By Charles Felix, Publisher
I recently had the opportunity to sit down and have a brief chat with K. Scott Wester, FACHE, Memorial Healthcare System’s new president and chief executive officer. Although he doesn’t officially take the helm until July 5, and we hope to have a more comprehensive interview with him in the near future, I wanted to share with you my first impressions.
Scott Wester
According to Scott, what first drew him to the position was Memorial’s culture and the anticipated acceleration of healthcare in the state of Florida as a result of the state paring back its certificate of need program that previously limited the opportunities to expand. He seems excited about the opportunity to extend Memorial’s signature services—such as heart and vascular care, cancer care and pediatric care—into a much broader geographic footprint, bringing Memorial’s care closer to patients’ home environments.
Describing Memorial as an already high performing organization, Scott is prepared for the challenges of his new role, as he has had more than 30 years of healthcare experience, including his most recent position as the president and CEO for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, LA—the largest private medical center in the state. He added that it’s also the perfect time for him to take on this new position as he and his wife are “quasi-empty nesters,” with one daughter in college and one heading to medical school.
One of Scott’s strengths is his ability to connect with other organizations, and he hopes to establish partnerships in the community in order to enhance Memorial’s capabilities as well as to lift its partner organizations. He is a firm believer that organizations need to collaborate more from a relationship standpoint in order to improve the quality of care provided.
He also supports the use of technology, with a focus on approaching it from a consumer standpoint. Believing it to be an essential element of the strategic plan, his philosophy is that technology should be used to make healthcare services easier to access, as well as to enhance the health of an individual.
We’re looking forward to welcoming Scott to the Memorial Healthcare System and to South Florida, and to seeing the changes to come!
