As Hospital VP, Health Systems Administration Alumnus Helps Respond to COVID-19 in Florida

July 15, 2020 – Raynard Ware (G’18), who received his master’s degree in health systems administration at Georgetown, is now vice president of operations at Palms of Pasadena Hospital, an affiliate of HCA Healthcare.

In his administrative role, Ware has been helping lead the hospital’s COVID-19 response in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

“COVID-19 has drastically impacted how caregivers provide patient care,” he said. “Globally, this pandemic has put pressure on personal protective equipment (PPE) supply, bed capacity, and staff. However, at my facility, we are consistently focusing on patient throughput efforts to ensure patients are getting the right care at the right time and in the right setting.”

Collaborative Leader

Palms of Pasadena, Ware noted, includes more than 300 beds and provides a variety of services in inpatient and outpatient settings.

“In my role, I am responsible for working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to operationalize strategic priorities and execute within the hospital’s mission, vision, and values. More specifically, I have operational oversight of ancillary departments, support ER and OR operations, and collaborate to further develop hospital service lines.”

Hospital Response

Ware praised the response provided by his hospital and HCA Healthcare.

“Overall, HCA Healthcare has done a good job providing standardized guidance to support hospital leadership teams,” he said. “Our clinical experts and corporate support functions have provided vetted protocols that are in line with CDC guidelines to ensure the safety of patients and staff. From appropriate use of PPE to conserve supplies, universal masking, controlled building access, and more—hospital leaders in HCA have led the charge.” 

In some areas, HCA has ensured bed capacity and PPE conservation by minimizing elective surgeries with decisions being “made in the best interest of the community at large.”

“Additionally, for employees whose schedules were impacted due to low volumes and/or who have potentially been exposed to COVID—we have provided ‘pandemic and quarantine pay’ to financially support employees,” Ware said. “I am proud of all the teams that showed up as leaders during this pandemic.”

Organizational Leadership

Ware says the content he learned in his classes at Georgetown has helped inform his leadership approach generally and during the pandemic.

“My past educational experience at Georgetown has played a huge role in how I have led through this public health crisis,” he said. “I vividly remember taking an organizational leadership class that focused on self and individual development. Content discussed in this class equipped students with the emotional maturity to lead teams. This class was one of many classes that helped me to develop personally and professionally.”

Praiseworthy Teamwork

“My team at Palms of Pasadena Hospital is truly phenomenal,” Ware added. “Staff members consistently go above and beyond to create a great experience for patients. During COVID-19, team members have really lived out the ‘other duties as assigned’ job description as many have taken on tasks outside of their direct line of work.” 

Part of the organization’s strategy has involved deploying staff to needed areas.

“We have asked and redeployed staff to support the nursing floors with answering phones, getting supplies, feeding patients, which ultimately allow nurses to spend more time providing direct patient care,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to support my team’s effort in weathering this COVID-19 storm and saving more lives than not.”

By Bill Cessato