Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Carol Gomes, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Stony Brook University Hospital

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Carol Gomes, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Stony Brook University Hospital · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  - There's a small circle of people who truly
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  - understand what it takes to lead a health
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  - system right now. The decisions are enormous.
• 0:08
  - The variables are constantly shifting, and the stakes
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  - of getting a call wrong don't stay contained.
• 0:14
  - That's not a complaint. It's a structural reality.
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  - And it's why the most effective c suite
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  - leaders are deliberate about where do they go
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  - to pressure test their thinking.
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  - Becker's fourteenth annual CEO and CFO roundtable
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  - brings together more than 1,500
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  - executive level attendees
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  - and nearly 400 speakers for four days built
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  - around growth, financial sustainability,
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  - workforce strategy, and the leadership questions that don't
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  - have easy answers.
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  - Join us November second through the fifth in
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  - Chicago.
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  - For the agenda and event details,
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  - visit beckershospitalreview.com
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  - and click on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
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  - This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
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  - podcast.
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  - I'm thrilled today to be joined by Carol
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  - Gomes, chief executive officer and chief operating officer
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  - at Stony Brook University Hospital. Hospital. Carol, it's
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  - a pleasure to have you on the podcast
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  - today.
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  - Oh, I'm so thrilled to be here to
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  - share all of the great news that we
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  - have at Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony
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  - Brook Medicine.
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  - Fantastic.
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  - Well, I'm looking forward to our conversation. I
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  - know, you always have a lot going on
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  - and truly on the innovative side of what's
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  - happening in health care and transforming health care
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  - delivery. But before we dig into the bigger
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  - conversation, can you tell us a little bit
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  - more about yourself and your background?
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  - Oh, absolutely. I started in health care about
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  - forty years ago, to be exact, and started
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  - out as a clinical laboratory technologist
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  - and actually started right here at Stony Brook
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  - early in my career. And I've had the
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  - wonderful
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  - opportunity to be afforded career progression here at
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  - Stony Brook working from
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  - the pathology laboratory
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  - and expanding my role into quality and then
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  - subsequently being involved as the director for quality
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  - at Stony Brook.
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  - Moving again,
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  - along the way,
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  - obtained my master's degree in health care administration
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  - and business
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  - and navigated
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  - into operations
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  - and eventually
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  - led to being the CEO. And I often
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  - joke that I started out
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  - on the 2nd Floor of the hospital, and
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  - now I'm in the C Suite and I
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  - couldn't be more thrilled to be part of
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  - such an incredible organization and I feel that
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  - I've transformed
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  - on point
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  - with the organization itself and it's just been
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  - an incredible journey and a wonderful opportunity.
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  - That's amazing to hear. And, you know, what
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  - a a cool journey that you've had being
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  - able to,
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  - see so many different facets of the hospital.
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  - And then now, in the top position in
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  - c suite,
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  - it's such an inspiring journey.
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  - Can you give us a quick State of
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  - the Union? What's gone well this year and
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  - what are you focused on for the rest
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  - of 2026?
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  - Sure, well I would describe the state of
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  - Stony Brook University Hospital and Stony Brook Medicine
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  - as strong.
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  - We are
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  - forward looking and very focused on meeting the
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  - growing needs of our community.
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  - Our health system actually has so many achievements
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  - that we are very proud of over the
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  - last year.
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  - We earned a five star overall hospital quality
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  - rating from CMS
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  - and we were once again named one of
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  - Healthgrades America's 50 best hospitals.
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  - We also recently achieved magnet status through the
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  - American Nurses Credentialing Center, which recognizes
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  - national and international
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  - nursing excellence and quality patient care.
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  - In addition, Stony Brook Medicine participates in practice
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  - green health events and efforts,
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  - and we were recently named one of the
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  - top 25 hospitals in the country for environmental
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  - sustainability
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  - leadership
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  - and initiatives that really do impact our community
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  - and beyond.
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  - We've also significantly improved
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  - employee and physician engagement across our health system,
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  - and that really reflects leadership's dedication and commitment
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  - to our Stony Brook Medicine team.
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  - And these efforts really do directly correlate with
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  - improved patient experience.
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  - These recognitions
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  - matter as they reflect the work of our
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  - teams that accomplish this work every day
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  - to make our care safer, to improve our
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  - outcomes,
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  - and really create a better experience for our
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  - patients and staff.
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  - It's just been an incredible
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  - trajectory over the last year,
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  - and I'm just incredibly proud of our organization's
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  - accomplishments, not only at Stony Brook University Hospital,
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  - but for our entire health system.
