2023
Experienced health care executive returns to run Wyandotte hospital
(News -Herald)
In a career that has taken him from coast to coast, Rand O’Leary has settled in a place he loves most — Downriver. O’Leary, a Michigan native, is enjoying his second tour as a leader of Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, this time as president of the 360-bed acute care facility. For O’Leary – a health care professional for more than a quarter-century – returning to Wyandotte is both familiar and challenging.
“It’s a very special place,” said O’Leary, citing the hospital’s role in the community, its place within Henry Ford Health, and the quality of life in Wyandotte and the entire Downriver area.
2022
Featured: Where’s the Fire: What to do when every issue seems urgent
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Executive)
The pandemic has required hospital CEOs to put certain priorities on the back burner so they could effectively respond to their communities’ needs and ensure staff members’ safety. As healthcare organizations emerge from crisis mode, however, it is clear that a lack of focus on pre-pandemic priorities has had a steep cost to these organizations and created new challenges. Healthcare leaders now face the daunting task of leading their teams in a new environment and with an overwhelming number of concerns that need to be addressed.
Featured: What Will it Take to Get Patients Back to See Their Doctor?
By Rand O’Leary (Health IT Answers)
The pandemic has changed many things about our culture and daily life. Even with a likely shift to an endemic state and more “normal” days ahead, many things have changed in the past two years that will not change back to how they were. Among them is the old employment model of emphasizing in-person work. In today’s market, if employers want to attract and retain talent, they must offer flexible work options.
Featured: Lifting Each Other in Challenging Times
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
Recently, I had an opportunity to check in with leaders across the healthcare industry to pause and reflect on the past two years of caring for our community and each other in the midst of a pandemic. We talked about what we have learned about ourselves, our teams, and what we want to do differently moving forward.
FEMA Approves Governor Mills’ Request for Federal COVID-19 Surge Response Teams for Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor
(State of Maine, Office of Gov. Janet T. Mills)
Governor Janet Mills announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved her request for Federal COVID-19 Surge Response Teams on behalf of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor. Beginning February 18, two U.S. Department of Defense teams each consisting of 20 military medical personnel – including physicians, nurses, and respiratory technicians – will supplement existing staff at EMMC to provide care for those with COVID-19 and other serious medical issues. The teams will provide assistance through mid-March.
Featured: Using Personal Resilience to Build Organizational Resilience
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen burnout strike healthcare professionals and leaders at levels previously unseen. Colleagues are retiring, dedicated providers are leaving, and countless others across the country are taking time away for stress and mental health renewal.
2021
Featured: Resilience – The Key Ingredient to Success
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it. – Maya Angelou
If there’s one thing that 2020 has definitely called for, its resilience. We’re living in turbulent times and COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of American life – from health to work to childcare to education and even exercise. Add to that a fragile economy, a smattering of natural disasters, and widespread political and racial unrest, and you’ve got all of the ingredients needed to keep most people in a state of near-constant stress. The concerns and events of 2020 have been even more profound for essential workers, especially those in healthcare settings.
2020
EMMC’s new president grappling with fallout from coronavirus pandemic
(Bangor Daily News)
In mid-March, Rand O’Leary was just three months into his new job as the head of Maine’s second largest hospital when a health threat of colossal magnitude — the coronavirus — was finally found to be spreading through the Pine Tree State.
The following weeks and months were a blur for Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Like most hospitals, it rushed to stock up on critical protective equipment, institute new safety procedures and create plans for handling a possible spike in patients.
Then, something fortunate happened. Even though there was a surge of coronavirus cases across Maine that crested in late May, and while there have so far been 139 confirmed cases of the virus in Penobscot County, EMMC was never swamped with patients.
Power of Collaboration
(Pathways, Northern Light Health)
Resilient, intensely proud, courageous, and compassionate are a few of the adjectives used to describe the people Rand O’Leary, MSA, FACHE, has met and worked with after just five months serving as Northern Light Health senior vice president and president of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. Rand barely had time to settle into his new position when the specter of COVID-19 appeared on the horizon. And, while times have been challenging for everyone, including hospitals and their employees, he is quick to point out what he sees as the special qualities in the greater Bangor area that have helped to maximize the community’s well-being.
Mask Up for ME
(Northern Light Health E-Communication)
As members of the Community Health Leadership Board (CHLB), our leaders are committed to working with area organizations to protect our community. This week, the CHLB launched the Mask Up for ME campaign to encourage community members to wear a face mask while in public as well as donating homemade cloth masks, if they have the means to do so. The campaign features many community leaders wearing masks, including Scott Oxley, president, Northern Light Acadia Hospital and Rand O’Leary, president, Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center.
Featured: Building Commitment: Creating a Team That Moves Forward Without Hesitation
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
What makes a good organization great? A strong team working together with a clearly defined purpose. The cohesiveness and organizational might that builds strong teams often begins at the top, with leadership leading by example and focused on achieving objectives at every level.
Featured: Embracing Conflict
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
While building a culture of trust is essential to a leadership team’s growth and success, the fear of conflict can stop any positive growth in its tracks. Conflict happens, especially in business, and the key is to embrace rather than avoid it. As Patrick Lencioni writes in the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, “All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow.”
2019
New head of EMMC says his first task will be listening to staff’s concerns
(Bangor Daily News)
Earlier this year, the doctors at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center became so concerned that the hospital’s administrators had sidelined them from major decisions that they brought their concerns directly to the board, warning that their morale had reached an “all-time low.” Now, as a new leader begins his tenure at the Bangor hospital, he said one of his main goals is to diligently listen to what its doctors, nurses and other medical staff have to say.
