Thomas Priselac reflects on 30 years guiding Cedars-Sinai

Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles has undergone significant expansions and collaborations to become the organization it is today: a health system with more than 40 locations and more than 4,500 physicians and nurses.

Thomas Priselac has helmed the organization, which includes the flagship 889-bed Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, during this growth. He is retiring after 30 years as president and CEO and 45 years total with Cedars-Sinai, with Peter Slavin, MD, succeeding him in October.

In an interview with Becker's, Mr. Priselac reflected on his tenure and offered advice to the next generation of healthcare leaders. 

"What I'm most proud of, frankly, is the difference that our work here and the growth of Cedars-Sinai represents in terms of the impact it's had on the lives, first and foremost, of our patients and their families and then, second, the difference that I hope that's been made in the professional and personal lives of the incredible people here at Cedars-Sinai who have made it all possible. 

"At the end of the day, that's been my motivation, and I know that's an essential element of Cedars-Sinai's mission and values and why the institution was created originally."

As far as challenges during his tenure, he said those have been driven by the efforts in the U.S. to develop an affordable, high-quality and equitable health system. 

"The magnitude and pace of change in that regard has only increased over the three decades I've been in this role," Mr. Priselac said. He noted this environment has required an ongoing examination of the health system's mission to ensure its commitments to patient care, education, research and community health improvement are being fulfilled.

He said overcoming this challenge has involved a continuous strategic and operational goal-setting process that ultimately is the result of staff understanding circumstances that require change.

"I think we've emerged from all those discussions with consensus on what the right path forward is that I'd like to believe has allowed Cedars-Sinai to fulfill its mission in the most effective way," Mr. Priselac said.

Now, it is his life stage that has driven him to retire, to be able to spend more time with family, including his four grandchildren. As he puts it, he has "a big accounts payable" in terms of demands on his time with his wife and family, and he wants to take time to be with them. But that does not mean he plans to disengage from healthcare. 

"I've had a career-long interest in health policy matters, and hopefully [I] will be able to continue contributing to ongoing discussions about those matters," Mr. Priselac said.

He is involved with the RAND Social and Economic Policy Advisory Board and at the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. He said he hopes to stay engaged with both entities.

As he prepares to step away from the helm of Cedars-Sinai, Mr. Priselac points to three pieces of advice for the next generation of healthcare leaders. First, it will be even more important that leaders understand the institution's mission and the strategy to achieve it.

Second, "by definition, in a constantly changing environment, innovation is going to be key," he said. 

"And, lastly, always remember that the leaders of the organization play a critical role in determining the culture of the institution, and in that regard, it's critically important that the leaders of the organization focus on making sure the values of the institution come to life. And they do that by virtue of the decisions they make and the messages and messaging that the organization undertakes." 

To read Becker's Q&A with Dr. Slavin, click here

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