Patient Advocate: Women leaders are transforming health care

Since the days of Florence Nightingale, women have been the cornerstone of health care, today making up 70 percent of the workforce. And they are increasingly becoming presidents and CEOs of health organizations – an encouraging trend.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says women account for 25 percent of the leadership positions in health care globally, while in the Fortune 500, they hold only 10 percent of high-level positions. Across the industry, from hospitals to biomedical research, women leaders are taking on important roles that I believe will improve health care access and outcomes.

In our area, three of the four new presidents of NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health hospitals will be women starting Jan. 1, it was announced recently. Gabrielle Cummings will become president of Evanston Hospital and NorthShore acute and ambulatory operations; she has served as president of Highland Park Hospital since 2018. Maria Knecht, RN, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Glenbrook Hospital, will become president of that hospital. And Nikki Fernandez, RN, will become president of Highland Park Hospital and NorthShore chief nursing officer.

In its list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, Forbes magazine highlighted female health care executives “who are not only building a more equitable health care landscape, but inspiring a new generation of women to pursue careers in the field.” They include Karen Lynch, CEO of CVS Health, and

Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic Systems, which maintains the digital health records of some 300 million Americans.

It’s no secret that men and women leverage different strengths in leadership styles, and that’s why diversity in leadership is important. Women tend to have a more cooperative, participatory style of leadership, while men are more “command and control,” according to the American Psychological Association. Command and control are critical traits to have in a crisis, while cooperation and participation may lead to more satisfied employees and more productive workplace. (In fact, research has shown that women-led organizations tend to be more profitable than those led by men.)

Compassion, empathy and good communication are other traits associated with women leaders, and these are clearly important when people’s lives are in your hands. Compassion and empathy are not about being soft or wishy-washy – women health care leaders I’ve worked have mostly been good listeners, but they don’t shy away from tough issues or decisions.

I think also that women leaders put more of a premium on diversity and inclusion, understanding almost intuitively that if you’re serving a diverse population in terms of age, gender identity, race and other factors, it’s important to hire employees who not only are more representative of those groups, but also understand and appreciate those differences. Karen Lynch said at the Forbes Healthcare Summit that “health care is incredibly personal ... it starts and ends with the consumer.”

Mentoring tends to be important to women leaders in health care as well. One reason the number of women health care executives is growing is the willingness of women leaders to help develop the leadership potential in other women, rather than seeing them as threats.

It’s heartening for me to see that two of the new hospital presidents in our area are RNs, meaning they have spent time at patients’ bedsides and understand the demands of nursing. As of August, 17 hospitals and health systems around the U.S. tapped individuals with nursing backgrounds to be their new CEOs, reports Becker’s Hospital Review.

“Nurse leaders already possess many of the skills needed to run a hospital: compassion, dedication and an in-depth understanding of how policies trickle down to affect caregivers and patients,” Becker’s wrote. At a time when nurses are increasingly in short supply, this kind of insight is invaluable.

The gender of the hospital’s leader may not seem important to you as a patient or the loved one of a patient. But a study in 2017 demonstrated that patients who are treated by female doctors have a lower mortality rate and risk of readmission. Julie Tyler, a senior vice president at Chicago-based Abbott, wrote recently, “I believe the more diversity we have at the boardroom table in hospitals and health systems — and that includes women — the more perspectives we bring to the decisions that ultimately impact patients and their families.”

As a woman in health care, I welcome this growing diversity in leadership. We all should.

• Teri Dreher is a board-certified patient advocate. A critical care nurse for 30+ years, she is founder of NShore Patient Advocates ( NorthShoreRN.com ). Her book, “How to Be a Healthcare Advocate for Yourself & Your Loved Ones,” is available on Amazon. She is offering a free phone consultation to Daily Herald readers; call her at (312) 788-2640 or email teri@northshorern.com.