Rand O'Leary named president of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center
(Becker’s Hospital Review)
Rand O'Leary was selected to serve as president of Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, effective Dec. 9. He will also become senior vice president of Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health, the hospital's parent.
Maine Hospital To Fill Leadership Position After 8 Months
(Maine Public Radio)
The Bangor Daily News reports Rand O'Leary will step into his new role at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center on Dec. 9. The hospital hasn't had permanent leadership since April. That was when former president Donna Russell-Cook stepped down.
Featured: Building Trust to Succeed
By Rand O’Leary (Healthcare Business Today)
When it comes to building a strong leadership team, choosing top talent isn’t the only priority; building a culture of trust is also essential to growth and success. According to a recent PwC survey of more than 1,400 CEOs worldwide, more than half of organizational leaders believe a lack of trust is a serious threat to the success of their teams and their business. However, if you are aware of the importance of trust, and actively working to make it part of your workplace culture, you can use it as an asset to your organizational function, rather than a liability.
Featured: Inspired Leaders Create Strong Organizations
(Western Pennsylvania Healthcare News)
Gallup’s State of the American Workplace reports that while the U.S. has more than 100 million full-time employees, only about one-third of them could be considered engaged at work. These are the staffers leaders dream about – they love their jobs and just make their organizations better. At the other end of the spectrum, 16% of employees are actively disengaged and generally miserable at work, and the remaining 51% of employees are not engaged at all – they’re just there.
New leader will contend with EMMC’s low national ratings
(Bangor Daily News)
Rand O’Leary, a former Oregon healthcare executive, will become the president of EMMC on Monday. He will replace former president Donna Russell-Cook, who stepped down in April, and report to Dentry. Northern Light officials did not make O’Leary available for an interview, but Dentry said he was hired, in part, because of his focus on hospital quality.
2018
PeaceHealth Sponsoring Eugene's New Bike Share Program
"It’s really integral to our mission in this community,” O’Leary said. “It's about delivering care and creating healthy communities and promoting wellness.” (Channel 9, KEZI News)
Steady funding anchors health care
Local health care organizations breathed a sigh of relief last month when voters passed Measure 101, securing $550 million for Oregon’s Medicaid program through mid-2019. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
2017
Layoffs likely in local lab sale
“Our intent when this is all said and done is to try and place as many people as we can in positions with PeaceHealth or Quest,” said PeaceHealth Chief Executive Rand O’Leary. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
New Chief Administrative Officer Hawkins will begin on Oct. 30 as Yecny retires
A statement provided to the media by Rand O’Leary, Chief Executive of PeaceHealth Oregon, touted the qualifications and experience of the new CAO. (SIUSLaw News)
Kaiser Permanente Northwest and PeaceHealth Collaborate to Improve Health in Lane County
"PeaceHealth and Kaiser Permanente share a deeply held commitment not only to meet the immediate health care needs of our patients and communities we collectively serve, but also to practice preventive health — moving upstream to address the unique and specific social determinants of health that are barriers to wellness,” said Rand O’Leary, chief executive of PeaceHealth’s Oregon network. (Kaiser Permanente)
Beyond Closing the Revenue Gap: Investment in Leadership and Culture Change Is Critical to Long-term Sustainability
“With decreased admission volume, we needed to resize the organization to match our new revenue stream without negatively impacting patient care, and we needed to take cost out of the hospital.” Rand O’Leary, SVP & COO, Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, Wyandotte, MI (GE Healthcare Camden Group)
2016-2017
ShelterCare gets $590,000 for emergency housing
Health care providers Kaiser Permanente Northwest and PeaceHealth are giving more than $590,000 to Eugene-based nonprofit group ShelterCare to provide short-term emergency housing for local homeless people with severe mental illness or serious medical problems, the organizations announced Wednesday in a joint press conference. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
Slocum planning RiverBend clinic
A prominent Eugene-based orthopedic practice plans to expand in Springfield by opening a satellite office at RiverBend Pavilion on the campus of PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, the region’s largest hospital. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
Doctors Unionize to Resist the Medical Machine
A few weeks after I got back from Oregon, I spoke by phone with Rand O’Leary, who was promoted to oversee PeaceHealth’s hospital services in the state last summer. He was genial and disarmingly sympathetic to the hospitalists’ concerns. (New York Times)
Kaiser poised to expand in Lane County
Kaiser Permanente Northwest has reached an agreement with PeaceHealth, which operates four hospitals in Lane County, enabling Kaiser to greatly expand in Lane County in the coming years. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
PeaceHealth dedicated to improving residents’ well-being
When I arrived at PeaceHealth nearly two years ago, I was inspired by the organization’s deeply rooted mission -- the promotion of personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way. (The Register Guard, Eugene Oregon)
2014-2015
CEO Addresses Nursing Staffing Concerns
Hospital management insists the problem is being resolved. I spoke with PeaceHealth’s new Chief Administrative Officer, Rand O’Leary, about nurses’ workplace concerns and how the hospital is addressing them. (KLCC 89.7 NPR for Oregonians)
Doctors union, Sacred Heart make progress on agreement
Statement from Rand O'Leary, Chief Administrative Officer, PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center (Channel 13, KVAL, Eugene Oregon)