2005 Mathies Award Recipient: Thomas Priselac

Thomas M. Priselac Named Tribute Dinner's
MATHIES AWARD Recipient

Having served in leadership positions in one of the nation’s leading hospitals for 25 years – the last 10 as President and CEO – Tom Priselac has had a crucial part in shaping Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and healthcare in California. While there are numerous tangible aspects of his accomplishments -- new programs, buildings and partnerships -- his biggest contribution to the institution and to the community is much more intangible: his leadership style and his integrity.

In an era when expectations of medical centers are expanding, and resources and payments are shrinking, Mr. Priselac’s leadership has created an environment at Cedars-Sinai where the institution is as focused on doing the right thing as it is on doing things right.

“To lead effectively, you must help build a shared vision for the future,” says Mr. Priselac. “And the most important aspect in doing this is honesty: with yourself, with your colleagues and with your institution.”

This approach has enabled Mr. Priselac to work together effectively with the Cedars-Sinai board, employees, physicians and community leaders to develop innovative and effective healthcare programs. Under Mr. Priselac’s leadership, Cedars-Sinai has become a model for combining compassionate, high quality patient care with outstanding research, education and community service programs.

His emphasis on providing quality service is reflected in the consistent high marks Cedars-Sinai receives from its patients and the surrounding region: For 17 consecutive years it has been chosen as Los Angeles’ most preferred hospital in an independent survey of area residents by the National Research Corporation.

The employees of Cedars-Sinai have also benefited from Mr. Priselac’s emphasis on service, as he has supported the development of many programs to help foster employees’ professional development and teamwork.

For example, in 2002 Cedars-Sinai established the Institute for Professional Nursing Development to help expand professional growth opportunities for its nurses, increase collaborative education programs with universities and other organizations, and expand nursing research opportunities and innovations that will further improve patient care quality and safety. These efforts were a key reason that Cedars-Sinai was one of the first hospitals in the nation and one of only four hospitals in California to receive Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

During Mr. Priselac’s tenure as president and CEO, Cedars-Sinai has risen to the top ranks of non-university academic medical centers. Its faculty receives approximately $50 million annually in research grants and contracts, including $25 million in highly competitive research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Cedars-Sinai’s medical residency and fellowship programs are highly sought by the brightest young minds in medicine, and major medical advances and technology continue to stem from research done at Cedars-Sinai.

Mr. Priselac’s leadership and commitment is also reflected in depth and breadth of Cedars-Sinai’s community benefit programs. His interest in strengthening the community’s health and well-being is evidenced by the expansion of Cedars-Sinai’s community programs such as the Community Outreach Assistance for Children’s Health (C.O.A.C.H. for Kids and Their Families ™) program. This program provides primary care and mental health services to children in underserved communities using two mobile medical units, staffed with nurse practitioners, clinical social workers, dental hygienists and other healthcare professionals. It has received numerous honors, including the American Hospital Association’s NOVA Award™ in 2003.

Over the years, Mr. Priselac’s leadership has benefited not only Cedars-Sinai, but also the many community, professional and academic organizations in which he has participated over the years. His past and current leadership positions include: American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees; chair-elect of the Association of American Medical Colleges and chair of the AAMC’s Council of Teaching Hospitals; VHA Board of Directors; chair of the California Healthcare Association and Healthcare Association of Southern California; Board of Directors of the California Healthcare Foundation and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member of the UCLA School of Public Health.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Priselac earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Washington and Jefferson College and a master of public health degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Following four years as an administrator at Pittsburgh’s Montefiore Hospital, he joined Cedars-Sinai as an assistant administrator in 1979. He held a series of increasingly responsible positions at Cedars-Sinai, being named executive vice president in 1988 and president and chief executive officer in 1994.

The most important need in healthcare today, says Mr. Priselac, is leadership, to help organizations manage through the inevitable changes to come. Equally important, he believes, are political leaders with courage, to talk honestly about the sacrifices all of us must make to ensure that our society can receive cost-effective, high-quality healthcare, and help those who may not be able to help themselves.

In characteristic fashion, the recipient of the Partners in Care Foundation’s 2005 Mathies Award offers a remarkably straightforward definition of leadership, one that also captures the essence of his contributions to healthcare: “The best leadership comes from modeling the way, setting an example and an expectation, and creating an environment to help others grow.”

Previous Mathies Award honorees are: Robert E. Tranquada, M.D., for leadership in initiating and developing community-based healthcare organizations; James E. Ludlam, J.D., as pioneer in healthcare policy and law; Yoshi Honkawa, as mentor and advocate in public and government healthcare policy; and Dr. Allen & Weta Mathies, leaders and community activists in several healthcare and social services organizations. James C. Lester, Little Company of Mary Healthcare Systems (past CEO), and Mahvash Yazdi, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Edison International and Southern California Edison, are the Tribute Dinner Co-Chairs with distinguished healthcare leaders serving on the Tribute, Dinner and Honorary Committees. The California Club has been made available courtesy of Club members James E. Ludlam, J.D., and Gerald Sullivan. For additional information, sponsorship and tribute opportunities, and dinner reservations, contact June Simmons, CEO, Partnerrs in Care Foundation, at ; jsimmons@picf.org Visit: www.picf.org for further information.

ABOUT PARTNERS IN CARE FOUNDATION WWW.PICF.ORG

Partners in Care Foundation (Partners) works to change the shape of healthcare and social services so they work better for everyone. Partners is unique as a both a think-tank and a proving ground. Partners tests, measures, refines and replicates many innovative programs and services through the organization's direct services. The goal is to bring efficient health and social services to people and their communities.

Innovative initiatives and research projects in its areas of interest include Aging Well, End-of-Life, Access to Care, Education and Advocacy serve as national models of care. Partners has two direct service non-profit affiliates. Partners' Visiting Nurse Community Services provides practical solutions to families in crisis as well as support for two adult day health care centers in the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys. The Care-A-Van mobile health clinic serves uninsured and under insured individuals and families in remote areas of the Antelope Valley. Partners' affiliated Hospice of Pasadena, a counseling and volunteer hospice, provides individual and family counseling and adult, children and teen support groups.

Partially funded by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Partners in Care Foundation continues and expands its legacy of innovation by bringing together healthcare organizations, funders and community-based organizations to support initiatives and developing new models of care which are reshaping health care services to meet the challenging healthcare needs of the 21st century.

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