Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Dr. Tommaso Falcone on Cleveland Clinic's Global Vision for Healthcare

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Dr. Tommaso Falcone on Cleveland Clinic's Global Vision for Healthcare · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:02
  - 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.
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  - The variables are constantly shifting, and the stakes
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  - of getting a call wrong don't stay contained.
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  - 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 they go to
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  - 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 Scott Becker with the Beckers HealthCare
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  - podcast. We're we're thrilled today to be joined
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  - by somebody who has one of the most
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  - interesting jobs both in the world and with
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  - Cleveland Clinic.
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  - We're joined today by doctor Tommaso Falcone,
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  - and doctor Falcone is the executive vice president
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  - and president of international
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  - and emerging markets at the Cleveland Clinic. He
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  - himself, doctor Viconi, has got an incredible background
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  - as a physician,
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  - and now he leads up international efforts. Doctor
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  - Viconi, tell us a little bit about
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  - your career first and and then how you
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  - got into this effort with the international
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  - markets and and and what the course of
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  - of what you do in that effort.
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  - Right. Well, first of all, thank you very
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  - much, for taking the time,
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  - to,
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  - just, you know, interact and,
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  - and discuss,
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  - this really interesting
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  - job that I have now. But,
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  - as importantly, it's it's a very important part
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  - of what, The Cleveland Clinic is all about.
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  - So first of all, just to tell you,
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  - as the name is, Tommaso Falcone is obviously
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  - of Italian
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  - descent.
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  - But I was actually born in Montreal, Canada,
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  - where I trained. And so I grew up
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  - speaking,
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  - Italian with my parents and all the
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  - relatives, then I spoke
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  - English because I went to English school. And
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  - but my patients were French, so I had
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  - to speak French as well.
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  - So from then, I was recruited here to
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  - the Cleveland Clinic thirty years ago
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  - to, have a leadership role
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  - in,
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  - starting our,
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  - infertility program, our robotics program. At that time,
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  - it was in its infancy. And then I
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  - became chair of obstetrics and gynecology
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  - here,
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  - at the Cleveland Clinic, and then we expanded
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  - over the seventeen years or so that I
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  - was chair
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  - from just a main campus
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  - responsibility
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  - to then, the Cleveland Clinic,
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  - having, had collaborations with different hospitals like Fairview,
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  - Hillcrest, and Akron.
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  - So that expanded rapidly, and our reputation,
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  - our international and international reputation
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  - for being innovative,
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  - very avant garde,
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  - That expanded as well.
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  - So then after those years,
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  - in that leadership role,
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  - I was looking to see if there was
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  - another challenge as a leadership role. And,
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  - Tom Mihalovich
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  - had just started
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  - as the CEO,
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  - and his vision
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  - was that we have
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  - a global,
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  - brand. And it's not just the brand,
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  - but is a global mission,
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  - to go into the into the world, so
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  - to speak. We had just started
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  - to do many of those things. As you
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  - know, many patients travel to the Cleveland Clinic,
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  - but we thought that maybe it was time
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  - for us to really go out there in
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  - a bigger way. So then,
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  - Tom asked me to go to London.
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  - I was there,
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  - as chief of staff when the hospital was
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  - starting and when the hospital wasn't starting, actually.
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  - It was in 2018.
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  - There were only three walls and no ceiling.
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  - And,
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  - so I was chief of staff, and my
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  - responsibility
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  - was to build all the clinical programs,
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  - recruit all the leaders in cardiac and neuro,
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  - etcetera.
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  - And then for a year, I was the
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  - president,
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  - of the hospital, and then I came back
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  - to Cleveland,
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  - so now for about two and a half
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  - years, to lead this,
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  - what we call international and emerging market.
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  - Now emerging market does not mean just an
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  - emerging market economy
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  - or, you know,
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  - as you know, sometimes we call it global
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  - south,
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  - or,
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  - you know, the the different areas of the
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  - world which are underdeveloped,
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  - whatever you wish to use.
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  - But, really, it's about emerging markets
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  - as in contradistinction
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  - to an established market. So for us, you
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  - know, an emerging market could be Cleaning Clinic
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  - Canada,
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  - because we really have, still in development.
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  - We still have to expand.
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  - We still have to decide,
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  - what our exact role is as compared to
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  - Ohio or Florida or something of that nature
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  - where we were pretty well established.
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  - So that's
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  - sort of in a nutshell how
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  - in the last thirty years,
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  - I finished training as a gynecologist
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  - and,
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  - arrived here in the international operations.
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  - And talk a little bit about the transition
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  - from practicing gynecologist, and you were
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  - a reproductive and
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  - and and gynecological
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  - surgery.
