by David Chapman
Staff Writer
If every week goes as well as Gene Miyamoto’s first two weeks on the job, he’ll be a happy man — or in his case, chief operating officer.
Miyamoto began his new role as COO for St. Vincent’s Medical Center Feb. 18, and the transition has been about as smooth as he could have hoped for.
“It’s been wonderful,” said Miyamoto. “The most important thing is to come in and get to know the people and let them get to know me.”
Some might construe that as a job in itself, as Miyamoto said he has met around 200 people since arriving from his last job in Michigan, but his focus as COO is the day-to-day operations at the facility.
Some of those duties include helping develop, implement and evaluate the strategic direction of the health system, assisting with departmental objectives, organizational development, resource budgeting and ensuring that state and federal regulatory requirements are met among other things.
On top of that, Miyamoto said he wants to build on St. Vincent’s tradition of high quality medical service through emphasizing professional, people and leadership development.
“Really, part of it is high touch and the other part is high tech,” he said. “That’s making sure we are current as well as a real service to people.”
That “high-tech, high-touch” mission is evident when walking through hospital halls and peeking in rooms, he said, to witness how technology used by professionals helps people in need.
“It’s really a symphony of coordination to bring it all together,” he said. “It’s wonderful, cool stuff.”
His days will focus on how different components of the hospital will work together to ensure being “good stewards of the resources” while looking after the business components to ensure cost control.
He also noted that the ultimate mission is caring for the needy, especially given the state of the national economy.
The U.S. has the best health care system in the world, he said, but in order to achieve that status, technology, pharmaceutical research and having the best people in place is a constant effort. With those variables always in motion, though, he said that controlling costs is a task.
“As the economy feels its cyclical pressures, then we see more need,” he said. “So it’s very important to have a successful business in order to have the resources for a community in need.”
The economy does have a toll on his profession, as it did in Miyamoto’s former position as COO for Battle Creek Health System since 2002. During his tenure there, he oversaw construction of a new surgery center, cancer center and bed tower. He also improved patient flow through the emergency room, operating rooms and inpatient services.
When the network reached out to him regarding the St. Vincent’s COO position, he said that the area and St. Vincent’s both appealed to him.
“I did a little research and St. Vincent’s has long tradition of medical excellence,” he said. “It (Jacksonville) is a pretty wonderful place. It has real growth, a diverse economy and a strong medical background.”
Jacksonville was his sixth move in his professional life and the first to the Southeast. His prior stops have focused in the Midwest, but moving wasn’t hard for his family.
“My father was a social worker and hospital administrator,” he said. “We moved as part of his work pretty often, so I am used to it.”
If his wife, Elizabeth, has any say, Jacksonville might be their last stop.
“She has been talking about staying here forever and retiring,” he said, then laughed. “It’s kind of a natural thing I guess, especially when it’s five degrees in Michigan.”
And while retirement will be in the future, his goals for 2008 include collaborating with board members, medical staff, leadership, physicians and the community to create and implement a business plan for St. Vincent’s, particularly as it continues its acquisition of St. Luke’s Hospital in preparation for April 12, 2008, when Florida’s oldest private hospital will officially become part of the St. Vincent’s HealthCare system.
Beyond that, he wants to help maintain performance in technology and leadership while helping open space for other creative people to continue the symphony of helping people.
“At the end of my life, I want to look back and feel as though my gifts were used up.”