HEALTHCARE LEADER: James Ross

Chief Operating Officer, Jackson Madison County General Hospital/West Tennessee HealthcareAs a Boy Scout in Chester County, James Ross got a taste of what a healthcare career may look like through the Explorer program. Just as the scouting program let him sample various aspects of healthcare, Ross’s career has been much of the same. Today as chief operating officer for Jackson Madison County General Hospital, those experiences are at the heart of who he has become. “I knew I would do something in the medical field when I realized I enjoyed working the first aid booths as a scout,” said Ross. “That led me to enter the Emergency Medical Technician program at Jackson State Community College after graduating high school in 1979. After which I went to work for the ambulance service in Henderson and started working toward my two-year degree at Jackson State, taking mainly science courses.” Ross then went to Union to pursue his associate degree in nursing while continuing to work as an EMT. In 1985, he earned his associate degree in nursing and started working at Jackson General as a surgical intensive care unit nurse as well as his EMT job. He has maintained his EMT license over the years and has been appointed by the governor to serve on the State Emergency Medical Services Board for the past six years. This organization governs all the provisions of EMT services across the state including education and training programs. In 1987, Ross earned his bachelor degree in nursing from Union and went to work full-time as the critical care clinical coordinator at JMCGH, his first taste of management. “Working for West Tennessee Healthcare has allowed me opportunities to serve in different administrative and leadership roles throughout the organization as well as in the community, and has allowed me to develop my management style, leadership skills while advancing in responsibilities. In 2001, I became vice president of hospital services and in 2009 was named chief operating officer,” said Ross, who earned a Master of Science in Health Administration in 1992 through the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Executive Program. “Our former CEO, Jim Moss, would rotate vice president’s responsibilities in terms of hospital departments they managed. This allowed us to grow our knowledge base system wide and was a tactic to decrease ‘turf’ wars among management.” In addition to his EMT, nursing and administration degrees and licensure, Ross has one more feather in his cap; a nursing home administrator license. “When Hardin County Medical Center tragically lost their administrator, Jim asked me to help out. They were not an affiliate of the system’s but were more of an alliance. They were in a tough bind and I was glad to serve,” said Ross. “The hospital owned a nursing home so I got licensed as a nursing home administrator. Jim encouraged me to maintain it just like my EMT license, since you never know when you could be called to help someone.”When it comes to his management style, Ross finds his clinical background beneficial in terms of communication as well as giving him a holistic picture of healthcare. His style is one of collaboration and consensus building. “I like to bring all parties involved together to see how best to address an issue or opportunity,” said Ross. “I have learned that people need to understand the decision being made rather than giving them an authoritarian response.”  Ross’s philosophy was dramatically shaped by two medically unexplainable events. In late 2002, he had a left main coronary aneurysm, also known as the widow-maker. In 2008, his heart got into a lethal rhythm. “I underwent nine hours of surgery for the aneurysm. I had the option to go anywhere in the world to have it done but elected to stay here because I knew that regardless of what happened to me, my family would have the support they needed to get through it,” said Ross. “The second incident, I was lucky that my wife, Cindy, who is a Nurse Practitioner and daughter, Kelsey, were with me because they have both been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).”These events caused Ross to reflect. “I realized, even more, the importance of carrying that love and respect for others through to everyone you come in contact with,” said Ross. “My second incident really caused me to realize the importance of how rapid response, advanced technology and being properly trained is so very important in the provision of healthcare. Giving back to this community that has given me so much, raising awareness of heart issues and how important being prepared to respond is, has been in the forefront of my endeavors.”Transcending his personal experience Ross said the American Heart Association has championed research and technology that has raised the level of care provided. “Every critical care nurse has to be advanced-life-support-trained beyond basic cardiac life support,” he said. “To bring that on home, we now have a STEMI team which is a fancy term for having a Myocardial Infarction (MI) team in place at the hospital. EMTs out in the field can send us the patient’s EKG from the field so that by the time they arrive, our team is in place, the course of treatment has been determined and all the staff needed is in place and ready to go. It is a streamlined process that has cut down response time and meant better outcomes for patients.”West Tennessee Healthcare has initiated several other innovative treatment modalities over the past few years that enable their staff to deliver the latest care to cardiac patients. “With electrophysiology services, the cardiologist that specializes in electrical impulses of the heart can determine if the heart is out of rhythm and if that is caused by a cardiac nerve ending, it can be alleviated in a non-surgical manner,” said Ross. “We have also started performing trans-aortic valve replacement for patients who are too sick for surgery. Our therapeutic hypothermia program, enables us to cool down a cardiac patient after a heart attack to allow the body to better recover.”Ross credits the AHA with spearheading many of the advancements in cardiology, several which saved his life. “This organization has been behind much of the technology, research, science and training that is at the core of heart programs across the country. They are responsible for the development of automated external defibrillators. They support training and the concepts and fundamental efforts of what you should do first with Advanced Cardiac Life Support and basic CPR,” said Ross. “Kelsey had gone through a kid 911 camp which allowed her to know what to do when my heart stopped. I owe a lot to the research, technology and training the AHA has spearheaded that healthcare providers use daily.”Ross co-chaired the inaugural ‘Red Tie’ society for the West Tennessee Chapter of the American Heart Association. “We started the group last year in conjunction with the Go Red event. The 25 members were men who had either had heart issues or have had spouses or loved ones who have been affected by it. We wanted to not only raise money but awareness of heart disease. Members received a heart on a keychain with an aspirin in it as when you think you are having a heart attack, chewing aspirin can be vital,” said Ross. “This year’s class will be announced at the LIFT Center on February 14.” Over his more than 34-year career in healthcare, Ross has had nearly the full gamut of experiences. He has delivered five babies in the back of ambulances, he has been a nursing home administrator and beyond that, he grew up with a father that worked in a funeral home. “God has really blessed me with a perspective of how life shapes you and how different people can impact your life. My motto has been meet the need and make a difference,” said Ross. “I hope that is how people see me, that no matter what it is, whether it is chairing an event, helping someone find their way or buying a meal for a patient’s family, whatever it is, I did my part in meeting the need and making a difference.”