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  - Talk about sort of
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  - being a leader in that and transitioning into
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  - leadership.
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  - And what was that transition like for you,
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  - doctor Falcone?
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  - Thank you, for that question, Adi. So the
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  - transition was always an evolution. It was not,
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  - like, today, I'm a gynecologist, and tomorrow, I'm
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  - a, you know, has a high level leadership
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  - role, which is not clinical.
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  - It evolved. You know? I was
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  - a leader of a small group, which was
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  - clinical,
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  - then a bigger group, which was both clinical
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  - and,
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  - administrative,
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  - let us say, and innovation, which is a
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  - big part of leadership,
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  - certainly within,
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  - the clinical world or the health care world.
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  - I don't think you can be a leader
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  - without being, innovative.
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  - Innovation and I don't mean like I just
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  - developed a new, you know, procedure to do
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  - surgery.
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  - It could be an innovation in delivery of
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  - health care. It could be innovation
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  - in,
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  - in in the way we, interact with the
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  - global community,
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  - etcetera. So it was an evolution. I started
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  - the smaller group, bigger group, and then felt,
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  - that it was time. Now how I got
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  - into the international one
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  - was really based a little bit on my
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  - own international background.
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  - As you know,
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  - doctor Mihaljevic is is Croatian descent,
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  - trained in Boston, came over here. So we
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  - we we have this international
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  - perspective.
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  - And and just to put it in context,
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  - you know, the the the Cleveland Clinic,
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  - we we are the academic medical center
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  - serving the largest number of international patients.
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  - And I say that because, as you know,
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  - we have a big presence in in Abu
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  - Dhabi and in London,
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  - and,
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  - and that has contributed to the large number
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  - of international patients.
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  - So
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  - what what it is is when when I
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  - took this,
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  - opportunity,
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  - we were looking for global partnerships,
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  - mostly as a long term commitment. You know,
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  - we're not, you know, a consulting group, you
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  - know, where you go in, give your opinion,
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  - and get out. We we do not do
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  - that. We have a long term commitment to
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  - the our international
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  - partners.
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  - And what I was looking for what we
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  - are looking for is an alignment in our
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  - culture,
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  - compatible with our values. You know? And
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  - our defining unit of success that we started
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  - immediately was the number of lives served,
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  - So meaning that we we will touch the
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  - greater number of people either directly
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  - or indirectly.
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  - So this is really
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  - how I got here and how I was
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  - clear in the mission
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  - of what we're trying to accomplish.
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  - Thank you very, very much. Could you also
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  - take a moment? Cleveland Clinic seems to do
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  - a better job
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  - than any other institution that I'm aware of
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  - of building and helping develop physician leaders.
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  - Is that because they recruit people that are
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  - focused like that, or is there some
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  - reason why that seems to go so well?
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  - It just seems like throughout the country, I
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  - end up visiting with so many leaders that
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  - have either stayed at Cleveland Clinic for their
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  - entire career or gone off and done other
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  - great things, but really developed
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  - this physician leadership and this leadership capacity through
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  - their experiences
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  - and times in Cleveland Clinic.
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  - Is that a priority? And and and and
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  - and and and and and tell me about
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  - that if you don't mind.
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  - Yes.
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  - So that is a priority. And,
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  - so the
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  - when when we come to the Cleveland Clinic
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  - and,
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  - we're not just employees. You know? We're we're
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  - mem not just the doctors, by the way.
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  - The, everyone here, caregiver.
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  - So I I'm gonna talk about, you know,
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  - leadership
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  - sometimes focused throughout my career, which has to
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  - do with,
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  - you know, the transition from clinical leadership to
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  - an executive leadership.
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  - So but but it could be not just
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  - just that. It could be someone who's in
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  - supply chain and then becomes an executive leader,
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  - because of the fact that they've evolved.
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  - So in in our
• 9:42
  - in our daily,
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  - let's say,
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  - responsibilities,
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  - every one of us
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  - has the view, if they wish, to say,
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  - you know something? I'm really interested in professional
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  - development.
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  - I really want to develop. I want to
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  - become
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  - a better person
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  - next week, you know, as compared to today.
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  - And that can take many forms. You can
• 10:07
  - just be a better doctor or a better,
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  - you know, supervisor or a, you know, something
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  - of that nature. And in that core, there's
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  - always someone who says, you know, I have
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  - an idea
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  - how to,
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  - let us say, touch more lives.
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  - Or perhaps,
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  - you know, we're we want to,
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  - give an idea of how,
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  - you know, we're going to go into a
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  - market
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  - and expand our reach.
• 10:35
  - And and so these small ideas, they say,
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  - ah, you know, you're obviously interested
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  - in
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  - in in becoming more than what you feel
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  - that you're contributing today.
