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James R.
Nathan
President and Chief Executive Officer
For more than 30 years, I
have been honored to be a part of what has become one of
Florida’s largest health care systems.
Through this journey, Lee
Memorial Health System has emerged from a single hospital to an
organization with four major acute care hospitals, a children's
hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a regional cancer center, a
skilled nursing and rehab facility, home health services,
multiple outpatient facilities and physician group practices.
Most importantly, LMHS is
blessed with talented, caring people who want to do the right
thing, whether it’s launching an initiative to provide even
better patient care and safety or shoring up our financials to
ensure the viability of our System. We are an organization of
integrity, dedication and determination.
I first came to Lee
Memorial in 1975, serving in various leadership positions until
I was appointed President of Lee Memorial Hospital in late 1981.
After 22 years, I left LMHS in 1997 to pursue a passion to see
if I could play a role in national health care reform. During
this period I had an opportunity to testify before the U.S.
Senate, serve as a national keynote speaker and do work with the
American Hospital Association, as well as a number of state
hospital associations. I also worked as a consultant for other
health care systems, resulting in a realization that it is the
day-to-day workings of health care that are my true passion. I
was welcomed back to LMHS in 2000, again as System president.
I don’t remember a time
when health care and hard work were not a huge part of my life.
I had my first job in health care when I was in the second
grade. My role was to tell children’s stories over a short-wave
radio to tuberculosis patients housed in the “cure cottages” at
Trudeau Sanatorium in Saranac Lake, NY. My father, Ray, had
suffered from tuberculosis for as long as I knew him and was
quarantined for two years. I “visited” with him by climbing a
pine tree near his second floor window where we could wave to
each other when he was well enough to sit or stand up. My mom,
Mary, and I lived in a third floor attic, and she made crafts
that could be sold by the hospital gift shop. I pretty much took
care of myself from as early as I can remember due to my dad’s
serious illnesses.
My father recovered enough
to move to Cincinnati when I was in the third grade. My parents
had lost everything paying for his health care. We moved in with
my grandmother, and Dad, with limited breathing capacity due to
major surgeries removing parts of his lungs and rib cage, took a
job with his brother-in-law selling used cars. A neighbor friend
and I set up a haunted house in my grandmother’s garage called
“Fun in the Dark” and gave kids tours in a little red wagon. We
also showed silent films. We donated proceeds from those
fundraisers to the American Cancer Society and the American Lung
Association.
In the late 1950s, my dad
and a cousin started a business leasing cars, although the
concept did not even have a name at the time. Dad’s business
grew, and by the time I was 13-years-old, I was helping him with
a lot of the paperwork and even reviewing financials of failing
businesses he was considering purchasing. In fact it wasn’t
until I married my wonderful wife, Karen, 11 years later that I
learned people did things besides work on the weekends!
Karen and I have been
married for 39 years. (And I am only 27!) Karen has a PhD in
Education and is nearing completion of a book about children who
are highly gifted while challenged with dyslexia. She based the
book on the experiences of our oldest son, Zach, who has a
brilliant mind but has struggled with his dyslexia. He is
currently studying to become a clinical psychologist. Our
younger son, Adam, works at the General Electric health care
headquarters. He was involved in two patents for neurosurgical
devices while at Washington University in St. Louis and has
another patent pending.
My dad died in 1981 at the
age of 76. For all of the years I knew my dad, he suffered from
multiple illnesses, but he always had time for others and found
energy to leave a legacy for my mom and me, along with a
tremendous work ethic. Watching my dad struggle with his health,
and watching my parents struggle to pay for his care, helped
inspire me to dedicate my life to health care. I can’t think of
a better place to devote this energy than to LMHS and the
community we serve in Southwest Florida.
It has taken a lot of hard
work by a lot of talented people to create the LMHS of today.
Some of the highlights of my time here include the development
of HealthPark Florida, with planning that started in the
mid-1980s, and the opening of HealthPark Medical Center in
December 1991. I also take pride in how LMHS was able to turn
around Cape Coral Hospital after its acquisition in 1996. At the
time, CCH was providing excellent medical care but losing more
than $1 million each month and had shrunk from 1,200 to 800
employees. It is now the largest employer in the city of Cape
Coral with LMHS employing more than 1,500 individuals working in
the city of Cape Coral.
In 2006, LMHS acquired Gulf
Coast Hospital and Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center.
With this acquisition came the opportunity to do something truly
special in our community. We could significantly reduce the
“medical arms race” that makes health care more expensive and
focus on providing the best possible care for our patients. We
merged the hospitals into one state-of-the-art facility, Gulf
Coast Medical Center, which opened in March 2009.
These are only some of the
exciting things that have happened during my time with LMHS. I
clearly did none of this myself. Wonderful support and teamwork
from the Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, physicians and
the community helped make it happen. I look forward to the
future and the many great things that are to come for the
residents of our region!
Fun
Fact
When I was in my late teens, I taught horseback riding at a camp
in Michigan. We never owned horses, but I discovered I was
reasonably good at riding and even did some jumping. Dad would
tell friends around Cincinnati that I liked to ride horses, but
he never seemed to be able to line me up for a relaxing and
enjoyable ride. I would get “invited” to ride horses that were
problems or hadn’t been ridden in months. I clearly was not a
horse “whisperer,” as I spent more time on the ground than on
the horse! I finally asked my father not to tell anyone that I
rode horses. It has been a while, but like riding a bike, I
haven’t forgotten how.
Education
• Master of Business Administration, Xavier University
• Master of Health Care Administration, Xavier University
• Bachelor of Business Administration, Miami University
Memberships/Community Involvement
• Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives
• Board member of the Florida Hospital Association, Past
Chairman
• Board member of the Safety-Net Hospital Alliance of Florida,
Past Chairman
• Board Member of VHA-SE, Past Chairman
• Past President of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation
• Board member of the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools
• Founding board member of Lee County Pulling Together
• Past Chairman of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Lee County
• Past Chairman of the Community Hospitals and Health Systems
• Past Campaign Chairman and President of the United Way of Lee
County
updated 10/01/2009
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