Strauss leads Summa to a decade of growth: Health system expands to become a major player in regional market. More capital projects planned [The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio]

Jan. 31--When Thomas J. Strauss became the leader of Summa Health System a decade ago, he had big plans for what was to become Summit County's biggest employer.

Back then, Summa consisted of the SummaCare insurance company and two hospitals, Akron City and St. Thomas.

The health system had about 3,500 employees in 2000 and annual revenue of roughly $520 million.

Today, the health system includes SummaCare, a separate foundation, outpatient centers in Hudson and Green and seven owned or affiliated hospitals: Akron City, St. Thomas, the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center inside St. Thomas, Western Reserve, Barberton, Robinson Memorial and Wadsworth-Rittman.

Summa now employs almost 11,000 people throughout the region. This year, the health system expects to post annual revenue of nearly $1.4 billion, excluding a couple of joint-venture hospitals and an affiliated hospital.

Strauss has been the driving force behind Summa's push in recent years to expand and become a major player in the regional health-care market, said Akron attorney Thomas Knoll, who served as board chairman when Strauss was selected as chief executive.

"I think he's been the visionary, and he's really been the driver," Knoll said. "He's been the person who has led us.

"He has really had an understanding of how health care is evolving, and he has put us constantly ahead of the curve in trying to be in front of what the demands are going to be as we move forward."

Ten years ago this month, Strauss succeeded 25-year veteran Al Gilbert as Summa's president and chief executive.

Strauss, a pharmacist by training, left Meridia Health System in suburban Cleveland as it was merging with the Cleveland Clinic Health System to take over leadership of Summa.

At the time, Summa was rebounding from a tough financial period, posting a net loss of $31 million in 1999.

Strauss implemented cost-saving measures, including establishing a performance council and a system that gives department managers a report comparing hospital volume with staffing every two weeks.

Some painful decisions

He also made swift but admittedly painful decisions to replace some executives with several new administrators. That executive team has stayed together for the past decade.

Some board members questioned "What's this new guy doing?" when he came in and made changes, he recalled.

"The beauty is, we haven't had to make those kinds of changes ever since, and we don't expect to have to do them again," Strauss said.

The regional system-building efforts began in 2001, when Summa acquired the struggling, 272-bed Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital.

Last year, Summa entered a for-profit joint venture with a group of area doctors to share ownership of the hospital, now known as Summa Western Reserve Hospital.

"He's able to create the strategies and the vision and then head you in that direction, where you know it's going to be successful," said Kathleen Rice, chief operating officer of Summa Western Reserve.

Rice previously worked with Strauss at Meridia.

"He is someone you can trust and speaks the truth," she said. "He's reliable and accountable. And yet he is humble and has a great sense of humor and a real sense of kindness. He often talks about 'servant leadership,' and he truly models that. He is there to serve others."

The expansion efforts continued in 2006, when Summa reached an affiliation deal with Robinson Memorial Hospital in Ravenna. During the next two years, Summa acquired Barberton Hospital and then Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital.

These moves gave Summa access to patients in surrounding counties while providing the smaller facilities access to Summa's capital and buying power.

Summa's total emergency visits jumped from 96,000 in 2000 to 227,500 last year, according to the health system. Likewise, total adult discharges increased from 33,500 to 58,800 during the same period.

"I think we all appreciated that we had to grow, and Tom's vision in partnering with some of the community hospitals . . . I think has been a very beneficial thing for everybody," Knoll said.

Tough decision maker

Throughout the past decade, Strauss hasn't shied away from tough decisions, Knoll said.

He cited the example of Summa's move to terminate its contract with a major health insurer in 2005 when an acceptable deal couldn't be hashed out.

The decision was risky.

By terminating a contract with a major health insurer in the region, Summa took the chance that many patients instead would go to crosstown rival Akron General Medical Center.

The reason: Akron General remained in network and, therefore, became a lower-cost option for people enrolled in the insurance plan. Health insurance customers almost always have to go to an "in-network" hospital if they want their insurance company to pick up the majority of the bill.

But the insurer and the health system reached a new, better deal two years later, Knoll said.

"It certainly did have some effect on the system, but in the long run, it was the right thing to do," Knoll said. "We now have a much better agreement that benefits us and the insurer. It took courage to do that. The buck was on his desk and it stopped there. He had the courage to make the decision."

Strauss also has been a strong advocate for joint ventures with physicians, including the deal last year to jointly own the former Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital.

Summa and the physician partners plan to relocate Western Reserve to a new facility to be built in northern Summit County off state Route 8 near the planned Seasons Road interchange.

The plan has been criticized by leaders at rival Akron General Health System, who say a new for-profit hospital with physician ownership jeopardizes existing nonprofit facilities.

But Strauss is willing to "think outside of the box" and look at innovative ways to improve health care in the region, said Dr. Robert Kent, chief executive of Summa Western Reserve.

"He's not afraid of change," Kent said. "Most CEOs of hospitals are very rigid and say, 'You can't do this. We won't do this.' Tom says, 'Let me think about it.' "

Community leader

During his tenure, Strauss also has maintained a high visibility in the community, serving in leadership roles with the University Park Alliance neighborhood group, the Greater Akron Chamber and the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, among others.

"Tom Strauss has been an outstanding partner to the city of Akron," Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic said in a prepared statement. "As the CEO of our largest employer, Tom has stepped up to become a leader in the community as chairman of the chamber and a friend to countless organizations, both in and out of the health-care field. "

And Strauss is far from done.

Summa and other hospitals nationwide still are struggling to provide care to the the uninsured.

Last year, he said, Summa provided $54 million worth of charity care.

"Just to be able to balance the revenue streams we have with the cost of care and the growth in the uninsured," Strauss said. "That's probably the No. 1 challenge."

At the same time, he said, Summa is moving forward in the next few months with plans to borrow money for new capital projects, including a $50 million expansion to the emergency department at Akron City Hospital.

By this summer, he said, Summa and its physician partners probably will start construction of the new Summa Western Reserve Hospital.

Expansion plans

There also are preliminary talks about expanding the Green outpatient campus, he said. And an outpatient center under construction with physician partners in Medina County could eventually include a satellite emergency department.

With expansion plans and health-care reform still on the agenda, Strauss, 57, said he doesn't foresee retiring for another 10 years.

An avid exerciser, devout Christian and proud grandfather of three, Strauss said he balances his stressful life with "faith, family and friends."

"I've been in health care now for 34 years, and I've never enjoyed my work more than right now," he said. "Why would I want to leave? I love it here.

"I'm to that point where these first 10 years have really set the groundwork in place. In my mind, the next 10 years is going to create the legacy that we believe is available in this region for Summa Health System."

Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or [email protected].

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