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  - And it you know, beyond the recognition
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  - and awards,
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  - we're really continuing to invest in access and
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  - capacity.
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  - We recently broke ground on an expanded pediatric
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  - emergency department that will allow us to care
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  - for more than 35,000
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  - children annually in a space designed specifically for
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  - these pediatric needs. And then at the same
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  - time, we're advancing our clinical programs.
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  - We're strengthening our patients' flow.
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  - We're expanding the use of technologies,
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  - including the use of robots, data analytics, and
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  - responsible
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  - artificial intelligence, which I know are the entire
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  - health
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  - care
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  - realm is is focused on these days. And
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  - we recently opened a stand alone emergency department
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  - in East Hampton
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  - to serve our Long Island community on the
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  - South Fork to provide more timely access to
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  - high quality care.
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  - And then for the rest of 2026,
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  - our priority is ensuring that this forward momentum
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  - results in sustainable progress. I mentioned all of
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  - the accolades and the hard work that we've
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  - accomplished now. The importance
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  - is focused on sustainability, and that means
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  - continuing to recruit and retain an exceptional workforce,
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  - improving how patients move through our hospital,
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  - investing in the services our community needs most,
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  - most and and really working more closely as
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  - an integrated health system. We want patients to
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  - receive the right care
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  - in the right setting at the right time,
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  - whether that's at our academic medical center, at
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  - another Stony Brook Medicine facility, or closer to
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  - home.
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  - So a lot has happened over the last
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  - year, and we're really proud of the trajectory.
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  - That's amazing to hear. And, you know, it's
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  - so incredible to have that opportunity to see
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  - such growth, whether it's in the quality of
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  - care,
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  - the services you're providing. I mean, pediatric ER
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  - is,
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  - such an amazing service to have have within
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  - the community. And then I know you mentioned
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  - too building up the staff, physician engagement as
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  - well as the patient satisfaction journey. So, a
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  - lot happening in in having the data technology
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  - and more to really power everything else that's
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  - going on, seems like a huge opportunity
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  - for continued growth as well.
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  - But I know there's always challenges too. So
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  - can you talk a little bit about some
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  - of the headwinds that you're keeping your eye
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  - on and preparing for as you move into
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  - this future?
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  - Oh, absolutely. Well, I think
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  - in health care in general,
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  - there's a wonderful
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  - opportunity to address
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  - this growing mismatch between the demand for care
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  - and the resources available to provide it. And
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  - when we say
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  - resources, really it's the workforce
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  - availability.
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  - I think post COVID, post pandemic,
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  - there was a crunch,
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  - in terms of health
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  - care professionals,
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  - being available
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  - to provide care. And so we're continually focused
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  - on
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  - pipeline development,
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  - leadership development
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  - to ensure that we have a healthy
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  - engaged workforce
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  - to be able to provide access to that
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  - crucial care that our community needs.
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  - Like many health systems across the country, we
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  - really are seeing patients arrive with such complex
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  - needs
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  - while facing persistent workforce challenges and rising costs
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  - for labor, pharmaceutical
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  - supplies, and
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  - technology. And as an academic medical center,
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  - we also must balance today's operational pressures
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  - with our responsibility
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  - to invest in
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  - research,
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  - education,
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  - and the next generation of health care professionals,
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  - we put considerable
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  - effort and time
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  - into assuring
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  - that we're achieving our tripartite
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  - mission.
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  - And in in addition,
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  - insurance denials and prior authorization processes really continue
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  - to be an administrative burden,
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  - which unnecessarily
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  - ties up resources leading to escalating costs.
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  - So our approach really is to focus on
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  - areas we can control.
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  - Where can we actually make an impact
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  - that will make a difference within our health
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  - system? We're
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  - strengthening our workforce development. We're removing unnecessary
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  - administrative burdens.
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  - We're improving patient throughput, and we're leveraging technology
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  - thoughtfully
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  - to provide our clinicians with more time for
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  - patients.
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  - We're also becoming far more disciplined about where
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  - care is delivered.
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  - Not every patient really needs to receive care
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  - in the most intensive setting. So
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  - really by expanding ambulatory
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  - access,
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  - virtual access, and community based options,
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  - it continues to be a strategic priority for
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  - us. So the goal is not simply to
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  - survive the current pressure. It's to build a
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  - more resilient system
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  - that can really navigate continued
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  - delivery
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  - deliverance of high quality care even as the
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  - health care environment changes.