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  - And we actively pursue that. You know? So
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  - every every since I I remember for a
• 10:50
  - long time, we we meet with with our
• 10:53
  - CEO,
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  - and we discuss and it's still not just
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  - me as a clinician
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  - leader or not just an executive leader.
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  - Everyone does this. And what is the question
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  - is,
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  - like, do you see
• 11:07
  - they they ask us. They said, do you
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  - see people that have potential leaders
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  - or those that have expressed,
• 11:16
  - a desire to be a leader?
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  - And, so because those are a little bit
• 11:20
  - separate. You know? Like, some people will come
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  - to me and and and anybody and say,
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  - look. You know? I really feel that in
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  - my career development, I'd like to be a
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  - leader.
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  - Others,
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  - they're just doing their work, and they're not
• 11:32
  - maybe some natural leadership skills, and they seem
• 11:35
  - to take the, a leadership role
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  - intuitively.
• 11:39
  - So those are the types of people we
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  - we we
• 11:42
  - approach them, and we discuss with them what
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  - are the interests,
• 11:48
  - how do you become,
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  - what you want to accomplish. Or for those
• 11:52
  - that have a natural leadership, we ask them,
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  - are you interested in this, or is it
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  - that you feel perfectly happy doing what you're
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  - doing? And this occurs
• 12:01
  - almost immediately
• 12:03
  - as soon as you become part of the
• 12:04
  - Cleveland Clinic as a caregiver
• 12:07
  - at any level. I'm talking to you mostly
• 12:09
  - because I've long term experience with, clinical leadership,
• 12:14
  - which probably is a little bit the easiest
• 12:16
  - one in a health core organization,
• 12:18
  - obviously,
• 12:19
  - like the Cleveland Clinic where,
• 12:22
  - we we really put out a lot of
• 12:23
  - physician leaders because it's always been in our
• 12:26
  - DNA, let us just say.
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  - So,
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  - yes, leadership is part of the, of the,
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  - type of professional development that we aspire to,
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  - that we encourage.
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  - And, of course, there's the type of leader
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  - that it meets the values,
• 12:44
  - which is very important. You know, the the
• 12:46
  - idea is always that you have to meet
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  - our values,
• 12:50
  - of the organization, our organization,
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  - or some other, organization
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  - for us, or that person to become a
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  - leader.
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  - Absolutely. We've seen it in in just droves
• 13:00
  - at Cleveland Clinic, the development of great leaders.
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  - And and so it's fascinating for me to
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  - watch and hear how it's happened and what's
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  - going on with it. Really fantastic.
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  - Take a second, doctor Falcone, and what are
• 13:11
  - you most excited about this year and most
• 13:13
  - focused on this year? And let me ask
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  - you a question. If you're gonna be in
• 13:16
  - charge of our initial markets, do you need
• 13:18
  - to be Canadian by birth, Italian by background,
• 13:21
  - and have practice all over the world, or
• 13:22
  - can you do that without having those
• 13:25
  - multicultural background?
• 13:27
  - Well, you know, you don't have to,
• 13:29
  - have my type of my multicultural background.
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  - But the
• 13:33
  - the important thing is that you you need
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  - to have a multicultural
• 13:37
  - perspective.
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  - So
• 13:41
  - the success
• 13:43
  - in the international market
• 13:45
  - has to be, and that has to be
• 13:46
  - a perspective that you have. You have to
• 13:49
  - adapt
• 13:50
  - to the local market. You know, you have
• 13:51
  - to have a balance
• 13:53
  - between these global consistencies, this is what the
• 13:56
  - Cleveland Clinic is about, and local relevance.
• 13:59
  - And the sustaining
• 14:01
  - part of this,
• 14:03
  - we be very important
• 14:05
  - that this will international relationship
• 14:07
  - that comes from your multicultural
• 14:10
  - perspective, it's not background, is really built on
• 14:13
  - trust.
• 14:13
  - And what that means is you have to
• 14:16
  - understand
• 14:17
  - other cultures. So if we're gonna go into
• 14:19
  - Vietnam, which we are, if we're gonna go
• 14:22
  - to Central Asia,
• 14:23
  - like, for example, Uzbekistan,
• 14:26
  - even in going to London, you have to
• 14:28
  - understand
• 14:29
  - the local culture
• 14:31
  - because
• 14:32
  - if not,
• 14:33
  - you can't you can't really do this,
• 14:36
  - a job. And and and let let me
• 14:37
  - ask you a question about that. You go
• 14:38
  - into Yeah. Pakistan.
• 14:40
  - Uzbekistan.
