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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 29 A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5 In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words In her own words What was the biggest challenge of your career? Contributing to the proposed plan to bring Parkview Adventist Medical Center and Mid Coast Health together to better meet the health care needs of our community. It has been wonderful to work with phenomenal leaders at Parkview and see a shared vision emerge. When did you know you'd made it? Honestly, I don't believe an effective leader ever thinks they have "made it." There is always more to learn. There are always more challenges ahead. The bar can always be higher. What advice do you wish you'd gotten early in your career? Exercise every day. Like many leaders, I have had a sedentary job for a long time. It has been hard to learn to be more physically active so late in my career, but I am making gains! I'll relax when…? The health care system and culture in our commu- nity, state and country has been transformed and we achieve the Triple Aim: Better health, better health care delivery and lower costs. Really. What was your 'Haven't we gone beyond this' moment? Whenever I encounter people who abuse or misuse power. Bullying, mean or disrespectful behaviors shock me. We need to treat each other with posi- tive regard and compassion. other arena, is that it requires action — instead of pas- sive acceptance of current conditions. And if there's anything that virtually everyone agrees on, she says, it's that health care in the United States is too costly, often fails to deliver the best possible care and cannot pos- sibly be sustained in its present form. "What we're trying to do [at Mid Coast Health Services] is part of the broader transformation of our health care system," she says. " at is a philo- sophical and foundational belief of our leadership team. We believe in the transformation. We don't long for the good ol' days. We believe that it is nec- essary to fundamentally change health care and that it's our generation's work to make sure it happens." ose aren't empty words, either. Since July 2011, when Skillings succeeded Herb Paris, Mid Coast's longtime CEO and president, Mid Coast Hospital has consistently earned straight As for patient safety (the highest score possible) in the Leapfrog Group's twice-a-year national and state rankings. It also has earned the gold seal of approval from the Joint Commission, an independent nonprofi t that has been evaluating hospitals for safety and quality of care for more than 50 years, after being named one of 11 "Top Performer" Maine hospitals by the com- mission in 2012. And, in its most recent recognition, U.S. News & World Report recognized Mid Coast Hospital in July as a "Best Regional Hospital" for 2015-16 — making it one of 137 hospitals nation- wide and just two in Maine (the other being Maine Medical Center in Portland) recognized in the magazine's 26 th annual "best hospitals" list. A registered nurse by training, Skillings also is proud of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's 2009 recognition of Mid Coast as a "Magnet" facility for its "exceptional nursing and patient care." She was the hospital's vice president of nursing and patient care at the time and notes the honor is bestowed on fewer than 7% of the country's hospitals. All those accomplishments and others, she adds, have been achieved at costs 25% to 30% below the state average. Skillings credits Bath Iron Works, and the for- mer Brunswick Naval Air Station before it closed in June 2011, as key stakeholders whose need to control their overall health costs have helped the hospital pay closer attention to its costs. e lesson learned, she says, is that reforming health care isn't solely the burden of providers; it's everyone's responsibility. And, as important as controlling costs really is, she is quick to affi rm "care" as the overarching value of Mid Coast Health Services. "I don't see health care as a business," she says. "It is truly a service. We have to run it like a business, but we have to do it, and improve it, for the community." Consensus and collaboration Skillings credits her participation in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Executive Nurse Fellows program with giving her the skills and confi dence to assume the top leadership position of a health care system — a system with a 92-bed acute care hospital, 1,800 employees and $136 million in revenue. ere were 20 nurses in her 2008 cohort and only 222 who've participated in the program since its cre- ation in 1998. A key part of the leadership training, she says, involved picking a project that would challenge her leadership skills and tackle a signifi cant health care problem facing her hometown community. " e organization was undergoing a transition of leadership from Herb Paris to me," she says. "So I decided to take on a big project. I said, 'Let's redefi ne our big strategic vision.' at's what made sense to me, given all the signifi cant changes happening in health care … the Aff ordable Care Act being an obvious one." Skillings and her colleagues organized a series of community meetings, inviting residents, business leaders and health providers from 30 communities in the hospital's service area to share their ideas about the future of health care in mid-coast region. More than 1,000 people participated. e resulting docu- ment, approved by Mid Coast's governing board in February 2011, is called "2020 Vision." It lays out a comprehensive road map for improvement, with fi ve overarching goals for the decade-long initiative. " e 2020 Vision really guides all our strategic eff orts," Skillings says, noting that the long-range plan is broken down into two-year increments, with specifi c projects, benchmarks and timelines to ensure accountability and to keep the momentum going. "It boils down to the Triple Aim — getting better health, better care and better costs. It helps us priori- tize and ensures that everyone gets behind what we're going to be working on for each two-year period." Midway through the 2014-16 strategic plan, Skillings can check off two projects identifi ed as Mid Coast Health Services 123 Medical Center Drive, Brunswick, 04011 Services and affiliates: Mid Coast Hospital, CHANS Home Health Care, Mid Coast Medical Group, Mid Coast Senior Health Center and Thornton Oaks Retirement Community President and CEO: Lois Skillings Revenues: $136.5 million reported in latest IRS 990 filing by Mid Coast Hospital Employees: 1,800 Contact: 373-6000 www.midcoasthealth.com Contributions as of July 20, 2015 Call us today to make your contribution. B E N E FA C T O R S ($500,000 and above) Anonymous F O U N D E R S ' C I R C L E ($50,000–$99,999) Drummond Woodsum Ellie and Charlie Miller D I R E C T O R S ' C I R C L E ($25,000–$49,999) Bernstein Shur Carol & David Hancock Charitable Trust Citizens Bank Daniel W. Emery Bill Knowles Pierce Atwood Preti Flaherty Roger Putnam Verrill Dana, LLP V I S I O NA R I E S ($10,000–$24,999) Berman & Simmons William B. 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