Interview With Christopher D. Van Gorder, FACHE, President and CEO of Scripps Health

Abstract

Christopher D. Van Gorder, FACHE, is president and CEO of Scripps Health, a $2.6 billion private, nonprofit, integrated health system in San Diego, California, ranked by Truven Health Analytics in 2013 and 2014 as among the top 15 health systems in the nation, placing among the top 5 in the Large System category. Mr. Van Gorder is also professor of health management practice at the University of Southern California (USC), a member of the editorial boards of HealthLeaders and the Governance Institute, a reserve commander in the San Diego County Sheriff s Department Search and Rescue Unit, a licensed emergency medical technician, and an instructor for the American Red Cross.In 2007, he was reappointed to the U.S. Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and in 2010 he was reappointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services, serving until 2013 for a total of 7 years. Mr. Van Gorder served on the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives as a Governor (2006-2009) and as Chairman-Elect, Chairman, and Immediate Past Chairman (2009-2012), and he is currently a member of the ACHE Counselors Committee. He earned his master's degree in public administration/health services administration from USC and his bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles.Mr. Van Gorder is the recipient of numerous awards from a variety of organizations. Most recently, in 2014, he received ACHE's Gold Medal Award in the healthcare delivery organization category. The Gold Medal Award is the highest honor bestowed by ACHE on outstanding leaders who have made significant contributions to the healthcare profession.Dr. O'Connor: Your rise to health system CEO and prominent healthcare leader has been somewhat unusual, including beginning your career as a police officer. How did these unconventional experiences draw you into healthcare and contribute to your success?Mr. Van Gorder: It certainly has been an unusual path. I come from fairly humble beginnings, and as a result I have been working since the age of 13. Neither of my parents went to college; both were Depression-era kids who did not finish high school until they were adults, simply because they had to drop out of school to take care of their families. Their aspiration for my brother and me-and I'm a twin-was to get to college. But they recognized that, because the family did not have a lot of resources, it would be important for us to work our way through school. During college, I worked for the Los Angeles Police Department and at Huntington Memorial Hospital as a clerk in the emergency room for patient financial services. I remember that job like it was yesterday, as it was my first introduction to healthcare. I just loved what I saw there: the camaraderie, the saves, and dealing with life and death. When the hospital offered me a job in security, I took it because it was a little more money and offered flexible hours. I did that for a few years and then was asked to become manager of the clinical laboratory business office. I took the job, but I was not good at management. Still undecided about what I was going to do and recognizing that I was not really enjoying management, I became a police officer. It was exciting, like the emergency room. It was hands on. You did good things and took bad people off the streets. I had found my career path.An injury in the line of duty gave me a different perspective of healthcare: that of the patient. I was extraordinarily well cared for, and I was impressed with what I saw and felt as a patient. Shortly after I returned to the police force, the department retired me. All of a sudden, after a relatively short time as a policeman, I found myself unemployed. That is when I went back to the hospital that had taken care of me and sought a position as a department director. I got the job, and after a very short period of time back in healthcare, I said, This is where I want to stay to make my career. …