• 14:41
  - And Cleveland Clinic obviously has this great international
• 14:44
  - name. I would say that between Cleveland Clinic
• 14:46
  - and Mayo Clinic,
• 14:47
  - the two great international names in health care,
• 14:49
  - at least two of the most esteemed names.
• 14:52
  - You go into Uzbekistan
• 14:54
  - or to Vietnam or wherever else you're going,
• 14:56
  - and it's called Cleveland Clinic.
• 14:59
  - Yep.
• 15:00
  - I know Cleveland Clinic London. I think Brian
• 15:03
  - Donnelly was the CEO there, Riz CEO there.
• 15:05
  - Yep. Phenomenal place. You know? And when you
• 15:07
  - go into Uzbekistan, is there ever a local
• 15:10
  - population?
• 15:11
  - The doctors must all know Cleveland Clinic. But
• 15:13
  - is there ever a local local population that
• 15:16
  - says,
• 15:17
  - what is Cleveland? And does that mean LeBron
• 15:19
  - James is gonna be here? Or or is
• 15:20
  - there ever sort of, like, a and I
• 15:21
  - say that joking about LeBron James. I mean,
• 15:23
  - but But is there ever this sense of,
• 15:25
  - like, you know, what does this mean that
• 15:27
  - we're Cleveland? Isn't that what is that?
• 15:30
  - Yeah. Well, you know, that's a very good
• 15:33
  - question, by the way. The and we think
• 15:35
  - about it all the time. And, you know,
• 15:37
  - you give me the so I did I
• 15:39
  - remember arriving at some,
• 15:41
  - airport and, going through customs there. And they
• 15:45
  - ask you, where are you from? Cleveland. And
• 15:46
  - the guy goes, oh, Lebron. So they didn't
• 15:48
  - say Cleveland Clinic.
• 15:50
  - You correct? They did say Lebron.
• 15:52
  - So there is an association
• 15:54
  - certainly with that because of the international,
• 15:57
  - idea. And you are correct in the other
• 15:59
  - assumption.
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  - We are very well known amongst
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  - the, clinical the clinicians
• 16:06
  - around the world. So there's no question. You'd
• 16:08
  - have to, you know, stop reading, you know,
• 16:11
  - like, if if you didn't understand what The
• 16:13
  - Cleveland Clinic has contributed
• 16:15
  - to the,
• 16:17
  - medical
• 16:18
  - culture of the world. So there is nowhere
• 16:21
  - that we go, nowhere
• 16:23
  - that we go that has
• 16:25
  - not,
• 16:26
  - heard of the Cleveland Clinic when you look
• 16:29
  - at it from the clinician's perspective
• 16:32
  - and also the leaderships of that country.
• 16:35
  - So in Vietnam and in, Uzbekistan, to give
• 16:39
  - an example,
• 16:40
  - even in,
• 16:42
  - you know, like in The Middle East, for
• 16:43
  - example, or in Central And South America. So
• 16:47
  - so the the doctors, the clin not just
• 16:50
  - doctors, clinicians,
• 16:51
  - you know, physical therapists, etcetera,
• 16:53
  - they know who the clinic is. They go
• 16:55
  - to their leaders, and they say, we need
• 16:57
  - to develop a heart program, for example, or
• 16:59
  - neuro program. We need to get the best
• 17:01
  - in here to give us advice
• 17:03
  - to help us, and they think of the
• 17:05
  - clinic
• 17:07
  - as as up there. Now
• 17:09
  - the you are correct. In some countries, the
• 17:12
  - penetrance
• 17:13
  - of our of our
• 17:14
  - or recognition
• 17:16
  - of Cleveland Clinic, like in The Middle East,
• 17:17
  - is very high. You know, you you would
• 17:19
  - go around anywhere. They know where the Cleveland
• 17:21
  - Clinic is.
• 17:22
  - But there are places, as you said, like
• 17:24
  - in Vietnam or in the Central Asia,
• 17:27
  - where the patients really don't know
• 17:29
  - that much about us. You know? They it
• 17:31
  - sounds like an American name,
• 17:33
  - must be American, but they really don't know.
• 17:35
  - So the entrance is through the leadership, the
• 17:39
  - clinical leadership,
• 17:40
  - administrative leadership,
• 17:42
  - the health care,
• 17:44
  - administrative people that are trying to expand
• 17:48
  - the,
• 17:49
  - quality of the care that they're developing,
• 17:52
  - and they have heard of us. And they
• 17:55
  - have heard of us as
• 17:57
  - not only highest quality
• 17:59
  - safety patient experience,
• 18:01
  - but success
• 18:02
  - in establishing
• 18:04
  - a relationship
• 18:05
  - in foreign cultures.
