By: Carlie Dorshaw Moe, Manager of Development
Carlie Dorshaw Moe, Manager of Development at the chamber, recently spoke with Joel Allison FACHE, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health, on whats his favorite Chamber event.
What is your favorite thing about doing business in Dallas?
Dallas is a vibrant, growing city with a can-do attitude. And it is a very collaborative environment. There’s constant collaboration between the health care, technology and energy sectors, and there’s a lot of advanced science and research going on here. Altogether, this provides the opportunity for Dallas to not just be a medical destination for Americans, but for patients from around the world.
How does your company utilize social media?
We use social media to engage with our patients and community, as well as connect them with helpful, practical information and tips to live a healthier life. Recently, we’ve also been using it to provide information on health care reform and what it may mean for them. We have a presence on all of the major social media platforms and today, we are one of the most followed health care brands in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
What is your business background (education, previous jobs, etc.)?
I’ve been fortunate enough to spend my entire career in health care, which began in 1973 at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene after I earned my master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University. I eventually became chief operating officer at Hendrick before moving to Missouri to become CEO of a hospital in St. Joseph. I came back to Texas to serve as CEO of a hospital in Amarillo, and later, as CEO of a children’s hospital in Corpus Christi. I became chief operating officer for Baylor Health Care System in 1993, was named president and CEO of Baylor in 2000 and was named, as you know, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health last year.
Besides an MHA from Trinity, I have undergraduate degrees in journalism and religion from Baylor University and I am a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. I’m also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
How long have you lived in and/or been doing business in Dallas?
I moved to Dallas in 1993, when Boone Powell, Jr., who was president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System at the time, asked me to become chief operating officer at Baylor.
What can the region look forward to seeing out of your business in the next year?
The merger that created Baylor Scott & White Health is still in its infancy. Over the course of the next year, North Texas will continue to see the new Baylor Scott & White Health name and brand emerge. We’ve recently announced our organization’s mission, vision and values, and have already introduced our new logo which represents the diverse group of professionals that have come together to provide quality, personalized health care to the community under the new organization’s name. We are working to truly change the way health care is delivered in America.
How has the recent recession and subsequent economic upturn affected your business?
As you may expect, health care is pretty immune to recessions, so the health care market itself has been largely unaffected by the recession and recovery. However, at the same time, we have been going through the biggest, fastest change in health care I’ve seen in my career due largely to health care reform. We have to constantly innovate and develop new strategies to meet the demands and challenges today as well as tomorrow.
Health care organizations are becoming more accountable for the care they provide while also dealing with declining reimbursements and new payment models. At Baylor Scott & White Health, we’re continuing to focus on wellness and keeping people healthy. We want to be a true health care provider, not just a ‘sick care’ provider. This is one of the ways we’re leading when it comes to changing the way care is delivered in America.
What is your favorite Chamber event or program?
The Dallas Regional Chamber’s Corporate Recruitment Program is critical to growing the region’s workforce, as well as diversifying the local economy, particularly through its focus on adding technology jobs. The Chamber does a tremendous job highlighting Dallas’ many assets, including the fact this area is home to some of the best health care in the country. The work of the Chamber is a big reason so many companies – and so many large and strong companies – choose to make this city home.
What advice would you give a recent graduate entering the workforce for the first time?
Choose a career path that you’re passionate about. I always say that even after more than four decades in health care, I feel like I’ve never worked a day in my life because I truly love what I do. For me, this job is a calling. Not everyone may be fortunate enough to feel as though they have a true calling as I do, but everyone is passionate about something. You just have to have the courage to follow your passion.
What activities/hobbies do you enjoy outside the office?
I enjoy getting up early to go work out. And I really enjoy spoiling my grandkids and then giving them back to their parents.
What recent or upcoming changes to the region are you most excited to see?
The growth of the DFW Metroplex is exciting, not just the growth we’ve already experienced, but the growth we are anticipating. A city the size of Atlanta is expected to move here in the next five to seven years, and Forbes just ranked Dallas as the nation’s fourth-fastest growing city.
I also think that the “Grow South” initiative to revitalize southern Dallas economically is a wonderful movement that seems to be off to a good start. For several years now, Baylor’s Southern Sector Initiative has studied ways to improve the health of underserved populations in South Dallas. The innovative Baylor Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute was born from this initiative. I will be excited to see that area continue to transform over the next several years.