
Marc Harrison, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Intermountain Healthcare
Session 1: Leading Physicians Well
Session 2: Immunizing Against Physician Burnout
Session 3: Building Responsive Organizations in a Time of Change
President and Chief Executive Officer
Intermountain Healthcare
Executive Director, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research
Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, Intermountain Healthcare
Chairman & CEO
Virginia Mason Health System
Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board Co-Chair, NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery; Chief Medical Officer, Press Ganey Associates; Editorial Board, New England Journal of Medicine
Owner and Chief Executive Officer
ReferenceHealth
Thomas S. Murphy Associate Professor of Business Administration
Harvard Business School
President and Chief Executive Officer
Atrius Health
Medical Director, Professionalism and Peer Support
Intermountain Healthcare
Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
Chief Innovation Officer, UCHealth System
Marc Harrison, MD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Intermountain Healthcare. He began serving in this position in October 2016.
A specialist in pediatric critical care, Dr. Harrison held leadership positions at Cleveland Clinic prior to joining Intermountain. He most recently served as Chief of International Business Development for Cleveland Clinic, developing and implementing international strategy, and as Chief Executive Offer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where he oversaw the establishment of 12 Institutes, 5 Centers of Excellence, and more than 30 medical and surgical specialties. Earlier roles included service as Chief Medical Operations Officer, involving oversight of a broad range of clinical operations worldwide for the system, and as Chairman of Pediatric Critical Care.
Dr. Harrison earned an undergraduate degree at Haverford College and a medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School. He completed his residency and internship in pediatric critical care through the University of Utah,School of Medicine, working primarily in the critical care units of Intermountain's Primary Children's Hospital. His wife, Mary Carole Harrison, MD, served as Chief Resident in the same program. Dr. Marc Harrison later received a Master of Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University and completed additional study in management at Harvard Business School.
Under Dr. Harrison's leadership, Intermountain is continuing its focus on implementing best clinical and operational practices designed to advance its mission of helping people live the healthiest lives possible.
Brent James is known internationally for his work in clinical quality improvement, patient safety, and the infrastructure that underlies successful improvement efforts, such as culture change, data systems, payment methods, and management roles. He is a member of the National Academy of Science’s National Academy of Medicine, and participated in many of that organization’s seminal works on quality and patient safety. Dr. James is a Fellow of the American College of Physician Executives. He holds faculty appointments at several universities: Clinical Professor (Affiliated), Stanford University School of Medicine (Medicine); Visiting Lecturer, Harvard School of Public Health (Health Policy and Management);
Adjunct Professor, University of Utah School of Medicine (Family Medicine; Biomedical Informatics); and Adjunct Professor, University of Sydney, Australia, School of Public Health.
He is Chief Quality Officer and Executive Director at the Institute for Healthcare Leadership at Intermountain Healthcare based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Through the Intermountain Advanced Training Program in Clinical Practice Improvement (ATP), he has trained more than 5,000 senior physician, nursing, and administrative executives, drawn from around the world, in clinical management methods, with proven improvement results (and over 50 "daughter" training programs in more than 10 countries).
He has been honored with a series of awards for quality in health care delivery, including:
Deming Cup – Columbia University School of Business, 2011; C. Jackson Grayson Medal, Distinguished Quality Pioneer – American Quality and Productivity Center, 2010; Joint Commission Earnest A. Codman Award, 2006; AHA HRET TRUST Award, 2005; National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Quality Award, 2005; and the American College of Medical Quality Founders’ Award, 1999.
For 8 of first 9 years it existed, he was named among Modern Physician’s "50 Most Influential Physician Executives in Healthcare." He was named among the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" (Modern Healthcare) for over 5 years, and Modern Healthcare’s "25 Top Clinical Informaticists".
Before arriving at Intermountain, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health, providing statistical support for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and Cancer & Leukemia, Group B (CALG), and staffed the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science (Electrical Engineering) and Medical Biology, and a Master of Statistics degree and MD (with residency training in general surgery and oncology) from the University of Utah. He serves on several nonprofit boards of trustees dedicated to clinical improvement and patient safety.
Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE, has served as Chairman and CEO of the Virginia Mason Health System in Seattle since 2000. He is also a practicing internal medicine physician at Virginia Mason.
Dr. Kaplan received a degree in medicine from the University of Michigan and is board certified in internal medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at Virginia Mason and served as Chief Resident in 1980–1981. He is Chair of both the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board of Directors and the National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute. He was a founding member of Health CEOs for Health Reform and has held leadership positions with numerous organizations, including the Medical Group Management Association and the Washington Healthcare Forum, and is a past Chair of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
During Dr. Kaplan's tenure as Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason has received significant national and international acclaim for its efforts to transform health care, most notably as the leader in adapting the Toyota Production System to health care. In 2017, Virginia Mason received the America's 50 Best Hospitals Award from Healthgrades, placing the medical center among the top 1% of hospitals in the nation for year-over-year superior clinical performance across a broad spectrum of care.
Dr. Thomas Lee is Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey and an internist and cardiologist who practices at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is a Professor of Medicine, part time, at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. Prior to joining Press Ganey, he served as Network President for Partners Healthcare System and CEO for Partners Community HealthCare, Inc., the integrated delivery system founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of Geisinger Health System, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Geisinger Health Plan, Geisinger Quality Options, Inc., and Geisinger Indemnity Insurance Company Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Health Leads; the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College; the Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG) of the Veterans Administration; and the Panel of Health Advisors of the Congressional Budget Office. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the New England Journal of Medicine.
He is the author of more than 300 academic articles and four books, Chaos and Organization in Health Care, Eugene Braunwald and the Rise of Modern Medicine, An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare, and The Good Doctor.
Named in his honor, the Thomas H. Lee Award for Excellence in Primary Care is given each year to recognize a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who meets the needs of his or her patients exceptionally well.
Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Science from Harvard College, a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, and a master’s degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. He lives in Milton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Dr. Soheyla Gharib, who is Chief of Medicine at Harvard University Health Services. The couple has three daughters.
Mr. Kenneth H. Paulus, is the Owner and Chief Executive Officer of ReferenceHealth. He also serves as Senior Advisor at Vestar Capital Partners, Inc. Mr. Paulus serves as an Executive Advisor at Water Street Healthcare Partners.
He was the former Chief Executive Officer of Allina Health System, Inc. (also known as Allina Hospitals & Clinics) from June 2009 to December 31, 2014, and served as its President and Chief Operating Officer since July 2008. He served for 10 years at Allina Health System. He was responsible for Allina's system-wide operations strategy to advance the goal of providing optimal access, high reliability, and healing interactions to all patients. He was also responsible for the operations of Allina's 11 hospitals, specialty operations, and clinic groups, the Allina Medical Clinic and Aspen Medical Group. He also led numerous growth initiatives, including a number of joint ventures, partnerships, and acquisitions.
Prior to Allina Health System, Ken served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Atrius Health System. Before joining Atrius Health System, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Health One Care System and Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. He has also served as the Chief Operating Officer of Partners Community HealthCare Inc., Partners HealthCare System, and Alta Bates Medical Resources in Berkeley, California.
He has been a Member of Board of Managers at Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc., since November 19, 2015, and serves as the Director of the Minnesota Hospital Association and Healthgrades. He serves as a Trustee with Hamline University.
Mr. Paulus received a Master in Healthcare Administration and Management from the University of Minnesota. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Augustana College.
Raffaella Sadun is the Thomas S. Murphy Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. Professor Sadun's research focuses on the economics of productivity, management, and organizational change. Her research documents the economic and cultural determinants of managerial choices, as well as their implications for organizational performance in both the private and public sector (including health care and education).
She is among the founders of the World Management Survey (<a href="http://www.worldmanagementsurvey.org" target="_blank">www.worldmanagementsurvey.org</a>) and the Executive Time Use Study (<a href="http://www.executivetimeuse.org" target="_blank">www.executivetimeuse.org</a>). Professor Sadun's work has appeared in leading peer reviewed journals including the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Economic Journal, and has been featured in the business press, including the New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. She is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Faculty Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, Research Affiliate at the Center for Economic Policy Research, and Research Associate in the Ariadne Labs Program in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In 2012, Professor Sadun was nominated as a Junior Faculty Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation.
