Member Spotlight: St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor

Name: Bill Manns

Title: President, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and St. Joseph Mercy Livingston

How long has your company been a member of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber?

We have been a member of the Chamber since December 1, 1968.

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me begins at 6:30 a.m. with a series of morning meetings with physicians, my direct reports and health system leadership. These meetings are spent discussing patient care, staffing needs and growth strategies for various service lines, as well as St. Joe’s position within the health care market. After lunch and some quiet reflection, my afternoon is filled with more meetings and time devoted to rounding on hospital units. Regular rounding offers me an opportunity to meet with and hear from our patients, their families and frontline staff. By devoting time to rounding and listening, I can better understand the experience of our patients and work with nurse managers and other leaders to offer guidance, support and additional resources to ensure we deliver the very best care possible.

What do you enjoy most about the A2Y Chamber?

The Chamber brings together a group of like-minded people looking to bring jobs and economic growth to our region. As a major health care provider and employer in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, it’s really important that St. Joe’s be engaged. We want to ensure that we are doing everything we can to help create a thriving economy and a vibrant community. We’re proud to be an A2Y Chamber Legacy Leader as the Chamber embarks on its next 100 years of supporting the local business community.

What’s your favorite tip for someone in your industry?

There are two pieces of advice that come to mind. First, God gave us one mouth and two ears for a reason. Regardless of your job role or how high up in an organization you might be, you should listen twice as much as you speak. People often want to give their thoughts or opinion on an issue without fully understanding it first. Second, a career in health care administration is a calling, not a job. This is a complex and evolving industry in which we need to balance our commitments and responsibilities to our patients, community, and staff, with our commitment to the fiscal wellbeing of the hospital and health system.

What is a surprising fact about your business?

Three things. One, St. Joe’s sits on 340 acres which makes us one of — if not the largest — single hospital campus in the country by acreage. Second, our industry is constantly evolving. Currently, the health care industry is coming to terms with the hospital being a “provider without walls.” We are now meeting our patients where they are, whether that is in community outpatient centers or their homes using telemedicine. Third, our health system is an innovator when it comes to the hiring process. We are currently implementing evidence-based selection at St. Joe’s that removes unconscious bias from the hiring process and helps hiring managers better identify the diverse pipeline of health care talent available within our community. This is a major initiative that we expect will reduce turnover, save money, and increase diversity among staff. I recently gave a presentation on this initiative to the A2Y Chamber Workforce Pipeline Summit in March.

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