Steve Purves

Q: What most notably stands out about your leadership style or what is an example of leadership success you can share with our readers?

Unity of purpose is critical, marching in lock step is critical, and having a passion for serving others is what should drive us as a team. Our employees and the community will notice this — and it will be positive.

The reinvention of Valleywise Health, Maricopa County’s public teaching hospital system, and our financial turnaround are accomplishments attributed to our board and our entire team.

In 2014, shortly after I had arrived at Valleywise Health, it became apparent that our community’s public teaching hospital and safety net system of care was facing dire financial difficulties. A Safety Net Care Program which provided approximately $50 million of annual federal funding for uncompensated care was set to expire. When combined with other structural budget deficits, our organization was facing a $75 million loss in FY 2014. At the same time, Maricopa County voters had just approved, by an overwhelming margin, Proposition 480 to provide funds to build a new hospital to replace the 50-year-old legacy “county” hospital. While taxpayers had committed almost a billion dollars in capital, we faced significant challenges in just keeping the doors open. We also knew there would be no state of federal bailout.

Our leadership team pulled together and began working on a “burning platform” to make dramatic changes. We set out on an ambitious plan to turn our finances around through a series of “100-day workouts” that broke down institutional silos and generated hundreds of ideas to reduce expenses. While some of the best ideas generated $1 – 3 million in savings (the best generated $10 million in validated savings), many ideas generated $300,000 to $900,000 annualized savings. Together, these projects amounted to more than $100 million in savings and allowed us to move forward with transforming our healthcare system.

Q: What impact have any disruptions of the past 18 months had on you as a leader?

Changes in the financing of safety net healthcare, especially Medicaid, require a renewed focus on advocacy and community engagement. This has not led to changes in leadership style, but renewed focus and intensity. We are fortunate to live in a community that recognizes and supports a strong public teaching hospital and safety net healthcare system, as evidenced by the recent passage of Proposition 409, which will allow Valleywise Health to continue to meet growing demands for healthcare services in our community, especially for those living with serious mental illness. The approval of Proposition 409 by Maricopa County voters represents a vote of confidence in our healthcare system and the essential care we provide across Maricopa County.

Q: What do you feel we can be doing as a business community to empower economic growth here?

Valleywise Health has never accomplished anything without engaging with the greater community, especially the business community and economic development organizations. Investing in the healthcare workforce improves access to quality healthcare services and is good for business.

In addition, Valleywise Health has a strong tradition of training the next generation of healthcare professionals. Valleywise began Arizona’s first residency program in 1952 and today trains hundreds of physicians every year through the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance. More than 50% of the physicians who train through the Creighton Alliance remain to practice in Arizona. Continued investment in physician training programs is key to a vibrant community.

Q: What is new and notable for your company’s near future that will impact our economy?

Our plans to expand behavioral healthcare, community health clinics and emergency care will address unmet needs. This will include a new, larger behavioral health hospital that will replace a 50-year-old facility; expanded emergency room and trauma capacity; an outpatient specialty clinic; upgrades to community health centers; and increased capacity to teach the next generation of doctors and mental health professionals. These critical upgrades to the hospital system will ensure Maricopa County residents can access much-needed care, even as the county continues to grow.