On this episode of The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Quint Studer is joined by Dr. Stephanie Montgomery, Partner, Build a Brain, Build a Life, Build A Community, Dr. Alexander Gumiroff, Chief Medical Officer, HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, and Jason Kimbrell, CEO, HCA Florida Palms West Hospital.

Their conversation highlights the transformative “Build a Brain, Build a Life, Build a Community” initiative, which aims to enhance early childhood brain development, and showcases the implementation of the program at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital.

Quint shares about the initial research conducted in Escambia County that led to the founding of the program and the difference it has made for parents, children, and communities across the country.

Dr. Gumiroff and Jason Kimbrell also examine the program’s broader implications for addressing health inequities and encouraging community engagement through activities like book donations and the education of childcare workers. They underscore the importance of ongoing leadership and authentic community involvement in sustaining this initiative, ultimately aiming to improve future health outcomes and kindergarten readiness

About Alexander Gumiroff, MD, MBA, MHA, FACOG

Dr. Alex Gumiroff has been appointed Chief Medical Officer of HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, effective May 15, 2023.

After finishing his residency training at New York Presbyterian/Cornell University Lower Manhattan Hospital, Dr. Gumiroff relocated to Florida and has been a practicing OB-GYN for a Federally Qualified Health Center in Fort Myers, caring for the underserved population.

During that time, he also supervised the training of Medical, Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner students in both outpatient and inpatient settings.

About Jason Kimbrell

Jason Kimbrell was appointed chief executive officer of HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in June of 2021.

Prior to Palms West, Kimbrell was the chief executive officer for Highlands Hospital and transitioned the newly acquired asset into the HCA healthcare portfolio. Kimbrell has been with HCA Healthcare since 2015. He is a graduate of HCA’s Executive Development Program and started his HCA career as the assistant administrator for HCA Florida West Hospital in Pensacola.

Kimbrell is a veteran of the United States Air Force and began his career in healthcare in the public safety sector, serving as a firefighter, critical care flight paramedic and EMS Chief.

About Stephanie Montgomery, Ed.D.

Stephanie is a native Georgian with over 24 years of experience in education and community partnerships. Stephanie has served Northwest Georgia as a School Improvement Specialist in literacy and academic achievement. She has worked as an ELA Specialist and liaison to help strengthen relationships between state and local school systems. Through this work, she has developed a unique lens for identifying issues related to readiness skills and achievement gaps. She is skilled at working with teams to bridge the gap between knowledge and research, helping put policy into practice. Stephanie has also served as a classroom teacher, district-level curriculum coordinator, and grant writer.

On this episode of The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Quint Studer welcomes Dr. Thom Mayer to discuss insights from his extensive career in emergency medicine and leadership, including his work with the NFL Players Union and in crisis situations on 9/11 and during war in Ukraine.

In their conversation, Dr. Mayer discusses his new book, “Leadership is Worthless, but Leading is Priceless,” emphasizing the distinction between leadership as a noun and the act of leading as a verb. He challenges each individual to realize that they are a leader today no matter the role they serve in and to always ask the question, “How will I lead today?”. Dr. Mayer also highlights the importance of relationship-building, storytelling, and a curiosity-driven approach to innovation in healthcare. He says “there’s no solo practice of medicine anywhere. It’s a team sport.”

Their conversation also explores the idea of clinical trials as a way for organizations to reconsider practices and processes and drive continuous improvement. On the topic of improving patient experience, Dr. Mayer discusses his recent article, “Criterion-Based Measurements of Patient Experience in Health Care: Eliminating Winners and Losers to Create a New Moral Ethos,” published by JAMA.

Dr. Mayer and Quint inspire leaders to use failures as steppingstones on their mission to foster cultures of trust and gratitude. Plus, they offer actionable tips and resources to help you do so.

About Dr. Thom Mayer

Dr. Thom Mayer is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, Executive Vice President of Leadership for LogixHealth, Founder of BestPractices, Inc., Speaker for Executive Speakers Bureau, and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at George Washington University and Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University.

He is one of the most widely sought speakers on leading in times of crisis, leading innovative change, customer experience, hardwiring flow, trauma and emergency care, pediatric emergency care, EMS/disaster medicine, and sports medicine. In sports medicine, his work at the forefront of changing concussion diagnosis and management in the NFL has changed the way in which these athletes are diagnosed and treated. His work in each of these areas has resulted in changing the very fabric of patient care.

In 2022, Dr. Mayer helped lead a mobile team to Ukraine, caring for more than 350 internally displaced persons during the current war and training over 1,700 Ukrainian doctors, nurses, and paramedics. On September 11, 2001, Dr. Mayer served as the Command Physician at the Pentagon Rescue Operation and has served on three Defense Science Board Task Forces, advising the Secretary of Defense.

He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, over 200 book chapters, and has edited or written 25 textbooks. His newest book, Leadership Is Worthless…But Leading is Priceless will be released on May 7, 2024 through Berrett-Koehler. He was won numerous awards, including the ACEP James D. Mills Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medicine Award in 2018. He has also been named the ACEP Outstanding Speaker of The Year, ACHE James Hamilton Award (twice), and has been nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

On this two-part episode series of The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Quint Studer hosts Dr. Gerald Hickson, Joseph C. Ross Chair of Medical Education and Administration, Professor of Pediatrics, Founding Director of the Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA).

Quint and Dr. Hickson’s conversation focuses on addressing professional behavior among healthcare providers. Dr. Hickson discusses research linking disrespectful behavior to poor patient outcomes and malpractice claims, emphasizing the importance of professionalism in the workplace. The conversation also extends to nursing, offering innovative leadership strategies for behavioral intervention.

In Part 1, Dr. Hickson discusses the early career experiences that led him to explore professionalism and what he learned about the importance of respect in the practice of medicine. The conversation explores Vanderbilt’s latest research on the topic and shares how health system leaders can start pursuing a culture of safety and respect.

In Part 2, Quint and Dr. Hickson discuss intervention techniques for both physicians and nurses, highlighting “cup of coffee” conversations as a way to make medicine kinder, safer, and more reliable.

About Gerald B. Hickson, MD

Gerald B. Hickson, MD, Joseph C. Ross Chair of Medical Education and Administration, Professor of Pediatrics, Founding Director of the Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy (CPPA).

Dr. Hickson serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). He also serves on the Board of Directors of Keck (USC) Health System, the RL Datix Customer Advisory Board and is a member of the International Regulatory Expert Advisory Group to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Dr. Hickson previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). Dr. Hickson received a BS from the University of Georgia and MD from Tulane University School of Medicine.