Personalities: 30 Years and Counting

The walls of Bill Considine's office are covered with mementos from young patients. The Akron (OH) Children's Hospital president and CEO has collected them during his 30-year tenure and remembers the story behind each one. But over the years, more than the patients have changed. When Considine joined the hospital as CEO in 1979, it had one campus with 900 employees. Since then, it has grown to operate in 78 locations with 4,000 employees. And though he has been contacted by competing organizations and recruiting firms, Considine has never been tempted to move on. One of his treasured mementos, an incomplete sun catcher made by cancer patient who passed on, reminds him of why he stays. "As long as there's a child out there that needs care, we've got work to do," he says.

On why he stayed for 30 years: The wonderful life lessons that I learned were the kind of things that bring a lot of value into one's life and I was continually challenged by opportunities to do more for children and the mission of this organization. It doesn't seem like 30 years—it flew by. I never thought about really leaving—even when search firms would call me and talk to me about other opportunities. I couldn't find a place that was as meaningful as what we were doing here.

On the evolution of family-centered care: The whole concept of family-centered care has changed. Thirty years ago we didn't have any single patient rooms and now all inpatient rooms are single and have parent accommodation. We've done everything we can to make sure the family is part of the care team, and that helps with quality, safety, and communication.

On keeping things in perspective: You can never have a bad hair day. Nothing that goes on in my office or comes across my desk will ever top what a family is having to deal with. You've got to stay away from bad hair days—I've learned that over 30 years.

—Marianne Aiello