CEO of Memorial Hermann Cypress and Katy hospitals[/caption]Heath Rushing took over as the new CEO of the 81-bed Memorial Hermann Cypress Hospital on June 6. He also serves as CEO of the system’s Katy Hospital, a position he took over Feb. 6.
As CEO, he is tasked with overseeing operations at both hospitals, including efforts to provide services to rapidly growing communities. At the Cypress hospital, which opened to patients March 31, Rushing will lead efforts to establish relationships in the community while preparing for future expansions on the 32-acre campus.
Prior to his selection as CEO of the Katy and Cypress hospitals, Rushing has served as CEO of Memorial Hermann’s Northeast campus since January 2007.
How has the transition been going as you take over as CEO of the Cypress and Katy hospitals?
The major transition was effective Feb. 6 at Katy. It’s gone extremely smoothly. It was a very warm welcome from all the employees and physicians and the community as well. I really couldn’t have asked for a better onboarding experience. It’s been about 100 days or so. I’ve learned a lot in that 100 days.
As [Cypress Hospital CEO] Scott [Barbe]’s career comes to an end, I really couldn’t have asked for a better transition with him. I look forward to the journey ahead with having a hospital serve a brand-new market. We’re off to a great start.
What have been the biggest challenges of operating the Cypress hospital since it opened late March?
We’re exceeding expectations. We’re operating at about double what we thought we would when you look at key statistics like [emergency room] visits, admissions and surgeries. The support the Cypress community has brought to the table right out of the gate has been tremendous. The community has come out and supported our events we’ve held. They’re learning about our physicians and staff and have jumped right in.
Has operating at double the patient intake caused any challenges?
It’s a good problem to have, but it does create some challenges operationally. The good news is we have an excellent team who has been waiting for this day to come, so they’re up for the challenge. It creates some obstacles with trying to move patients through the system, but the team has been committed and is looking for creative solutions every day to manage the volume. We have the capacity at the hospital to handle the volume we do have.
How does your experience at the Northeast campus translate to your new role?
When we started at Northeast Hospital in January 2007, we were charged with turning around what had become a failing hospital. What I’m most proud of is our record of quality and safety and re-establishing the trust the community once had and had lost. All signs pointed to us accomplishing that when you look at patient satisfaction scores and the improvements there. One of the lessons that was valuable was the importance of community involvement. I learned a lot working with the [Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce and Lake Houston Area Economic Development Partnership] that I think will allow me to plug in more quickly in both the Katy and Cypress areas. As a hospital that serves these communities, I think we have an important seat at that table. There [are] a number of nonprofit organizations that depend on the larger organizations in the area to help support their efforts. We’re always proud to help support those organizations.
What unique challenges and opportunities come with running two hospitals at once?
While I’m committed equally in both organizations, I think it’s important for me to recognize that I can’t be in two places at once. When you look at the senior leadership teams, I think they are some of the strongest teams we have within the system, and I feel really lucky in that regard. The folks that are full time at both campuses are experts at what they do. The knowledge they have is unmatched, and they are a huge support to me in my role. It also really creates an opportunity for us to be collaborative when you look at the west region of Houston. I think over time, as Cypress continues to ramp up, there will only be more opportunities to create different collaboration points along the way.
What are your goals moving forward?
Cypress is a brand-new market for Memorial Hermann, so it’s all about creating relationships in the community. We’re focused in some key service lines—heart and vascular, neuroscience, orthopedics and sports medicine, women’s and children’s [health care], to name a few. As we move forward, it’s about making sure those services are accessible to the community. We serve a very growing community, and so it’s going to be important that we grow with those communities. I think we’re in a good spot. We’ve got the space we need for the immediate future.