As President and CEO of Atrius Health, Dr. Steven Strongwater, MD, leads 6,800 employees serving 675,000 patients across eastern Massachusetts with coordinated medical care, home health, and hospice.
Previously, Dr. Strongwater served as Geisinger Health System's Chief Transformation Officer, providing leadership for transformation by implementing new models of care and developing strategies and tactics to improve quality, patient experience, value, and care. Within 2 years, more than $90 million of improvement were identified and novel predictive models introduced.
Dr. Strongwater also served as Assistant Chancellor at UMass Medical Center, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and as Chief of Staff and Chief Executive Officer at Stony Brook University Medical Center.
Dr. Strongwater is a frequent speaker on population health, value-based care, and returning joy to the practice of medicine. He also serves on several regional and national boards including the Mass Digital Health Council, IBM Watson Advisory Board, and Janssen Healthcare Innovators Council, among others.
He completed his undergraduate medical education at Upstate Medical Center and a research fellowship at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Swensen is dedicated to the development of thoughtful leaders who have the capability to nurture camaraderie and joy in work. He is a recognized, well-published expert in professional burnout.
He serves as the Medical Director for Professionalism and Peer Support at Intermountain Healthcare and as a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, where he co-leads their Joy in Work Initiative.
In the preceding three decades he served patients at the Mayo Clinic. As Director for Leadership and Organization Development, he co-led professional burnout work and oversaw the development of 4,100 physicians and scientists. As Director for Quality, Dr. Swensen established the Quality Academy and the Value Creation System. More than 37,000 colleagues were certified Quality Fellows during his tenure.
While Chair of the Department of Radiology, his leadership team used Lean-Sigma and Baldrige to create value for patients provided by 1,200 staff who performed more than 1 million exams annually.
A full professor, he has been Principal Investigator of two NIH Grants and has authored two books and 167 peer-reviewed articles. He was honored with the Diamond Quality Fellow Lifetime Achievement Award.
Swensen has served as Director on two boards and as a member of the Mayo Clinic Management Team. During the two past decades, he has started three businesses.
He holds a master’s degree in medical management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School and is a trained executive coach. He received his MD from the University of Wisconsin. His residency training was at the Mayo Clinic and his thoracic radiology fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Swensen served as President of two international groups: the Fleischner Society and the Society of Thoracic Radiology. He founded the Big Sky Group and the Sun Valley Roundtable.
Swensen has been married for 40 years, has two children, and has run or cross-country skied 39 marathons.
Richard Zane, MD, is the George B. Boedecker, Jr. and Boedecker Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Professor of Health Administration at the University of Colorado Business School, Executive Director of Emergency Services at University of Colorado Health, and Chief Innovation Office for UCHealth System.
Dr. Zane has extensive experience in designing and implementing systems of quality, emergency care, access, and clinical integration and has developed an international reputation for being able to apply modern industrial engineering and informatics practices to health care and science. Dr. Zane recently led a complete care redesign of the new emergency department at the University of Colorado Hospital. This new model of care has revolutionized emergency care delivery, is recognized nationally and internationally, and is being emulated across the United States as well as Asia.
An expert on system of emergency preparedness and mass casualty care, Dr. Zane has been active nationally and internationally on issues related to emergency preparedness, surge, and weapons of mass destruction, and he recently authored the World Health Organization Hospital Emergency Response Checklist. Surge capacity and mass casualty planning and response tools Zane designed were successfully deployed in response to Hurricane Katrina and the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, as well as the Boston Marathon bombing. He has also worked with and received funding from the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Healthcare Resources Services Administration, and the World Health Organization for projects on hospital and system emergency preparedness.
Zane came to Colorado from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he served as Vice Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Chair of the Medical Services Executive Committee. He also served as Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness and Bio-Defense for Partners HealthCare and Medical Director for MDConnect, a system-wide integration, referral, access, and transfer program.
Zane received specialty training in emergency medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he stayed on faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1998.