• 18:07
  - And I think that we should not underestimate
• 18:09
  - that is that they know that we have
• 18:12
  - a success
• 18:13
  - like in London. You know? Like, we've been
• 18:15
  - now there for eight years.
• 18:17
  - They know who we are.
• 18:19
  - And in in The Middle East with Cleveland
• 18:20
  - Clinic Abu Dhabi. But what it is is
• 18:22
  - that
• 18:23
  - the the
• 18:25
  - people that are delivering health care knows very
• 18:28
  - well. Now for the patients,
• 18:30
  - you're correct if someone just did a survey
• 18:33
  - of people in Tashkent, you know, at
• 18:36
  - the at the parking lot, they probably would
• 18:38
  - know who who we are. That but what
• 18:41
  - it is,
• 18:43
  - is that
• 18:44
  - with their health care providers,
• 18:48
  - the health care providers are the ones that
• 18:50
  - say, hey. You know, we have trust in
• 18:53
  - this organization.
• 18:55
  - You should go and get your care there.
• 18:56
  - And sometimes we recruit these doctors to come
• 18:59
  - to us, and we basically,
• 19:01
  - you know,
• 19:03
  - have,
• 19:04
  - an example of how good we are through
• 19:07
  - the doctors
• 19:08
  - that we recruit in those,
• 19:10
  - countries. So,
• 19:12
  - again, just to confirm,
• 19:14
  - our our penetrance
• 19:16
  - in the in the,
• 19:18
  - health care leadership
• 19:20
  - in just the leadership of that country is
• 19:22
  - very high,
• 19:23
  - and it takes time to establish the trust
• 19:26
  - with the population,
• 19:27
  - which with time, like in London and in
• 19:30
  - Abu Dhabi, it it has become,
• 19:32
  - certainly very strong,
• 19:34
  - as compared to when we entered.
• 19:37
  - A 100%. No. It's a well recognized name
• 19:39
  - in particularly in The Middle East for sure,
• 19:41
  - and I'm sure moving in that direction in
• 19:43
  - these other places, but really a fascinating evolution.
• 19:45
  - Take take a second, doctor Falcone, and and
• 19:48
  - what are you most focused on and excited
• 19:49
  - about
• 19:50
  - as we go into the next six months
• 19:52
  - of this year and into 2027?
• 19:55
  - Yeah. So
• 19:57
  - our you know, just to to give you
• 19:58
  - the concept, our international strategy is really not
• 20:01
  - about being everywhere.
• 20:03
  - It's about being in the right places
• 20:06
  - with the right partners
• 20:08
  - and delivering a measurable impact
• 20:11
  - while protecting the integrity of the Cleveland Clinic
• 20:14
  - model. So I think it's very important. You
• 20:16
  - know? Like, it's not like I have a
• 20:18
  - map, and I'm sticking little pins there and
• 20:20
  - saying, okay.
• 20:21
  - I wanna go everywhere. No. It's really about,
• 20:25
  - like, who's the best
• 20:26
  - partners that we we feel is a recognition
• 20:29
  - of our own
• 20:31
  - values and our own mission and vision. So
• 20:35
  - it's very important that we want to clearly
• 20:38
  - align with with people.
• 20:40
  - We want them to understand our model, our
• 20:43
  - clinical model and governance.
• 20:45
  - The partners usually lead in in the capital
• 20:48
  - and and local operations
• 20:50
  - and market navigation. Just remember,
• 20:53
  - we we don't put
• 20:54
  - our dollars into,
• 20:56
  - in any foreign market.
• 20:59
  - The ex the the exception would be Cleveland
• 21:01
  - Clinic London. But, other than there,
• 21:04
  - they we we don't go in there with
• 21:06
  - our money and and invest. So I think
• 21:08
  - it's very important that we're there as partners
• 21:11
  - with with everyone.
• 21:13
  - Or or in the in the case of
• 21:14
  - Clin Clinic Abu Dhabi, obviously, it's the government.
• 21:17
  - So
• 21:19
  - that that is
• 21:20
  - important. And remember,
• 21:23
  - not only do we enter, but we have
• 21:25
  - to sustain it, and it really depends on
• 21:27
  - really disciplined growth. You know? We so far
• 21:29
  - have not exited anywhere
• 21:31
  - because we made a mistake.
• 21:33
  - So,
• 21:35
  - and, again, so we're not chasing the demand
• 21:37
  - for us.
• 21:39
  - And with that said,
• 21:40
  - like, for us, I just
• 21:43
  - want to tell you that, you know, for
• 21:45
  - the for the rest of the, of the
• 21:47
  - year, for example, we just started
• 21:50
  - a relationship with with,
• 21:53
  - a city that they're building outside of Riyadh,
• 21:56
  - Saudi Arabia,
• 21:58
  - And we're just advising them,
• 22:00
  - and that is a place called Qadea,
• 22:02
  - which is going to be the,
• 22:05
  - a city that they're building for,
• 22:07
  - somewhat entertainment, I guess.
