Back in February, BayCare Health System announced that Kidada Hawkins would be coming on board as the president of Winter Haven Hospital and Winter Haven Women’s Hospital. Now that he’s had some time to get settled in the new role, HealthCare Business News reached out to learn more about him, and the factors that contributed to his decision to lead the facilities.

HCB News: Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in healthcare?
Kidada Hawkins: I initially started out as a medical student. After my second year as a medical student, I learned about hospital administration, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where I attended college, had a reputable healthcare management program. I started looking at the student debt I would have to take on to be a doctor. I wanted to take care of people, so as an administrator I still get to do that. Even if it’s indirectly. This aspect of healthcare never really occurred to me. But I had a great conversation with my guidance counselor at UAB and that person suggested that I look at the healthcare administration program. So, it worked out.

There was one other medical student in my class who also went that route. Even though that was over 20 years ago, I think being a former medical student has helped me have a clinical perspective to relate to the medical staff better — but that, of course, doesn’t make me a physician. I have always been comfortable around key medical staff members. I have good friends who are physicians. They tell me that being in administration is a good match for my personality.

HCB News: Can you tell us what your career has been like up to this point?
KH: Healthcare is all about pursuing quality, and that takes people. At the end of the day, it’s about good interactions with hospital team members. Successful one-on-one interactions are important because that’s how you get patient loyalty and buy-in from physicians. Team membership (hospital staff) is also key to a quality strategy. Whatever we’re working on only works if our team members have a say and support the project or initiative — an administrator has to get that right.

I’ve had the good fortune to see great results in the six month I’ve been here. I’ve watched patient experience scores more than triple. The ER has successfully been reaching stretch performance and our length of stay is improving (declining). I hear our staff talking about patient experience and think that’s a true test of employee engagement. I believe team members are buying into and support that strategy and I’m very grateful for their support. I understand the hospital will be successful as I allow it to and that takes support from our team members.

HCB News: What drew you to Winter Haven?
KH: Well, the first thing is the great culture, which is everything — and that goes for the hospital and the community. My family and I have always been drawn to small to mid-sized communities. It was obvious to me that there was good team member engagement when I visited.

Also, I also had colleague that worked in the system who filled me in. That’s important because I’m at the point in my career that the people I work with and for are a very important part of success. When I visited, the personality of the staff matched my personality, so its been a really good fit professionally

Finally, my family and I liked the location in central Florida. This is a top-ten growing county in the U.S. It’s a good place to live. My wife and I have kids who are ages six and eleven and they were excited about living here as well. People in our community are very welcoming and very proud of the quality of life.

HCB News: How would you describe the leadership style of the organization?
KH: The Winter Haven senior leadership team are very people-focused, very approachable and very visible from an employer perspective. Physicians describe us as collaborative, we don’t make decisions from top down. One physician told me early on that he could tell that ours was going to be a good working relationship — that meant a lot to me. Our leadership thinks long term, that takes more patience and consideration.

BayCare is west central’s largest not-for-profit provider and the system just celebrated its 25th anniversary, so we’ve been caring for people in our service area for quite some time.

HCB News: What are the patient demographics that you're serving?
KH: As with many rural communities, Medicare is a big chunk. Our patients have more co-morbidity than an average cross-section of America.

HCB News: Are there any special projects or initiatives you're undertaking or planning to undertake?
KH: Many people travel to seek care in our cardiovascular and brachytherapy programs. We’re the only hospital in the state that offers coronary brachytherapy. It’s a procedure to help patients who have had a stent placement avoid the growth of scar tissues in their coronary artery that can cause serious complications. We also have an active cardiac program at our Bostick Heart center. Our parent organization BayCare health System has recently invested $50 million to, among other things, advance our minimally invasive heart surgery services. This helps patients avoid more invasive open-heart surgery. Our hospital received the much-coveted 3-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for many years. And, of course, we have a dedicated women’s hospital that is heavily used within our service area.

HCB News: What kind of advantages come with being a member of the BayCare Health System?
KH: When I compare the situation to the past, to a small, stand-alone hospital where I served, I see very good economies of scale day-to-day. During the height of the pandemic there was a national shortage of drugs and equipment. A system such as BayCare provides much better supply chain leverage and purchasing power. Such strength helps us to serve the medical staff better and take better care of patients.

Also, a BayCare has great resources for recruiting talent (people), The system also has good loyalty — I’ve met people who started in entry-level roles who are now in leadership. People are able to craft a career path in the BayCare Health System, which is more of a challenge in a stand-alone hospital.

HCB News: You took on your new role in late February, has anything surprised you?
KH: All the surprises have been pleasant, especially how good the quality of life has been for my family. This isn’t my first new career adventure, so I know that every hospital and community is unique, and to expect a learning curve in the first six months.

HCB News: Do you see the pandemic altering care delivery in any fundamental, long-term ways?
KH: It remains to be seen how the lingering effects of Covid will impact community health. People were very reluctant to come into the ER during the worst of the pandemic, even though there are patients who should have shown up to the ED for care. But this is not as pronounced as a year ago. There is definitely a much bigger appreciation for patients to receive care by telemedicine. I don’t see us going back from that.

HCB News: What is one of the most important lessons you've learned in your career?
KH: When I speak one-on-one to new execs, I stress that they’re in the people business. They must be visible, transparent and genuine. And it’s not about me, the administrator, it’s about team members and their belief in me. In the end, the hospital staff gets the credit because they’re closest to the patients and medical staff.

And if you wouldn’t mind, can you share this inside message for hospital staff reading this article: Top Five in #2! The staff will know what that means.