Although Keith Barber began his career as an auditor, he was always drawn to fields where he could help people. Twenty-five years ago, Barber gravitated to the health care industry when a good friend initiated an interview with Uvalde Memorial Hospital in Uvalde, Texas, netting him a job as the hospital’s chief financial officer.
“I was always intrigued by just the human component of seeing a hospital in action and just how meaningful that actually was versus a manufacturer of widgets,” Barber said.
After spending 15 years at regional hospitals, such as Tomball Regional Medical Center, Barber moved up the ladder after joining the Houston Methodist system in 2012. He was named CEO for Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital in September. Barber said he hopes to continue helping the hospital grow along with the rising population in northwest Harris County without sacrificing the quality the hospital’s patients have come to expect.
Did you always picture yourself as a CEO?
I was fortunate enough to have started out in a small hospital—so even early in my career, I was able to really lead. And also, even though I was on the financial side, I didn’t live in the numbers. I realized that the way to create results for the organization was by doing everything else really well—by growing the facility, making sure that we have the best quality and making sure that we take care of our people. By doing all that, you created the financial results that you were looking for, and by [noticing] that, my interest started to transfer over into those other areas.
