Selfless leader deems success serving in a dual capacity

Healthcare administration today has many new facets.  Its ever-changing surfaces within the hospital sector often require many hats. A day in the life of a healthcare executive entails heavy responsibility of doctors, nurses, patients and staff.  Now imagine the responsibility doubled – two hospitals, two different sets of staff and even more responsibilities. 

Michael O. Ugwueke, DHA, MPH, Senior VP/CEO of Methodist Healthcare North and South Hospitals lives this experience every day. Though the task may be taxing, it’s what he loves. His day typically begins at 4:30 a.m. The drive to work offers him an opportunity to reflect, regroup and think.

A sign in Ugwueke’s office reads, “Be Here, Now.” This sign represents his life. 

“I have a Methodist North badge and a Methodist South badge,” he explains. “They are the same, but symbolically they are different. When I am here, I am here (Methodist North). When I am there I am there (Methodist South).” 

His selfless efforts have gained him notoriety among his peers as well as staff members at both hospitals. Since his arrival in Memphis in 2007 to lead Methodist South Hospital, Ugwueke completely transformed the hospital. It has achieved clinical excellence, market share growth, and financial and a cultural turnaround that now have made it the system’s market share leader and best clinical performer. Given his accomplishments at South, Ugwueke was asked in June, 2009, to take over the leadership of Methodist North Hospital while continuing to lead Methodist South.

Ugwueke and his wife, Rebecca, have two children, Michelle and Michael, Jr.

He is an active participant in the Memphis community and his interests are centered on improving education and youth development. 

Ugwueke received his doctorate in Health Administration and Leadership (DHA) from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston; Master of Public Health (MPH) with concentration in planning from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.; and his bachelor’s degree in pre-med/biology from Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.

What initially led you into a career in the healthcare industry, and ultimately into your leadership role at Methodist Healthcare?

I’ve always had an attraction to healthcare. Since my days in high school I wanted to be a doctor and that particular desire came from a different angle. I was born in Nigeria and grew up at a time when there was much turmoil in the country. I saw a lot of death, illnesses and things of that nature and I always was drawn to trying to do something to help. I wanted to be a doctor. After high school I decided to look for medical schools.  There were very few in Nigeria. The education system is different. I came here and completed my undergraduate degree in biology/pre-med. I finished in three years.

 When I was running out of money to pursue my dream of medical school, one of my professors talked to me about a master’s degree in public health or healthcare administration. I later worked on a hospital project with a classmate, where we looked into filing a certificate of need for cancer equipment and measured how to justify it in a different capacity. I then completed a second project researching print jobs at the hospital, where there were a lot of duplications because the jobs were not categorized.  I put some organization to that. A job that took six months was completed in three, but I would still come into the hospital finding other jobs. I was placed into a catch-all position as a hospital planner where I would interface with external consultants. This exposed me to numerous things involving hospitals. I did that for about a year and was later promoted to planning and research where I researched patient and physician satisfaction. When I left there, I started a market research company. From there I was recruited to a hospital in Fulton, Georgia, and later to Sarasota, Florida, Washington D.C, Chicago then here to Methodist.

How do you divide your time and attention in managing TWO Memphis area hospitals?

When I came here four years ago I was only responsible for Methodist South. After two years,  I was asked to come to North. One of the decisions that I had to make then was how I was going to make it work, knowing what I know about hospitals. One industry truly based on relationships is hospitals. Much of the reason why we have meetings is to build trust and relationships with doctors, associates and community members – you can’t shortchange that process. So I made a conscious decision that my goal would be to go to both places everyday as opposed to different locations on different days. I knew it was not going to be easy, but I felt that I owe it to both places to be able to do justice for what I’m being charged to do.

How would you describe your management style/philosophy?

My management style is one of inclusiveness and one that is based on management by facts. I am pretty much driven by data and facts. I don’t like a lot of anecdotes and innuendos. I like to base my decisions and actions on facts. I’m lucky to have a group of talented leaders at both facilities that have made it look very simple for something that is as complex as trying to manage both hospitals. Without them there is no way I can truly do what I am doing. I give all the credit to them. 

I have many philosophies. In this industry you have to feel like you are really called to do your job. If you don’t have that kind of philosophy you won’t be able to do it. I consider myself lucky in the sense that I love what I do.

What special challenges have you faced?

The challenge that you always face is to make sure you put in enough time to all the issues. Both hospitals are unique in their own ways. You can’t create additional time.  There is only 24 hours in a day. They are in two different communities and to some degree they have two different medical staff members, and although we are getting much closer culturally for the two hospitals, it hasn’t always been the same so challenges are there. In order to do that, I have to take off one hat and put on another hat in order to blend in and do what I have to do. However, I don't call them challenges. I see them as opportunities. Without these things, there may not be a need for me. 

What new initiatives are you working on now?

We have many new initiatives as well as continuation of initiatives. We were the first in Memphis to do a 30-minute guarantee in the emergency room. We started that at South and extended it to North. We started the initiative because the amount of time people were spending in the emergency room was terrible. When we came up with the concept people thought we were crazy. The only way we were able to successfully do it was to make sure we fully understood the process. At that time at South we were seeing 37,000 patients per year. As of now we’ve had 62,000 visits. 

Also, I am now facing renovations starting with the medical surgical unit at Methodist North. We’ve done some renovations, but we’ve never done a complete overhaul. My goal is to do two floors every year until we have the whole place renovated at both hospitals.

What are your goals—both short-term and long-term?

My short-term goal is to continue to highlight our programs and services such as certifications for our centers like the Total Joint Center and to continue what we do in the community. I personally feel that as a hospital, we have an obligation to make sure the people in our communities stay healthy. We do health fairs twice a year at each hospital, exposing individuals in the community to preventive health. We hold panel discussions from doctors in different areas to discuss nutrition, diet and exercise as well as forums with question and answer sessions. We have partnerships with Craigmont High and Hillcrest High.

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