• 22:09
  - And that's where
• 22:11
  - I think the 2034,
• 22:14
  - soccer games are going to be World Cup
• 22:16
  - soccer games.
• 22:18
  - And what what I mentioned there is they're
• 22:20
  - interested in us, you know, doing, like, sports
• 22:22
  - health for them. And,
• 22:24
  - so we're going to advise them how to
• 22:26
  - set up a program,
• 22:27
  - what what is important for them, etcetera.
• 22:31
  - So that's an example.
• 22:33
  - And there are many other examples that are
• 22:35
  - going on at the moment.
• 22:37
  - We want to, expand
• 22:40
  - our footprint, for example, in in South America.
• 22:42
  - So there are many of these which have
• 22:45
  - approached us. And remember, the the way it
• 22:47
  - works with the branded affiliation, you know, meaning
• 22:50
  - they're allowed to use our brand,
• 22:52
  - is it it's a very,
• 22:54
  - very in-depth process.
• 22:56
  - Others that have approached us,
• 22:59
  - for example,
• 23:00
  - is to,
• 23:01
  - to help them and to advise them. We
• 23:03
  - we would we would advise anybody in the
• 23:05
  - world.
• 23:06
  - So if anybody needs our advice, we're there
• 23:09
  - for them. But to have a branded relationship
• 23:12
  - means we we go out of our way
• 23:14
  - to make sure that that organization
• 23:17
  - really meets
• 23:19
  - the standards that we have. You don't have
• 23:22
  - to have our brand for us to advise.
• 23:24
  - But if you want brand on the door,
• 23:27
  - then you need to make we need to
• 23:29
  - make sure that you fulfill
• 23:31
  - what is the highest quality safety and patient
• 23:33
  - experience
• 23:35
  - for that
• 23:36
  - organization.
• 23:38
  - So for example, in in South America, if
• 23:40
  - someone said, look. We want you to come
• 23:43
  - here and have a brand in our brand,
• 23:45
  - and we would send in a team that
• 23:47
  - would evaluate them. And then we would give
• 23:49
  - them a report and say, look. You know,
• 23:51
  - if you if you feel if you want
• 23:53
  - to have our brand,
• 23:55
  - you know, you you need to to meet
• 23:57
  - these expectations.
• 23:58
  - If you can't, it doesn't mean we're gonna
• 24:00
  - abandon you. It just means
• 24:02
  - that we will continue to drive our,
• 24:06
  - you know, successes with you to achieve that
• 24:08
  - end, not to so you can get the
• 24:11
  - brand, but just so you can give better,
• 24:13
  - care to your your own patient population.
• 24:16
  - So there isn't any
• 24:18
  - type of particular, you
• 24:20
  - know, preordained plan of invading the world.
• 24:24
  - It it isn't really about being everywhere, but
• 24:26
  - it is really about we having the right
• 24:29
  - partners. And people approach us all the time
• 24:31
  - from all over the world. And, again, we
• 24:33
  - tell them the same thing.
• 24:35
  - If I we will give you advice, but
• 24:37
  - if you wish this brand called Cleveland Clinic
• 24:39
  - Connected,
• 24:40
  - then you need to fulfill many criteria to
• 24:43
  - for us
• 24:44
  - to give you the the the right to
• 24:46
  - have that brand in your hospital.
• 24:48
  - So
• 24:49
  - there's plenty of people or plenty of types
• 24:52
  - of relationships that,
• 24:54
  - have,
• 24:55
  - of people who have approached us.
• 24:57
  - I can't necessarily share them at this moment
• 24:59
  - because we always oftentimes,
• 25:02
  - we we have we sign an NDA. They
• 25:04
  - don't want us to disclose immediately until it
• 25:06
  - really happens. But there are I can only
• 25:08
  - tell you there are many areas of the
• 25:09
  - world that are, ready
• 25:12
  - for us. But, again,
• 25:14
  - we will give them advice, but if they
• 25:16
  - wish to have it branded,
• 25:18
  - then they need to meet a very high
• 25:20
  - level bar.
• 25:21
  - I hope that answers your question. No. No.
• 25:23
  - No. A 100%. And and and I love
• 25:25
  - that.
• 25:26
  - And and and and we had a chance
• 25:29
  - a couple years ago,
• 25:30
  - and I'm trying to
• 25:32
  - get the name.
