Dr. Richard Schulick said he plans to do a lot of listening for the first few months in his new role with the University of Rochester Medical Center and UR Medicine.
“Great leadership has two-way communication,” Schulick said. “Where the leader does a lot of listening, analyzes what he or she heard, and then comes up with a plan.”
Schulick is currently the director of the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chair of Surgery at the University of Colorado. But he's joining URMC in April as its first-ever chief clinical officer.
In that role, he will oversee all physicians and develop a plan to ensure that care remains consistent throughout the health care system.
“It's got to point to the patient in the end and how we're going to make it better for the patient and their families,” he said.
Dr. David Linehan, CEO of URMC, said this hire comes at a pivotal moment as the institution is bracing for some significant funding challenges. Linehan said health care could face a federal disinvestment of around a trillion dollars within the next 10 years.
“We've got to figure out ways to be able to deliver effective, safe, high-quality care,” Linehan said. “But we are also going to have to bend the cost curve to doing that.”
Part of Schulick’s job, Linehan said, will be to figure out how to make URMC and UR Medicine more efficient without compromising patient care. He said that's very important for a big, coordinated health system.
“When we put our seal on any door at any site of clinical service, we have to be sure that patients are experiencing that same level of care, no matter which door they walk into to enter our system,” Linehan said.
Schulick will also serve as senior vice president for health system strategy and vice dean for clinical affairs.
