It's hard to separate Anita Vaughn, CEO, from Anita Vaughn, citizen of Memphis; so much of her spirit, her goals and her visions are invested in the landmark hospital she planned, built, manages, and clearly loves.

 

Vaughn has served the Memphis Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation (BMHCC) system in a variety of roles since 1974, when she began as a staff nurse in the ICU.

 

She rose quickly through the ranks, to head nurse, unit supervisor, administrative supervisor—then assistant director of Medical Surgical at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Medical Center; clinical director and assistant vice president of what was then Baptist Memorial Hospital-East (now Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis); administrator of managed health and wellness, then director of practice management for BMHCC's 11 Minor Medical Centers and six system-owned physician practices.

 

Along the way, she earned an undergraduate degree in sociology and an MPA in health services administration, both from Memphis State University. 

 

In 1998, Vaughn received a call from David Hogan, BMHCC's chief operations officer, asking if she would be interested in planning, building, and leading the women's hospital.

 

Vaughn, who regards that opportunity as the capstone of her career, responded promptly: "Let me talk it over with my husband, but the answer is yes!"

 

It was a mammoth undertaking, especially for someone who had never planned or built a hospital, but Vaughn drew on knowledge acquired at every level of her previous service—and tackled the project supported by a team she is proud of.

 

"I have a very inclusive leadership style," she explained. "I'm a tomboy from way back, and I played a lot of team sports—softball, volleyball, basketball. So, when building this hospital, I called together a team to deal with any problem or issue."

 

The team approach to problem-solving has obviously worked well for Vaughn; the hospital she and her team created is a thing of beauty, with soaring arches; soft, subtle, and restful shades and textures; and gracious, spacious, and welcoming places to relax.

 

One major source of pride is the Baptist Women's Health Care Center, which she believes is the best in the region. In 2002, Vaughn transformed the existing center into a comprehensive breast center, which now offers special features in addition to standard mammography, ultrasound and related services. Women diagnosed with breast cancer are paired with a breast health specialist who provides vital support and information at a time when the patient is most overwhelmed and vulnerable, making appointments for her and even accompanying her to doctor visits.

 

The Women's Health Center, relocated to its new home next door to the hospital in August 2009, was designed to calm and "de-stress" worried and fearful patients. It boasts massage chairs, a water wall, and an atmosphere of peace and comfort.

 

Eighteen months ago, the Breast Risk Management Center was introduced as a component of the comprehensive Breast Center. A woman with a higher than 20 percent lifetime risk on the center's scale receives additional attention and assistance with a preventive program.

 

Vaughn also introduced a weekly multidisciplinary breast conference which brings together 25 or more medical experts who review in person or via teleconference four newly diagnosed cancer cases. Together, pathologists, radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, primary care physicians, geneticists, etc., discuss and reach a consensus regarding the best treatment plan—contingent on the patient's preference.

 

Although Vaughn is generous and frequent in her praise of those on her team, she has much to be proud of in her own right. Her hospital was chosen as one of the top three in the nation to receive the American Hospital Association's McKesson Quest for Quality Award™—largely due to the uniqueness of its breast care program. In 2008 the hospital  received a Diversity Memphis "Award of Excellence." The hospital, which always has a waiting list of potential employees, was also recognized as the Best Place to Work for Large Employers, which prompted Vaughn to quip that, "If you can make 600 women (employees) happy on an on-line survey, that's saying something!"

 

But the thing she is proudest of is not an award, but a simple overheard statement. "When I heard the doctors here calling this their hospital, that was a great accomplishment."

 

Never one to rest on her laurels, Vaughn is busy developing other initiatives. She and her team have introduced a newly-acquired and already successful "cooling cap" designed to reduce the brain temperature of premature infants or newborns that might have experienced a birth insult. The lowered temperature allows the brain to rest, using less oxygen and energy while healing occurs.

 

Progress is pursued in administrative areas, as well; within the next three months Vaughn will lead the effort to "go live" throughout the hospital with new electronic record systems which will streamline and simplify the record-keeping and documentation process, allowing chart entries to be recorded and immediately accessible at stations throughout the system. 

 

This huge project has been in development for five years, says Vaughn, and the current stage is crucial. "A lot of systems across the country have gone electronic and had to close it down. Right now we are in the education and transformation phase, encouraging nurses to chart as they go. The doctors will also go electronic in about two years," she said.

 

Will healthcare reform have an impact on her hospital and her goals?

 

"We all know we needed it," said Vaughn. "We need to be positive, recognizing that 32 million previously uncovered lives will now be covered."

 

Vaughn and her leadership team sit in every week on an American Hospital Association webinar, listening to their take on different aspects of the healthcare reform package and its consequences.

 

"This is still very much an evolving story," she noted.

 

A native, "forever Memphian," Vaughn has been married for 36 years; her son recently earned his master's degree in engineering. She enjoys spending leisure time at the family's lake home in Heber Springs, Ark. 

 

Yet much of her time and focus are concentrated on her hospital and the community she serves by sitting on a number of charitable boards—for Lifeblood, the March of Dimes, and as Chairman of the Women's Foundation for Greater Memphis.

 

Although she jokes about her rapid rise through the ranks being the result of simple staying power, Vaughn's habit of tireless dedication is clear. On the day we visited, she arrived at 7 a.m., and didn't expect to leave until 7 p.m., following a board meeting. She laughs, however, at the suggestion that a 12-hour workday is grueling: "I love the work. I would have retired already if I didn't!"