• 25:34
  - Is it Francis Topay? I'm I'm I'm getting
• 25:37
  - the name wrong. Yeah. Frank
• 25:39
  - so Frank
• 25:40
  - Papay. You know? Yes. Yes. So Frank Papay
• 25:44
  - is was
• 25:45
  - the chair of plastic surgery here for many,
• 25:48
  - many years, but now he's evolved into another
• 25:50
  - role
• 25:51
  - like everybody else over here. You know, once
• 25:54
  - you've done a clinical leadership role,
• 25:57
  - you know, you have to give opportunity to
• 25:59
  - another
• 25:59
  - generation.
• 26:00
  - Now he he's in he's responsible
• 26:04
  - for business development
• 26:06
  - within innovation.
• 26:07
  - So anything innovative going on, and we wanna
• 26:10
  - develop this,
• 26:11
  - then he he takes the responsibility
• 26:14
  - for it. So if there's something someone says,
• 26:17
  - oh, I have a great idea,
• 26:19
  - like, you know, and, let me see if
• 26:22
  - we can develop it.
• 26:24
  - He he would be
• 26:26
  - the person.
• 26:27
  - He still works here,
• 26:28
  - still sees patients. His his office is one
• 26:31
  - floor either below me or above me. And,
• 26:35
  - so he's around.
• 26:37
  - And,
• 26:38
  - yeah? No. No. I was just curious. But
• 26:40
  - as as bright and good a guy as
• 26:41
  - they come, I remember, and it and it
• 26:43
  - it did, I think, the the world's first
• 26:45
  - face transplant surgery. Just a remarkable leader, and
• 26:48
  - I was I was trying to recall the
• 26:49
  - name while we were out on the phone,
• 26:50
  - but as good a person as they come.
• 26:52
  - Had a chance to share a panel with
• 26:53
  - them a couple years ago and really, really
• 26:55
  - enjoyed it. And, doctor Falcone,
• 26:57
  - amazing what you're doing, what Cleveland Clinic is
• 27:00
  - doing. I I can't thank you enough for
• 27:01
  - spending the time with us today. It it
• 27:04
  - is amazing to watch. I I
• 27:06
  - there's not
• 27:08
  - We we don't have a Cleveland Clinic Canada
• 27:10
  - or a Cleveland Clinic Italy yet.
• 27:12
  - Well, we do have Cleveland Clinic Canada. Oh,
• 27:14
  - we do. We do. Okay. We're there. Toronto.
• 27:17
  - Okay. So Toronto
• 27:19
  - in Toronto,
• 27:20
  - we have a a very strong presence.
• 27:22
  - You have to understand
• 27:24
  - Canadian health system, you know, on what you
• 27:26
  - can and cannot do. But we have a
• 27:27
  - big group
• 27:28
  - in it's an outpatient
• 27:31
  - facility only.
• 27:32
  - They don't allow private hospitals.
• 27:34
  - So we have an outpatient facility in Downtown
• 27:37
  - Toronto. It's very good. We do a lot
• 27:39
  - of,
• 27:40
  - you know, executive health and concierge medicine. Now
• 27:43
  - you are correct. We don't have Cleveland Clinic
• 27:45
  - Italy, and I'm pushing for
• 27:47
  - it very much, you know, as I am
• 27:49
  - very interested,
• 27:50
  - in,
• 27:51
  - in, obviously,
• 27:54
  - experiencing
• 27:56
  - my ethnic origins,
• 27:57
  - on the ground over there. So we don't
• 27:59
  - have Italy. We we do have Croatia.
• 28:02
  - We have Cleveland Clinic Croatia in you know,
• 28:04
  - that is an advised
• 28:06
  - Yeah. And it's it's a cancer center.
• 28:08
  - So but not Italy, unfortunately. Amazing. Let let
• 28:11
  - me ask you one more question. Your favorite
• 28:13
  - city in Canada, your favorite city in Italy,
• 28:16
  - then I promise I'll let you go.
• 28:18
  - Well, the favorite city in in Canada, unfortunately,
• 28:22
  - has to be the city I grew up,
• 28:24
  - which is Montreal. Montreal is very unique. Toronto
• 28:27
  - is very nice, but it it it you
• 28:29
  - know, like, a a Clevelander would go to
• 28:30
  - Montreal I I go to Toronto and really
• 28:32
  - feel,
• 28:34
  - that they're part of of this
• 28:37
  - I wouldn't say same culture, but quite similar.
