So, it’s no surprise that Gosford Private Hospital CEO and Healthe Care Australia Central Coast Regional Manager, Matt Kelly, was recently been named the 2019 Outstanding Business Leader at the NSW Business Awards.
The annual awards recognize business best practice, leadership and innovation.
Matt was recognised for his contribution to healthcare on the Central Coast, where he oversees three hospitals, more than 23,000 operations, 800 staff and 400 doctors.
In 2019 Matt managed the construction and opening of the $31M million Tuggerah Lakes Private Hospital in Kanwal, led continued growth at both Brisbane Waters Private and Gosford Private Hospitals, and is about to start the $32M redevelopment of Gosford Private Hospital.
The Award also recognised his role in raising the profile of the Central Coast, including representatives from Gosford Private Hospital being invited to be the first Australians to ever present at the world’s premier patient experience event, the Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Summit in Ohio.
The Hospital has also been featured in a leading health care resource which has seen Gosford Private profiled alongside the world’s number one and two hospitals–Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic–with an audience of over 55,000 healthcare leaders across 80 countries.
Matt has been recognised both locally and overseas, being named as Outstanding Business Leader at the local Gosford Erina and Coastal Chamber of Commerce Awards,
Central Coast Regional Business Awards and now the NSW State Business Awards. He has also been recognised as an Outstanding Employee by the Luye Life Sciences group, a multi-national company with over 7,000 employees worldwide.
Gosford Private Hospital was also named as a finalist in the Excellence in Sustainability category at the NSW Business Awards, recognising the Hospital’s commitment to sustainable practices and waste management improvements over the past 18 months.
So, what makes this Coast CEO tick? Matt spoke exclusively to Central Coast Business Access for this Horizons story.
HORIZONS: Matt, as we know, business is constantly evolving. What attributes make for an effective CEO today?
MATT: As a CEO in the health industry you must constantly evolve and change your approach according to the audience that you are speaking to. You need to be able to confidently answer detailed financial questions about your business and in the next meeting have an empathic approach to a patient who is telling you about their experience.
Emotional intelligence is something that is spoken about more and more in leadership circles. Leadership requires that you have enough self-awareness to be conscious of your responses to situations, ensuring that you regulate those responses, so they are measured while maintaining a level of motivation that drives you to your goals.
This also requires the interpersonal skills to be able to communicate effectively with all levels of your team. I find that empathy for others is something that you need to continually practice. To be able to put yourself in the other persons shoes to see and hear things from their perspective changes the way that you respond.
HORIZONS: To what extent do you think that is technology enabling more effective delivery of health services today?
MATT: Across the patient’s journey health technology is improving their experience and outcomes. We can use technology to assist our patients to complete admission paperwork.
This improves accuracy, enables information to be readily available and gives patients the opportunity to provide live feedback to the hospital about their stay. We also use technology to survey patients after their stay about their experience.
In the medical field the growth of technology has been exponential in recent years. We have a MAKO orthopaedic surgical robot that assists surgeons in performing joint replacements, neurosurgical navigation systems that enable the surgeons to implant screws into the spine with millimetre accuracy.
Other navigation technology is also used in ENT and urology surgery. Telemedicine is another way that time poor surgeons can check up on patients, providing live feedback and targeted advice without the need to be in ‘two places at one time’.
As healthcare professionals, technology also impacts the way we communicate with each other and engage our teams.
Platforms such as Workplace by Facebook have given us unprecedented opportunities for two-way communication and engagement between Management and staff at all levels of our organisation.
We are seeing the impact of these technological advances finding that a patient’s length of stay in hospital is reduced, the recovery time is quicker, and their pain is better controlled. I can see that in the future we as healthcare providers will be more and more driven to provide care for patients in their home.
Here technology will be used to remotely monitor patients, respond to changes in their condition and have staff provide treatment in the home.
HORIZONS: Health is a competitive business. What would you consider to be the key success indicators that you focus on in growing your business?
MATT: As a private hospital provider, I think about three groups of stakeholders. The first is our Specialists. I see us as partners in their private practice, we need to provide the equipment and services that they need to provide patient care.
Whether it is instrumentation in theatre, consulting space in mental health, or complimentary allied health services, we are here to make the relationship for them a simple, efficient and productive one.
This may also require us to engage with their referral base such as GPs to promote their services in conjunction with ours.
The second is the patients. We have an organisational culture that supports a patient-centred care philosophy. Having the patients experience at the centre of everything we do ensures that these customers reflect on their experience with us in a positive way.
The difficulty with healthcare is that sometimes patients do not get the outcome that they would hope for, but we can ensure that this news is dealt with in a caring and empathic way. This experience in turn reflects positively on the Doctors who brought them to us.
The last group is our staff. Developing a culture that is values driven is key. We make our mission and vision for the hospital clear to our team and strive to support the values of best practice, best experience, respect, it’s personal and importantly positive energy.
Our staff are the people at the bedside every day and I see our job as their employer to value them and their contribution to our patients’ experience.
HORIZONS: What does the next 10 years hold for Healthe Care? What are the development opportunities?
MATT: Healthe Care – Central Coast has a well-developed pipeline of growth planned. Gosford Private is about to commence construction of a $32M dollar expansion that will see the addition of three new theatre spaces, new recovery and day surgery departments, a purpose-built maternity ward, expanded surgical bed spaces, and space for more beds in the future.
We will also be taking the opportunity to convert many of the share rooms into private rooms. Brisbane Waters Private in Woy Woy will be developing their mental health services by increasing the bed capacity for this vital service.
We are expecting two expansion projects, one to cater for a dedicated drug and alcohol service and the second for an independent space for adolescent mental health services.
Both services are in desperate need on the Central Coast. Tuggerah Lakes Private in Kanwal will double in size with the expansion of their theatre complex with three new theatre spaces, new recovery and an expanded service profile to cater for the growing needs in the northern sector of the Central Coast.
All three sites have strong partnerships with their property owners and are always looking to develop facilities and services that ensure the best care is provided right here on the Coast.
We are dedicated to stopping the travel to Sydney or Newcastle for services already available locally so that the experience for our patients and their families whilst receiving health care is excellent without any unnecessary travel and stress.
HORIZONS: How would you view the growth of the Central Coast? What are your views on how we managing growth and progress effectively?
MATT: I have seen a dramatic change in progress on the Central Coast in the last 10 years. We are now drawing greater attention of state and federal governments, and industry leaders in healthcare.
The health sector is the largest employer on the Central Coast and I see the recent development of Gosford Public Hospital, the upcoming development of Wyong Hospital, the development of the Newcastle University campus in Gosford and expansion of private healthcare services as being pivotal in the confidence of the region.
The predicted growth in population will assist in creating greater opportunities for many sectors to grow their business, increase employment opportunities and drive a flourishing economy.
I have found the engagement from public and private services to be fantastic along with the local, state and federal representatives we meet with.
Being provided the opportunity to express our opinion to these leaders is extremely beneficial including recent visits with our local Gosford/ Erina and Coastal Chamber of Commerce from the Premier and Prime Minister.
Other organisations like the RDA and NSW Business Chamber – Central Coast continue to drive our strategic intent when discussing the Central Coast.
As the largest private employer on the Central Coast, we are committed to retaining and attracting new healthcare professionals to the Coast. By providing employment opportunities locally, we keep our talent here and ensure that local people are provided with world class care, in world class facilities, from staff that are invested in their local community.
HORIZONS: Matt thanks so much for your time today.
MATT: You are welcome, thankyou for the opportunity.
