[dropcap sid=”dropcap-1415141743″]W[/dropcap]hether the Affordable Care Act’s objectives of increasing access, improving care, and lowering costs are achievable nationally, a new team at White Plains Hospital is betting that these formidable goals can work in Westchester County.
The team is led by two alumni of the Baruch MBA in Healthcare Administration Program: Susan Fox (’88), president and soon-to-also-be CEO, and David Ho (’80), CFO.
To continue to be successful in this changing environment, says Fox, the hospital will partner with community physicians, stay ahead of the technology curve, and build upon its greatest asset: a team that values all its members.
It was Fox’s desire to work collaboratively that led her to pursue a career in health care administration and enroll in Baruch’s program (then full time and affiliated with Mt. Sinai).
Since graduating, she has spent much of her career, first as a consultant for Ernst & Young and then as a senior administrator at Long Island’s North Shore–LIJ, creating the collegial environments that studies prove reduce medical errors and provide better patient outcomes.
“When I arrived [in 2013], the culture at White Plains was already terrific,” she says, noting that the hospital was recently ranked by patients among the top 5 percent nationally for outstanding experience.
Montefiore Health System also cited the hospital’s high-quality, patient-focused care when the two institutions recently became affiliated. As part of the system, Fox says, the hospital will tap into the resources of a leading academic medical center to offer highly specialized services in the community.
Providing access to advanced care particularly excites Ho, whose previous work has included positions at four academic medical centers, including the University of Chicago. “Health care is exceptionally complex. We operate in a dynamic external environment that involves government, regulators, insurance companies, the community, and others,” he explains. “Implementing a strategy isn’t easy, but at the end of the day, this is about improving a person’s health and that drives my passion.”
—Brian Kell
Alumni: Interested in Baruch’s MBA in Healthcare Administration Program? Get more information here.