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  - So a lot of work needs to be
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  - done to proactively
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  - address those headwinds as you describe them.
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  - But I think it makes a lot of
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  - sense when you are looking at, the the
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  - challenges you mentioned, thinking about the workforce, thinking
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  - about everything else that's changing in the health
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  - care landscape. I know it's something that many
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  - hospital health system executives are facing right now
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  - and and trying to,
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  - continue to grow and expand and make sure
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  - that their organizations have a sustainable way to
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  - serve the community. And I love how you're
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  - talking as well about inventory care and virtual
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  - care and other entry points into the health
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  - system. It seems like that's a really,
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  - important
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  - way to to have,
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  - you know, continued growth and continue to be
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  - able to serve the community in a strong
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  - and meaningful way.
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  - Now
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  - I wanted to ask about opportunities too. What
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  - do you see as being some of the
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  - best opportunities to grow in the next two
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  - to three years?
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  - Well, there are always opportunities that we want
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  - to capitalize on. One of our greatest opportunities
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  - is to continue
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  - expansion of Stony Brook Medicine's
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  - academic
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  - expertise across our the entire,
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  - length of Long Island while making care more
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  - connected and convenient for patients. And in fact,
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  - we're already on that journey and taking advantage
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  - of it.
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  - We recently
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  - renovated
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  - space in a local mall,
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  - where one of the chain
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  - stores had closed.
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  - And we've taken that that space over
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  - and populated it with
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  - a multitude
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  - of ambulatory
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  - care
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  - provisions from different different,
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  - levels of subspecialties.
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  - And what's really wonderful about this opportunity
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  - is that by virtue of locating those services
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  - at a local mall,
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  - there's a bus service that extends there, which
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  - allows for those who don't have transportation to
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  - have easier access to health care. So we're
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  - really embedded within the community and providing greater
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  - access and we're continuing to expand on that
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  - model
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  - of
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  - providing those subspecialties
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  - throughout a community where it's easier access for
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  - our patients.
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  - Well and also, Stony Brook provides highly specialized
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  - services that are not widely available elsewhere in
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  - the region. So we have an opportunity to
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  - continue to build on those strengths.
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  - And some of our core service lines including
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  - cancer, cardiovascular
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  - care, neurosciences,
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  - digestive services,
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  - pediatrics,
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  - women's health, and advanced surgery,
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  - while really bringing more outpatient and preventive services
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  - into the communities we serve.
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  - Growth doesn't always necessarily mean adding more inpatient
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  - hospital beds. It can mean
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  - reaching patients earlier and coordinating their care more
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  - effectively
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  - and providing services in a setting that's easier
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  - for them to access as I described previously
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  - with the ex
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  - example of
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  - us building out space in a local mall.
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  - And it can also mean using digital tools
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  - and data and artificial intelligence
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  - so that we can identify the needs sooner
• 13:07
  - and help our teams make better, more informed
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  - decisions.
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  - So our our position as an academic health
• 13:14
  - system at Stony Brook Medicine is a real
• 13:17
  - advantage. We can connect research, education,
• 13:21
  - and clinical care in ways that allow innovative
• 13:23
  - technology and treatments to reach patients quicker.
• 13:27
  - And over the next several years, our opportunity
• 13:29
  - is to really translate that innovation
• 13:32
  - into a simpler, more accessible, and more seamless
• 13:35
  - experience for patients.
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  - In fact, we were able to
• 13:40
  - implement such a thought in terms of creating
• 13:43
  - our medical and research translation center, which opened
• 13:46
  - in 2019.
• 13:47
  - And what we did was we housed under
• 13:50
  - one roof, our basic scientists, our translational
• 13:53
  - scientists, and our clinicians
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  - who are all focused on cancer care
• 13:58
  - so that they're all interacting with one another
• 14:02
  - to provide
• 14:03
  - the latest state of the art quality care
• 14:05
  - possible for our oncology patients. And it's just
• 14:08
  - been an incredible and an amazing journey to
• 14:10
  - see
• 14:12
  - how the academic
• 14:14
  - research and clinical mission
• 14:16
  - integrates so well under one roof.
• 14:19
  - So very exciting times, many opportunities,
• 14:23
  - and Stony Brook Medicine is seizing them.
• 14:27
  - Fantastic. What an amazing time to be a
• 14:30
  - part of the health system and leading it
• 14:32
  - when you've got so much opportunity available and,
• 14:35
  - that had you to mindset of being able
• 14:37
  - to seize it and really attack what's out
• 14:40
  - there and available,
• 14:41
  - to improve the organization,
• 14:44
  - is so much fun. And I can imagine
• 14:45
  - really for the teams being able to come
• 14:47
  - to work every day and be part of
• 14:49
  - that,
• 14:50
  - is truly, truly amazing.
