that people generally do not know? “My kids are the seventh generation of my family to live in the village of Mexico.”