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February 14, 2015 12:00 AM

Excellence in Governance for midsize providers: Erica Ward Gerson of Children's Hospital of Michigan

Lisa Schencker
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    Midsize Provider Organizations Erica Ward Gerson Chair Board of trustees Detroit Medical Center's Children's Hospital of Michigan

    The first week of 2011 was an eventful one for Erica Ward Gerson.

    Her first day chairing the board of trustees at Detroit Medical Center's Children's Hospital of Michigan was the same day that for-profit Vanguard Health Systems' acquisition of the hospital took effect. But Gerson felt confident that her decade of experience as a hospital board member, 30 years as a lawyer at a large law firm and time spent as a senior federal official during the Carter administration would help her mediate between doctors and administrators.

    “People don't like change, so the change from a nonprofit to a for-profit for many people inside the institution was very frightening,” Gerson said. “And as it's turned out, it really hasn't made that much difference except for the good. But you have to convince people to be calm until they see that for themselves.”

    Gerson, 64, has been chosen as this year's recipient of the Excellence in Governance Award for midsize provider organizations—hospitals with 101 to 500 beds.

    She has led the hospital through many transitions over the past four years. Ownership of the 228-bed hospital changed again in 2013 when for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp. acquired Vanguard. Detroit Medical Center opened a pediatric outpatient center in 2012 across from the children's hospital, and plans to open a critical-care tower at the children's hospital in 2017. And another Children's Hospital of Michigan facility will open in the suburb of Troy at the end of this year.

    Gerson also helped with design, quality and function of the construction. For the hospital in Troy, she asked the designer to construct life-size cardboard floor-plan models for the planned facility in a warehouse so hospital staff could walk through and ensure the layout made sense. A number of design changes followed.

    “A decision like the one Erica made to invest in this model could prevent serious mistakes, serious operational errors that would have to either be corrected with additional costs or could be flaws with service function,” said John Levy, board chairman of Detroit Medical Center, who says he has known and admired Gerson for more than 20 years. Gerson also serves on the DMC board.

    Meet the other honorees for 2015

    Excellence in Governance for healthcare systems: Dianna Morgan of Orlando Health

    Excellence in Governance honorees manage change from the boardroom

    Excellence in Governance for large providers: Dr. Evelyn Hayes of Baton Rouge General Hospital

    Excellence in Governance for small providers: Melissa Fraser of West Park Hospital

    As a mother of two, Gerson is particularly proud of the new children's hospital, which will offer the first 24-hour all-pediatric emergency department in the Detroit suburbs. She remembers taking her own daughter, years ago, to an adult ED on a Friday night for a broken arm. Her daughter was already upset by the injury. Seeing adult patients who were drunk, bleeding and vomiting didn't help. “When you have the experience of taking small children to an adult emergency room, it's terrifying,” Gerson said. “Kids are not just little adults. They need different care by specialists, and we provide that.”

    During her time as chair, Gerson has helped establish a new board structure, including a quality and safety committee. She has worked to attract more expertise to the board, bringing on quality experts from Ford Motor Co. and General Electric and an expert on customer satisfaction from a local utility company.

    Joseph Mullany, CEO of Detroit Medical Center, called Gerson one of the smartest people he's ever known.

    “She is very compassionate and has taken children's issues seriously and been able to really put her heart and soul into making this the best hospital,” said Mullany, who nominated Gerson for the Excellence in Governance Award.

    Follow Lisa Schencker on Twitter: @lschencker

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