Mr. Hiltz joined NCH from Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio, where he served as president and CEO. He also held the top post at Springfield, Ohio-based Community Mercy Health Partners and served as president and CEO of Mercy Mt. Airy Hospital in Cincinnati. He has a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Here, Mr. Hiltz answers Becker’s Corner Office questions.
Editor’s note: Responses have been edited lightly for length and clarity.
Question: What piqued your interest in healthcare?
Paul Hiltz: My relative, Sister Grace Marie Hiltz, when I was a kid was CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. In those days, we’d go visit her, we would walk through the hospital, and I thought it was a fascinating place to work with all the different kinds of people. It made me want to work in a hospital.
Q: What do you enjoy most about Naples?
PH: I love the teamwork in this community. This community really wants this health system to be successful. There’s a community collaboration. There’s a strong doctor collaboration. There are a lot of generous donors here also. That teamwork between the doctors and the donors makes it a great place to work.
Q: If you could eliminate one of the healthcare industry’s problems overnight, which would it be?
PH: The access problem and getting people better access. I think part of the access problem is around confusion among the consumers, not knowing how to get access to [healthcare] services they need. And the confusion around who pays for it and how that works. I would like to make it easy for people to get the care they need. That’s the biggest thing I’d love to solve.
Q: What is your greatest talent or skill outside the C-suite?
PH: I try to be a problem-solver in all areas of my life and help solve whatever problems I can.
Q: How do you revitalize yourself?
PH: I take walks on the beach. I play tennis or read or spend time with friends and my wife.
Q: What is one piece of advice that you remember most clearly?
PH: My mother always had a simple piece of advice: “Be kind.”
Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement at NCH Healthcare System?
PH: The biggest thing I’ve done in my first six months is I’ve spent a lot of time listening at all levels — from employees, community leaders, doctors, elected officials. I think that may end up being my biggest legacy, is that I’m going to listen and be very responsive to this community.
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