Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2013 - (Page 3)

I N T E R v I E w Interview with Teri G. Fontenot, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Woman’s Hospital T eri G. fontenot, fache, is president and ceO of Woman’s hospital in Baton rouge, Louisiana. Woman’s hospital is a magnet hospital and one of only eight healthcare-related organizations named to Modern Healthcare magazine’s Top 100 Best Places to Work in healthcare list all five years the award has been given. a graduate of the University of mississippi, ms. fontenot earned her mBa from northeast Louisiana University and is a certified public accountant (inactive). among her numerous past and current appointments, ms. fontenot was the 2012 chair of the american hospital association’s (aha) Board of Trustees and has chaired the chief executive Officers committee of ache. notably, she served two terms on the Sixth District federal reserve Bank board, chairing its audit committee. She also served as a member of the national Institutes of health (nIh) advisory committee on research on Women’s health. In 2012, she was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the 40 most Powerful People in healthcare. Dr. O’Connor: You have taken an interesting and extremely successful career path. What attracted you to healthcare when you could have gone in so many alternate directions? Ms. Fontenot: a career in healthcare was not an intentional decision. my career goal was to obtain a law degree and be a tax attorney. I was working in public accounting, but the hours did not support my personal needs at the time as a single mother with a young child. I went to work for a private company as a controller, and a computer salesman there told me about an opening at the local hospital for a director of accounting. I was offered the job, and it didn’t take long to become smitten; I cannot imagine being in any other field. I love healthcare because I am able to apply my business training and experience in a way that has a positive impact on the lives of families. That is our mission at Woman’s hospital—creating healthier families and improving the health of women in our community. Dr. O’Connor: Woman’s Hospital has been repeatedly named to modern healthcare’s Top 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare and achieved Magnet designation. Do you see any commonalities between attaining Magnet status and being acknowledged as a hospital that is a great place to work? Does one influence the other? Ms. Fontenot: Yes, there is clearly a correlation between the two. at Woman’s, we have long held a philosophy of, and built a culture around, employee engagement. We want our employees to be engaged, to feel empowered, and to be included in decision making. We are transparent in our activities, and we share information. for example, we recently moved into a replacement hospital on a new campus. When 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2013

Journal of Healthcare Management
Interview
Reform
Integrated Health Systems
Post-Acute Care and Vertical Integration After the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Challenges and Facilitators of Community Clinical Oncology Program Participation: A Qualitative Study
The Application of Hospitality Elements in Hospitals
Thirty-Day Readmission Rates as a Measure of Quality: Causes of Readmission After Orthopedic Surgeries and Accuracy of Administrative Data
Abstract from the Academy of Management

Journal of Healthcare Management - January/February 2013