• 14:52
  - Now before we wrap up here, I wanted
• 14:53
  - to ask you a bit about leadership.
• 14:55
  - Who is a leader you admire really from
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  - any industry and why?
• 15:00
  - Well, Laura, honestly, there are so many mentors
• 15:03
  - along the way,
• 15:04
  - but one who really
• 15:07
  - shaped my leadership approach
• 15:09
  - and one whom I continue to rely on
• 15:11
  - heavily is doctor Steven Strongwater.
• 15:15
  - He, was a former
• 15:17
  - CEO here at Stony Brook, and he really
• 15:20
  - gave me my first crack at a senior
• 15:22
  - level executive position at Stony Brook University Hospital
• 15:26
  - as the interim chief operating officer at the
• 15:28
  - time.
• 15:29
  - He really embodies
• 15:31
  - our eye care about values, integrity, compassion, accountability,
• 15:36
  - respect, and excellence.
• 15:37
  - And he lived them and he role modeled
• 15:40
  - them
• 15:41
  - really true to form.
• 15:43
  - And I remember in my first two weeks
• 15:45
  - as,
• 15:46
  - the interim COO,
• 15:48
  - it was early in January and we were
• 15:50
  - experiencing a major snowstorm
• 15:52
  - and he had a planned vacation and he
• 15:55
  - was out of the country,
• 15:56
  - he called me every single day to touch
• 15:59
  - base, constantly provided support and guidance,
• 16:03
  - especially
• 16:04
  - not only during that time but over the
• 16:06
  - course of many years, whenever there were difficult
• 16:10
  - times or when big decisions needed to be
• 16:12
  - made. He always prevent provided sound advice.
• 16:16
  - He,
• 16:17
  - helped,
• 16:18
  - with providing,
• 16:19
  - advice and counseling on managing
• 16:22
  - conflict,
• 16:23
  - making various business decisions, always with a steady,
• 16:28
  - calm, and patient hand.
• 16:30
  - And still to this day,
• 16:33
  - I I stay in contact with him. He
• 16:36
  - always was the type of person that would
• 16:38
  - always visualize a solution,
• 16:40
  - always with a positive proactive outlook and
• 16:44
  - really, honestly, he was always ahead of the
• 16:46
  - curve like he always anticipated
• 16:50
  - a change in the way that care was
• 16:52
  - to be delivered.
• 16:53
  - He was always what I would call an
• 16:55
  - early adopter
• 16:57
  - on new technologies
• 16:59
  - and trends. And it really opened my eyes
• 17:02
  - to not focusing on status quo, but what
• 17:05
  - could be and what can be in the
• 17:07
  - future
• 17:09
  - and really transformed
• 17:11
  - my leadership in a transformational way. So I
• 17:13
  - will always be grateful to doctor Strongwater,
• 17:16
  - and I still keep in touch with him
• 17:18
  - to this day. He's he's an amazing leader.
• 17:23
  - It sounds like a truly
• 17:25
  - incredible person and somebody that is great to
• 17:27
  - have as a mentor as well as person
• 17:29
  - who is on your side and supporting you
• 17:31
  - as you're jumping into the executive role. I
• 17:34
  - love how you talked about that proactive approach,
• 17:37
  - positivity, visualizing a solution. It seems like health
• 17:40
  - care could use that more than ever right
• 17:41
  - now.
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  - Oh, so true. And and it really has
• 17:44
  - come in handy because if you
• 17:47
  - wring your hands and you know you talk
• 17:49
  - about all the challenges and the barriers but
• 17:52
  - you don't have a path forward,
• 17:55
  - it almost appears hopeless and there
• 17:58
  - is always a solution. There is always a
• 18:00
  - way and it's our responsibility
• 18:03
  - as healthcare leaders to find that way and
• 18:05
  - navigate
• 18:06
  - difficult waters to come to a successful conclusion.
• 18:11
  - Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Carol, thank you
• 18:14
  - so much for joining us on the podcast
• 18:16
  - today. This has been a really fun conversation.
• 18:18
  - It's been great to learn about everything you're
• 18:20
  - doing at Stony Brook, and I look forward
• 18:22
  - to connecting with you again soon.
• 18:24
  - Thank you, Laura. Thank you for the opportunity.
• 18:26
  - I really appreciate it.