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UHealth Senior Leadership Team Discusses Best Practices at UCare's Seventh Leadership Development Institute

10/19/2009

As part of UHealth - University of Miami Health System's targeted efforts to create a unified, patient-centric health system, about 400 leaders participated in the latest UCare Leadership Development Institute (LDI). The sessions - the seventh iteration of the LDI series launched in 2008 to strengthen the culture of teamwork and excellence - were held October 15 and 16 and covered a range of topics that participants could immediately use in their respective departments as they push themselves and their staffs to excellence.

The sessions covered several learning objectives, including standardizing the process for selection (peer/behavioral interviewing to ensure commitment to standards of behavior); effectively managing performance; sharing best practices for results across the health system; conducting effective meetings; and building pride in the system by sharing stellar "Pillar" results and showcasing physician achievement. The Pillars of Excellence of UHealth are service, people, quality, growth and finance.

The LDI also included a segment that allowed employees to ask pressing questions of a panel of the health system's most senior leaders. Participants were asked to write the questions on index cards that were collected and then drawn at random.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Dean of the Miller School and CEO of UHealth and a strong advocate for the LDI, headed the panel of senior leaders. Also on the panel were William O'Neill, M.D., executive dean for clinical affairs and chief medical officer for UHealth; William J. Donelan, vice president for medical administration and chief operating and strategy officer; Michele Chulick, associate vice president and executive director for clinical operations; Eduardo de Marchena, M.D., professor of medicine and surgery and associate dean for international medicine; and Paul Hudgins, associate vice president for medical human resources.

"I am extremely proud of the progress the UHealth family has made since we launched our LDI series," Dean Goldschmidt said. "Meeting our goal of consistent excellence in patient care requires each of us to go above and beyond our normal duties, and these sessions are helping us achieve that important cultural change across our health system."

Other members of the University and UHealth management team also participated, and presentations highlighted the pioneering medical efforts of UHealth physicians. Victor Perez, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, presented on modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP), his recent surgery that received international media coverage, and Raymond Leveillee, M.D., chief of the Division of Endourology and Laparoscopy, spoke about needle ablative therapy for renal cancer. The groundbreaking work in limb preservation by H. Thomas Temple, M.D., chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Oncology and director of University of Miami Tissue Bank, was highlighted in a UHealth "Breakthrough Medicine" video.

"There was an incredible sense of energy at this Leadership Development Institute," said Jacquelyn Liberto, executive director for strategic operations. "We saw evidence of the continued development of relationships among our leaders and their ongoing commitment to the UCare initiative."

Similar to this year, four LDIs are planned for 2010. The two-day sessions are scheduled for February 18 and 19, May 20 and 21, September 9 and 10, and December 2 and 3. Areas of concentration for these sessions will be posted before each session begins.