• 28:40
  - So I I only say unfortunately because everybody
• 28:42
  - wants me to answer Vancouver or Toronto. But
• 28:44
  - Montreal
• 28:45
  - is is is really where I grew up,
• 28:48
  - and I, that, you know, no matter what,
• 28:49
  - I always feel that that's the place to
• 28:52
  - be. Not to mention the fact if you
• 28:53
  - don't wanna go to Europe, if you just
• 28:55
  - wanna feel European culture, you go to Montreal,
• 28:57
  - and you're not in,
• 28:59
  - you know, like, in The United States or
• 29:01
  - the rest of Canada. It is a very
• 29:02
  - unique
• 29:03
  - cultural experience.
• 29:05
  - So that's Right. And we spent time in
• 29:07
  - Montreal, and fascinating. I couldn't agree more. Fantastic.
• 29:10
  - Yeah. Absolutely fascinating. You know, it's this great
• 29:12
  - mix of
• 29:13
  - France and English and Yeah. Everything.
• 29:16
  - Is beautiful and and fascinating.
• 29:19
  - And how about Italy? As long as I've
• 29:20
  - got you on the phone, what's the favorite
• 29:22
  - city in Italy?
• 29:24
  - So it is very difficult because I've been
• 29:26
  - I've actually had, the opportunity
• 29:28
  - to to go to different places in Italy
• 29:31
  - and and,
• 29:33
  - participate in the health care. You know, people
• 29:34
  - ask me, give lectures,
• 29:36
  - maybe, go to the Operating Room, long time
• 29:39
  - ago and give them opinions and things of
• 29:41
  - that nature.
• 29:42
  - So it is very difficult for me to,
• 29:45
  - you know, come up with one city. But
• 29:48
  - if I had
• 29:49
  - to move to Italy, I would probably
• 29:53
  - I think I would move to Rome.
• 29:55
  - And I like Rome,
• 29:58
  - or or Florence, I guess. But, anyway, Rome
• 30:00
  - because it offers,
• 30:02
  - a broad
• 30:04
  - historical content.
• 30:06
  - So for me,
• 30:07
  - like, Rome if you're interested in the Roman
• 30:10
  - Republic,
• 30:11
  - if you're interested in the,
• 30:14
  - imperial Rome,
• 30:16
  - you have it. You you go to the,
• 30:18
  - you know,
• 30:19
  - the, as they
• 30:21
  - call it, so you can see that time,
• 30:23
  - that period.
• 30:25
  - Now if you're interested in Renaissance
• 30:27
  - art, you
• 30:29
  - know, so, therefore, a different time period.
• 30:32
  - Again, you can do you spend a lot
• 30:34
  - of time in pre Rome. But if you
• 30:36
  - want and you say, okay. I'm really not
• 30:38
  - interested in ancient Rome and the whole thing.
• 30:39
  - I'm really interested in Renaissance art. I'm interested
• 30:42
  - in who are the artists of the Renaissance?
• 30:45
  - Leonardo da Vinci,
• 30:47
  - Michelangelo,
• 30:48
  - Raphael.
• 30:49
  - Okay. Well, especially the, the two ladder, which
• 30:52
  - is Michelangelo
• 30:54
  - and Raphael,
• 30:55
  - you will get the you know, their art
• 30:57
  - on on on, you know, anywhere you wish.
• 31:00
  - You can go to the Vatican, for example,
• 31:02
  - see the Sistine Chapel, what Michelangelo did. You
• 31:05
  - can go to the,
• 31:07
  - to the private rooms of the pope,
• 31:11
  - la signatura,
• 31:12
  - and then you'll see Rafael,
• 31:14
  - or you can go to see,
• 31:17
  - one of the statues that Michelangelo
• 31:20
  - of of of the Moses in this church,
• 31:23
  - which is Saint Peter's in chains and so
• 31:25
  - on and so forth. So it gives you
• 31:27
  - a broad thing. Now the the downside is
• 31:29
  - it's a big city, and it's, you know,
• 31:31
  - a tourist trap and the whole thing. But
• 31:33
  - if you go move past that, then I
• 31:35
  - think that you
• 31:37
  - definitely
• 31:38
  - will experience,
• 31:39
  - you know, the different phases of the
• 31:42
  - evolution
• 31:43
  - of a city, which is, again, the Renaissance
• 31:46
  - as well as Rome Republic. And if if
• 31:49
  - you ask me next week, maybe I'll ask
• 31:51
  - I'll I'll think of Florence. But for today,
• 31:54
  - that's the one I offer you. Well, I
• 31:56
  - I I I love that. I we're very
• 31:58
  - partial to Florence, but I love Rome as
• 32:00
  - well. And, I I wanna thank you for
• 32:02
  - taking the time because I know we took
• 32:04
  - up more time than you expected.
• 32:05
  - But what a great pleasure to visit with
• 32:07
  - doctor Falcone, and what amazing things that is
• 32:09
  - doing. Thank you so much. Great. Thank you.