Incoming Carolinas HealthCare CEO Driven by Community, Mission

The newly named CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System, Eugene A. Woods, talks about his legacy at Christus Health and the challenges that await him when he takes the helm at one of the nation's largest public health systems.

Eugene A. Woods, president and COO of Irving, TX-based Christus Health, has been named as the next president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System. Effective April 28, Woods will succeed Michael C. Tarwater, who last June announced his retirement from the Charlotte, NC-based health system that serves two states.

Woods, 51, who will also serve as the next chairman of the American Hospital Association in 2017, spoke with HealthLeaders Media about his legacy at Christus, and the new challenges that will come with leading one of the nation's largest public health systems. The following is a lightly edited transcript.

HLM: Why Carolinas HealthCare?

Woods: I've been following this organization from afar for years. I've known Michael Tarwater through AHA for years. Any town, city, or state in this country would be proud and privileged to have an organization like this serving its communities for many reasons.

It starts with public roots. Coming from faith-based care, I was attracted to the strong commitment to mission and community. Some organizations have that written on the wall. With others you can see they live it. This organization lives it.

The commitment to mission was a very strong appeal, as are the 60,000 associates who are doing phenomenal work in North and South Carolina, in terms of clinical excellence. Talk about the cancer center and the children's hospital—it's an opportunity to set national standards as we go through some unprecedented changes in the industry.

HLM: What will you do during your first months on the job?

Woods: I am absolutely coming in doing the proverbial listening tour. This organization has a phenomenal platform. It's been very successful financially, clinically, and from an associates' satisfaction perspective. It's a large and complex organization and my first goal is to spend time listening to the teammates, the physicians, the community leaders, and asking about their aspirations for the future, and using that to bring them together and shape a shared dream for the future.

HLM: What is your legacy at Christus?

Woods: It was not just my leadership. It's the leadership of the whole team there, including the CEO, Ernie Sadau, and the 30,000 associates we have there.

Among other things, we launched an international strategy there. We were in Mexico. We partnered in Chile with the number one university in Latin American, Universidad Católica, with 800 faculty members, and leveraged that to go to Colombia and partner with what I would call a mini-Kaiser there. As a faith-based organization with roots internationally we were able to expand into new countries that had a faith-based orientation as well.

We also had major acquisitions. The most recent is Trinity Mother Frances in Tyler, TX, close to a $1 billion organization. We are in the final process of joining together. That solidifies a lot of the work we have done in Texas. Strategically the organization is well-positioned going forward. There is no great time to leave but, I am happy to be transitioning at a time when the future at Christus couldn't be any brighter.

HLM: Why are you leaving Christus?

Woods: There is a point where leadership should transition. It was a good time for us both because of the Carolinas opportunity. Sometimes the timing is right. But also I felt that I was leaving at a time where Christus was in a very good place.

HLM: What will you bring from Christus in terms of vision, strategies, or goals?

Woods: You always come with the benefit of your experience, not just at Christus, but working at for-profit and not-for-profit regional systems and national systems. But, there is always the danger of coming in with a pre-plan without understanding what has been done and what people think in terms of where the future can be.

So, I come with that experience, but I also come in listening.

HLM: Is there a difference between public and faith-based healthcare delivery?

Woods: The commonality is the unwavering commitment to community. Christus was founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. They came from France solely to serve the community. Carolinas HealthCare has also roots that go back to 1876 when women from the St. Peter's Episcopal Church responded to a community need and built the first civilian hospital.

That is a powerful commonality. Both organizations share a continued mission to community. It is palpable. It is in the DNA. That is what attracted me here. You want to do good work and you want to be with an organization with a fundamental mission that is responsible to the communities it serves.

HLM: Do you expect to be an advocate for Medicaid expansion in North and South Carolina?

Woods: I will be speaking with the governors in both states to get their views and insights. In 2017 the states have the ability to shape their own versions of the (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). Maybe there are some opportunities to shape what is right for these two states in a different way because there will be a little more flexibility.

Obviously, it will depend upon who gets in the White House. But the opportunity to help shape policy on the national level and do it from the vantage point of what also can be best for these two states is going to be one that I am pretty excited about.

HLM: What do you hope to achieve for Carolinas HealthCare? What would constitute success for you?

Woods: I am not sure the rest of the nation understands what a jewel it is. If you fast forward five or 10 years, if you had cancer I'd want this to be one of the tops on your list for care, or if you have a child who needs sophisticated tertiary or quaternary care, I'd want us to be on the top of that list. I want to see Carolinas HealthCare recognized nationally for the clinical expertise that I am already learning exists here.

HLM: How do you make your mark in a health system that is already high achieving?

Woods: You build on a strong platform and you keep going forward. The board has been clear. Healthcare is changing in unprecedented and unpredictable ways. The example I use is like playing chess on a Rubik's Cube. Just when you think you have everything figured out someone twists it and resets the game. We are going to have a number of moments like that.

Also, we have 150 million people in the country with multiple chronic conditions consuming 84% of the healthcare dollars and we certainly have to care for them better in ways that care closer to home and ways that keep them feeling better and more productive. There is plenty to do over this next decade or so, and the great thing is to be starting from a very strong platform.

HLM: You will serve as AHA chair in 2017. How do you see these roles complementing one another?

Woods: AHA sets national policy for the hospitals in the country. With a lot of input from all parts of the country. Carolinas HealthCare looks to help shape that policy in two very important states. We are looking at Medicaid expansion and a host of issues. They will be very complementary.

HLM: How will you spend your final days at Christus?

Woods: I will spend them making sure that all the transitions occur so that they are seamless. It will be up to CEO Ernie Sadau as to how my successor is chosen. We've done a lot of succession planning in the organization, so there is a lot of talent to draw from.