Brad Rogers became Woodlawn Health’s new CEO in July. Photo provided by Brad Rogers.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

New Woodlawn Health CEO Brad Rogers said he has an “open door” policy for people who need to talk with him.

“That doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to come in and see me right away, but it does mean that we do want to hear from you, and you’re welcome to call and come set up a time to talk with us, and we normally can get you in the next week or so,” he said. “We want everybody to know that this is their community hospital.”

Rogers started his new role with the health system based in Rochester in July, replacing Alan Fisher.

Prior to that he was the chief operating officer, which he had been since 2022. He’s worked at the hospital for 20 years.

Rogers lives in Miami County where he also grew up. He’s a 1993 Peru High School graduate.

It was a back injury as a teenager which caused him to seek his initial career in physical therapy.

“I went through my treatments and got feeling better really quick,” said Rogers. “I knew I was going to be in health care, but I just didn’t know where … After that experience, I started volunteering at Dukes (Memorial) Hospital (in the therapy department) while I was in college.”

He said he “got used to seeing the therapist, and all the different things they did.”

“That’s when I decided (on) physical therapy,” said Rogers.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science in physical therapy and master’s degrees in public affairs and public management with a concentration in health care, all from Indiana University. Rogers also has a doctorate in physical therapy from Temple University.

Rogers was hired in 2006 as Woodlawn’s director of rehabilitation services.

He said working in physical therapy prepared him to move into health care leadership as it involves “problem-solving.”

“(Physical therapy is) coming up with … an efficient plan to get to the right result, and constantly thinking out of the box, (and possibly changing) plans because people’s bodies are all slightly different and the things they do,” said Rogers.

He added “that logic or clinical background actually was one of the reasons why I (went into health care leadership) because I would have other department leaders or administration years ago say … ‘Man, we really need to figure out a way to fix this or to improve that,’ and that’s just my brain.”

Rogers also said he’s happy to be Woodlawn’s CEO to serve “the community.”

He said often runs into people in Fulton County whom he helped via physical therapy.

“I’m connected to the community, and there’s nothing better you can do than to help, and so (serving as CEO) is just another way of helping in my mind,” said Rogers.

He said people “don’t realize what a great little hospital Woodlawn is.”

“Our infection rates are the lowest around,” said Rogers. “Our use of catheters in the hospital is one of the lowest around. We need our community to know and understand that.”

He said some of the more complex treatments the hospital couldn’t do, “but the things that we do have here in the community, we do exceptionally well.”

Among his goals is getting Woodlawn back to being a five-star hospital.

“I think it’s important,” said Rogers. “It shows the community that we’re devoted to patient care.”

He also wants “Woodlawn to be the employer of choice.”

“Since COVID-19, Woodlawn has actually brought back over 50 employees who left,” said Rogers. “That says something.”

He added he wants “to have so many applicants for every open position that we get to decide on a regular basis because we’re the best choice for work.”

Rogers also desires to make sure the hospital is “financially independent.”

“What operational independence means is that everything we do inside the four walls of the hospital we have to be able to make enough money to break even of course and then make enough profit so that we can upgrade our MRI machine when it’s time, so that we can give the staff the annual cost of living adjustments that’s fair and appropriate, those kinds of things,” said Rogers.

He said small, independent, rural hospitals still matter due to “access to care.”

“All of the organizations around us that have partnered with or been bought out by larger entities, they reduce services almost immediately,” said Rogers. “We’re one of the only (ones) still doing OB care because it matters. All of the organizations around us in the last couple of years have shut those things down.”

He added “having an identity that is directly connected to the county’s goals is important.”

“I’ve spent lots of time with our mayor and with our county commissioners making sure that they know what we’re doing, so that we can partner on the things that matter,” said Rogers. “Our wellness nurse here at the hospital is now partnering with the county health nurse to do everything from vaccines to wellness fairs.”

He added working with local leaders was “important because counties that have lost their county hospital will tell you that it was one of the worse mistakes that could have ever happened, that they no longer have control or have an influence over what’s happening.”

Rogers said his favorite part of being CEO is fielding calls from the public, whether positive or negative.

“Obviously, we all need to be told from time to time what a great job we’re doing, but I want those calls with people upset because that’s when I get to hear what are the opportunities that we have to change,” he said.

Rogers added he understands people’s emotions related to health care as he’s “been that family member with a father in the hospital, and something doesn’t go quite the way you’d expect, and boy, it’s a visceral thing.”

“You feel very upset about it, but those are important calls for me to get,” he said. “I want to sit back and listen. I can’t fix everything all the time, but I can examine it (to see if it is) a pattern (and determine) is there something we can do better?”

Rogers said he tries “to spend a lot of time in (Woodlawn’s) hallways” as he misses being directly involved with patients.

“I think we all get into health care because we want to help people, and I hope that none of us ever lose that,” he said.

Rogers said his least favorite part of the job is “dealing with the constant changes in the reimbursement and the rules and regulations from the state and federal governments related to health care.”

“That’s a full-time job keeping up with that, and it does make it harder and harder to take care of a small community hospital and stay financially relevant,” he said.

Rogers and his wife, Holly, have been married 27 years. He has a 22-year-old daughter, 20-year-old son and 16-year-old son.

Brad Rogers enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time.

By Leah SanderInkFreeNews

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

InkFreeNews.com

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