Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE NEW IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • COVID-19
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Digital Health
  • Insights
    • ACA 10 Years After
    • Best Practices
    • Special Reports
    • Innovations
  • Data/Lists
    • Rankings/Lists
    • Interactive Databases
    • Data Points
  • Op-Ed
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Awards
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
    • Women in Healthcare
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
    • - Leaders to Watch
    • - Luminaries
    • - Top 25 Women Leaders
    • - Women to Watch
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Transformation Summit
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Strategic Marketing
    • - Virtual Health
  • Listen
    • Podcast - Next Up
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • MORE +
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion & Editorial
October 03, 2020 01:00 AM

A bold move helped take him from family doctor to OhioHealth CEO

Modern Healthcare
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Dr. Stephen Markovich

    Dr. Stephen Markovich
    CEO
    OhioHealth

    Dr. Stephen Markovich was a family doctor who worked in the emergency department one night a week and volunteered as a high school sports team doctor when he was approached to help OhioHealth. The former Air Force general was happy where he was, but his sense of mission urged him to consider the request. What came after was Markovich’s boldest move. 

    WHAT WAS YOUR RISKIEST DECISION? They say making decisions, especially risky ones, is like having a tug of war in your brain, and sometimes in your heart. That’s how it felt when I had to decide between giving up my family practice to help a hospital run its ER better. My undergrad is in engineering. I love to fix things, but I thought it would be temporary. I was wrong. After we got the ER running smoothly, there were other projects, and 10% of my time turned into 25 and then 50. And then it was time to decide which way to go.

    WHY WAS THAT MOVE RISKY? I was leaving my dream situation, something I was comfortable with, and good at, and passionate about—bedside care. I’d never operated a hospital. I didn’t know how a cath lab ran or an OR or how revenue cycle all worked. I had to learn it all. On top of that, I wasn’t sure how I would fit in with the “suits” in administration. Relationships between operators and bedside caregivers can get a little tense at times. But I told my colleagues it was about trying to make everyone’s work lives smoother and our patient experiences better, and I won their confidence. They came to see me as a guy who could bridge gaps between administration and the medical staff. I’m happy to report they still welcome me into the physicians dining room.

    WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME? Happily, I discovered I made the right decision. I still round and precept occasionally. I’ve kept my boards up as well as my privileges. I was eventually promoted to COO and then president of OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital and, just last year, to president and CEO of OhioHealth.

    Don’t ever pre-ordain your future, because there could be another path you never saw coming that could lead to great things.”

    RESPONSE FROM THOSE INVOLVED: It was an unusual situation in that I was becoming a hospital operator in the same system where I once was a physician. So you run the risk of ticking people off, literally, trading your white coat for a suit coat. I was fortunate, though, that those things didn’t come to pass.

    ADVICE TO EXECUTIVES IN SIMILAR POSITIONS: I didn’t know I would be a general in the Air Force. I just wanted to fly fighter jets. I didn’t know I’d be a president and CEO of a big health system. I just wanted to be a family doctor. You don’t have to go through every door that opens. But these things can happen if you are open to it. Don’t ever pre-ordain your future because there could be another path you never saw coming that could lead to great things.

    DESCRIBE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE: I am, first and foremost, a servant leader and expect everyone on my team to be servant leaders. That means putting team and organization before self; being a good listener and being empathetic to other’s needs. It means creating a positive, inclusive work environment where everyone feels safe and respected. My job is to bring people together who are smarter than me and inspire them to solve problems and create a vision for the future.

    HOW WOULD OTHERS DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? I like to think they find me to be calm and reassuring, especially in these strange times, while also being positive, energetic and forward-thinking. I still have to hold people accountable, of course, but I hope they know I do it fairly, and in a supportive way and that I will never BS them.

    I think they know I genuinely care about them and what happens here at OhioHealth and that it’s not just a J-O-B to me, but a great responsibility that I hold above all else.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    HHS Secretary Becerra tests positive for COVID on Germany trip
    HHS Secretary Becerra tests positive for COVID on Germany trip
    Pay-health-equity_i.png
    ACOs unsure about health equity adjustment to REACH model
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • COVID-19
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Digital Health
    • Insights
      • ACA 10 Years After
      • Best Practices
      • Special Reports
      • Innovations
    • Data/Lists
      • Rankings/Lists
      • Interactive Databases
      • Data Points
    • Op-Ed
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Awards
      • Nominate/Eligibility
      • 100 Most Influential People
      • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
      • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
      • Excellence in Governance
      • Health Care Hall of Fame
      • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
      • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
      • Top 25 Innovators
      • Diversity in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
        • - Leaders to Watch
      • Women in Healthcare
        • - Luminaries
        • - Top 25 Women Leaders
        • - Women to Watch
    • Events
      • Conferences
        • Transformation Summit
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Leadership Symposium
      • Galas
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Supply Chain Revenue Cycle
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Strategic Marketing
        • - Virtual Health
      • Webinars
    • Listen
      • Podcast - Next Up
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • MORE +
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing