Though Thomas Selden didn't start his career in the field, he has now spent 23 years as a healthcare CEO in Northeast Ohio. During that time, the Army veteran has turned around two health systems, grew the success of another and led the Ohio Hospital Association, among many other accomplishments.
Currently serving as president and CEO of Southwest General Hospital, Mr. Selden received the Ohio Hospital Association's highest honor this year, the Donald R. Newkirk Award, recognizing lifetime contribution to healthcare in Ohio.
Here, Mr. Selden discusses many aspects of his career, his greatest accomplishments and current happenings at Southwest General.
Note: Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Question: I understand you have a degree in engineering and started as an engineer with Firestone. What led you to a career in healthcare?
Thomas Selden: I very much believe in college education in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics]; I think it's a great foundation for any career. I worked for Firestone Tire before I went on my active service with the Army in 1971. When I was released into my reserve obligation, as Vietnam was winding down, I joined an Army reserve hospital, even though I was an infantry officer. I like to joke that the reason I joined a hospital is because in the infantry I learned how to sleep on the ground, and I learned the field hospitals had cots [laughs].
I stayed beyond my reserve obligation in the army reserve health system. I was a medical service corps officer and at one period in my career I commanded an army reserve field hospital.
I then had an opportunity to go to Akron (Ohio) City Hospital, because at that time there was an opportunity for someone from industry who knew how doctors and hospitals worked. It was a very good match. That's how I got into healthcare. Had it not been for my service in the healthcare system of the Army, I would not have migrated over.
I never looked back. I've found it to be the most rewarding career I've ever had. I love what we do in terms of taking care of patients.
Q: You've been leading hospitals in Ohio for more than 20 years. What drew you in and kept you in the state?
TS: I've specifically been in Northeast Ohio, the Akron-Cleveland area, the whole time. I've had opportunities to go other places, but my roots are here. I have kids and grandkids here, and opportunities always came up for me here, so I stayed.
Q: Throughout your career as a healthcare leader, what accomplishment are you most proud of?
TS: I've run three health systems. Two of them were turnaround situations where the hospitals were troubled, and my team and I have been successful at turning them around. The third one, Meridia Health System [part of the Cleveland Clinic], was a good health system when I went to take that role, and we made it better.
An accomplishment I'm proud of happened during my term as chairman of the board of the Ohio Hospital Association. The board and staff of the OHA were able to accomplish some really great things, and one of the most notable things we accomplished was when we convinced the state legislature to pass tort reform in Ohio. It has remarkably improved the malpractice environment for hospitals and doctors in Ohio.
I would say outside my service of running health systems, that's the accomplishment I'm most proud of. It's our responsibility, outside of our own organization, to make things better for our industry. We worked very closely with the Ohio State Medical Association for that. That was teamwork.
Also, I'm really proud that all my organizations have been not only financially successful but have won many quality awards. Southwest General has also been named one of the best places to work in the greater Cleveland area 11 times. We create a great place for people to work, and I'm proud of that.
Q: What's one of the most memorable pieces of advice you've received throughout your career?
TS: I had been president of Parma Hospital for 12 years when [Floyd Loop, MD], the then-CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, called and offered me this job running the Meridia system. He said something that stuck with me. It's from an Arab proverb, the essence of it is that when a cool wind passes, take advantage of it because it may never come again — that's all that convinced me to leave my comfort zone and head to the Cleveland Clinic. It really speaks to assessing the situation quickly, being decisive about it and acting on it. It caused me to think about leaving the comfort zone of running a single hospital and learn more about the greater challenges of running a much larger health system, organization and the infrastructure.
Q: Tell me about the Building for Your Future expansion project happening now at Southwest General.
TS: After we successfully turned around the organization from losing money, I knew we were in the exact right geographic location, but we were hampered by a couple major deficiencies in the buildings. The emergency department was way too small, as was the critical care unit. Also, all of our rooms were two patients per room. The hospital was originally built in 1975, and its design carried the institution forward for almost 40 years. This $125 million investment in creating this new environment will carry us the next 40 years.
My vision is that patient demands will increasingly go toward more and more privacy. In addition to fixing deficiencies, we're also accomplishing all private rooms with this project. I think that will be very attractive for patients.
Q: Any future plans you can share?
TS: I plan to retire in less than two years, sometime during the first half of 2016, and then work on getting my golf game back where it used to be. My wife has travel plans lined up. I don't know whether I'll do any consulting. If someone calls, and it sounds challenging enough to be interesting, I might take a limited engagement. But first I'm working on leisure time.