Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
CEO at Pottstown hospital is settling in
Under new leadership: J. Mark McLoone says he has ‘come home’ as he takes the reins
POTTSTOWN» Pottstown Memorial Medical Center’s new CEO J. Mark McLoone says he was born into the healthcare industry.
The oldest son of a family physician and a registered nurse, and born in the same Philadelphia hospital where his parents met while in training, McLoone says he was destined to follow the same path.
“While I was a student at LaSalle, I was very involved in a number of programs of extracurricular activities, functioning as an officer of some and I realized that I enjoyed management as much as science which was my major field of studies,” he said. “I started asking folks ‘how does one go about getting into healthcare management?’”
That question started McLoone, originally from Valley Forge, on a path that took him from Pennsylvania to the Southwestern U.S. before coming “home.”
“My wife and I are both from the area. We knew that ultimately we would come back home, it was just a question of the right timing — the right situation and opportunity,” McLoone said. “I’ve been remarkably impressed with the staff I have met here. So many of them have 20, 25, 30 or more years of experience. That kind of dedication and commitment to the community is part of what I find unique about Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and part of its strength.”
McLoone said that PMMC’s legacy in the community was attractive to him — a legacy he wants to expand. On the job for just a couple of weeks, McLoone has identified an early goal — patient safety — and maintaining the discipline he said the organization has already developed around the issue.
“It’s one of the highest priorities if not the highest priority. People entrust their healthcare to us — we have to make sure we maintain that strong relationship that we have with this community,” he said.
Also on his list of goals are improving access to care and enhancing the patient and family experience and how they perceive quality.
While McLoone would not discuss specific tactics he plans to use, he said he has been successful in improving patient satisfaction scores before, moving Methodist Children’s Hospital and Women’s Services in
“I always try to have that perspective in mind— patients first. That is always the intention.” — J. Mark McLoone, CEO, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
Dallas from the 53rd percentile of patient satisfaction scores to the 97th percentile within two years, while he was CEO.
“While our hospital’s current satisfaction scores are not where we would like them to be, I am confident that we canmake tremendous strides with the focus of our physicians, nurses and other caregivers,” he said.
McLoone has already made some changes at PMMC — changes he said were in the best interest of patients.
“I always try to have that perspective in mind — patients first. That is always the intention: We ask ‘does this create a better situation for our patients and families that we serve?’”
McLoone said he would like to see PMMC’s capability as a regional referral center grow, by expanding several areas including the hospital’s cancer program, emergency department, obstetrics, behavioral health and orthopedics.
He added that the key is understanding the community’s needs and determining where it makes sense to invest resources.
“We have an extraordinary responsibility to this community not only because they’re entrusting their care to us, but as the largest employer in Pottstown we have a responsibility to the economic vitality of the region.”
McLoone’s vision also includes a physical expansion of the hospital. He stopped short of offering his view on timing, although he said his predecessors established a foundation for growth. As the health care indus-
FROMPAGE 1 try continues to evolve, McLoone said PMMC will need to assure it operates as efficiently as possible. He said those efficiencies can be gained through creativity and listening to employees.
“Many of our best ideas will come through the staff. And we need to use appropriate metrics to be sure we understand what we’re providing, and how we measure it,” he added. “In addition, we need to use appropriate discipline and accountability to maintain whatever actions we put in place to assure the outcomes are what we expect. And if they’re not – then we have to change our plan.”
Another area McLoone said is changing rapidly is in the area of information technology. He acknowledged that increasing capability to allow patients and families to have appropriate access will require significant resources.
“We have to make wise decisions, as these systems are wildly expensive. There is no universal platform that has been established,” he said. “We have to be efficient in how we allocate the resources related to IT, giving appropriate access to staff, patients and families and maintaining privacy and confidentiality as much as possible.”
Tied in to the issue of IT is the recent news about corporate data breaches. Community Health Systems, the parent company of PMMC, this summer was caught in a breach affecting 4.5 million people.
“I would like to tell you, as I am sure every corporate executive would like to say, that it will never happen again, but there are folks that are working all the time to thwart the best efforts of any organization and we’re going tomake every effort it won’t happen again,” said McLoone.
He added that patients have been understanding through what he knows is a difficult situation.
“We can’t minimize the importance of protecting their information ... I appreciate that people were thoughtful and allowed us to explain the situation to them and that they have been receptive.”
McLoone began his career as a contracted worker for ServiceMaster Industries working atMercyHospital in Wilkes-Barre. After 12 weeks on the job, he found himself supervising all of the hospital’s housekeeping and in-house laundry staff as well as part of the maintenance crew. After 18 months, McLoone moved to a hospital in Philadelphia as one of themanagers of the emergency department. While there, he pursued his MBA at Saint Joseph’s University. He then moved to the Alfred I. Du- Pont Hospital for Children at the Nemours Foundation in Wilmington, Del., where he served as chief operating officer.
After 10 years, McLoone joined Hospital Corp. of America and moved west. He went to Oklahoma City as the CEO and one of two COOs of the OU Medical Center, the teaching hospital system for the University of Oklahoma’s medical school. He then moved to Dallas — where he served at Children’s Medical Center. For the past eight years, he has been the CEO for Methodist Children’s Hospital andWomen’s Services in Dallas, Texas.
McLoone , 60, lives in West Chester with his wife Martha, who is an RN. The couple’s three children (all born in Pennsylvania) and three grandchildren are living in Texas, although McLoone said at least one of them has already started talking about moving east.