may 2012 special edition: the journey begins

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MAY 2012 The Journey Begins New President and CEO James E. Gardner Jr. SPECIAL EDITION

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From tobacco farming to Talladega, new President and CEO James E. Gardner Jr. shares his path.

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Page 1: May 2012 Special Edition: The Journey Begins

May 2012

The Journey BeginsNew President and CEO James E. Gardner Jr.

SPECIAL EDITION

Page 2: May 2012 Special Edition: The Journey Begins

spotlight | special edition, may 20122

He’s an energetic, well-regarded, and seasoned

healthcare executive, credited for significant financial and operational improvements at his previous positions. But this is how he introduced himself to his new St. Anthony’s family: “I may be moving from Georgia, but I do wear shoes, have all my teeth, and know that the plural of y’all is all y’all.”

The wry wit and personal touch of the incoming president and CEO of St. Anthony’s immediately struck a chord with hospital employees.

“I’m informal,” he told his new employees. “I only wear a coat when it’s professionally appropriate and I prefer ‘Jim’ to ‘Mr. Gardner.’ I appreciate the courtesy, but ‘Mr. Gardner’ is my father. I’m just ‘Jim.’”

“Just Jim” Gardner grew up the oldest of seven children on a military base in Virginia Beach, Va., with dreams of becoming a Navy pilot.

“I was even accepted to flight

school; but my dad encouraged me to ‘do more’ – go to graduate school,” he said. “I was the first of 30-plus cousins in my family to graduate from college.”

It wasn’t an easy road. To pay the freight, he stocked grocery store shelves after school and weekends; and, for two summers, cut tobacco from sunup to sundown, for $8 a day, plus free lunch. “My hands stayed brown with the goo from tobacco – it took six weeks to wear off,” he said. “But, we were living in Maryland at the time, and a lot of the kids had brown hands.”

He used those tobacco farm earnings to buy his first trombone in 1972, a $228 beauty he still owns – and plays on occasion – today. Becoming a professional musician was the second dream he discarded along the way.

“I had earned 30 hours of college music credit in high school when I started at St. Mary’s College in

Jim and Judy Gardner and son Jeff gathered for this photo in September 2011 with their parish priest in Franciscan Monastery Chapel, Assisi, Italy.

Judy and Jim Gardner pose with their guides, and their catch, on a fishing trip to Guatemala in February 2010.

My goal is to engage the minds and passions of all 4,000 employees, so we can make a difference for ourselves, our hospital and ... our community.

JIM GARDNERFrom tobacco farming to Talladega, new CEO shares his path

Page 3: May 2012 Special Edition: The Journey Begins

3spotlight |special edition, may 2012

Maryland, majoring in applied jazz,” Gardner said. “Throughout high school and college, I played with bands. I actually got to sit in with the Stan Kenton band and played with legendary Clark Terry and Lou “Blue Lou” Marini, the sax player in the Blues Brothers movie. But, after my second year in college, I realized it’s difficult to make a living in music and it requires a lot of time on the road. I’m a homebody, and that wasn’t for me. I changed my major to finance and accounting.”

Fate intervened when Gardner was on a fishing trip in

Nantucket in 1979, visiting his grandfather. A family friend advised him that a simple business degree was worthless – he needed a master’s. He asked Gardner if he’d ever thought of hospital administration as a career.

“I’d never even heard of it before, much less thought of it as a career option,” Gardner admitted with a laugh.

But the friend introduced him to the CEO of a local hospital, and Gardner took a job there as a financial counselor. He later worked as a psychiatric orderly and, after completing grad school, as an assistant hospital administrator. His career in the healthcare arena was launched.

“I finished paying off my college loans in 1992,” Gardner said, with obvious pride. “A big part of who I am is the fact that I put myself through school. I revel in opportunities that come my way, and I don’t take things for granted – I realize how hard they are to come by.”

Gardner’s ingrained work ethic has led others to label him “success-driven,” “focused” and “intense.” He pleads guilty to all three. “I like to be around success, and success takes hard work – that’s what I try to do. I’m actually an introvert – sometimes I’m so focused on my thoughts that I’m walking around ‘lost in my head.’ Intense? Yeah, I’m a recovering COO. I wish I would spend more time ‘in the moment,’ instead of three or four steps in the future.”

Gardner also describes himself as ‘a leader’—“When you’re the oldest of seven kids, it comes with the territory;” driven to succeed – “Early in my career, I was thrown into several sink or swim situations. Fortunately, with the help of important mentors, I learned to swim”; and industrious – “Put me in a room full of people and I guarantee I won’t be the smartest person in there, but I enjoy learning from others and positioning them for leadership success.”

Gardner also tries to make the most of his limited free time. Between 1992 and 1999, he ran seven marathons, one a year. During the same time period, he made 805 skydives, including two out of a 727 jet; one into a football game, where he handed the ref the game ball, and one into the middle of a hospital picnic. He drove a Busch-series car solo for 24 laps at Talladega at 165 miles per hour, drafting behind a professional driver, and “enjoys chasing marlin and sailfish with a fly rod” off the coast of Guatemala, where he has been half a dozen times.

“I like to do things that go fast and have the potential to kill you,” Gardner admitted with a grin. “I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

He’s also become a “fitness junkie” of late and has lost

60 pounds since last August, through Weight Watchers and intensive exercise. He works out in a cross-fit program three to four days a week, plus runs, rows and spins. “I’m back in a size 32-inch-waist pants, which I haven’t been since my 20s – it’s exciting, at age 54, to be able to see my toes again.”

Gardner is an avid duck and goose hunter and is looking forward to hunting waterfowl along local waterways. He’s also looking forward to cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals, and loves the fact that St. Louis is a “national sports town.”

What he doesn’t like is inertia. “I don’t generally go to movie theaters, because the last six times I fell asleep,” he said. “I don’t watch television, except for news and sports, and I’m not very connected to popular culture. He does enjoy reading – history and biographies, mainly – and (no surprise) loves listening to jazz music. His greatest passion in life is travel, and he’s been to Italy, Brussels, Paris, London,

The Gardner kids: from left, Joe, Jeff and Jack, pose in their backyard in Georgia.

continued on back page

Page 4: May 2012 Special Edition: The Journey Begins

Spotlight is published every other month by the Marketing department at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.

Editor: Robbi Courtaway, ext. 6894Graphic design/layout: Kevin McDaniel

Ireland, Guatemala and Alaska in recent years. “I’m happiest when I’m stepping off an airplane into a place I’ve never been,” he said. “It’s the newness – different cultures, to me, are very exciting.”

That excitement extends to the “new and different” culture he has entered as president and chief executive officer of St. Anthony’s Medical Center. What attracted him to the medical center, he said, is “its history of success, the long tenure and the ‘get-it-done’ attitude among its employees and a board that has demonstrated vision and courage.”

“St. Anthony’s has a lot of potential and a positive attitude about the future,’” Gardner said. “This hospital enjoys good fundamentals, but I want to engage our accumulated wisdom

and, through inspired teamwork, grow, prosper and push the limits of our potential. We can’t stand still; we must always strive to be better. Great organizations are restless and never satisfied with the status quo.

Gardner said his greatest moments of professional

satisfaction happen with the achievements of those around him. “A leader is responsible for creating an environment where those around them can thrive; it’s a responsibility I take very seriously,” he said. “This is a relationship-driven business and relationships and teamwork are critical to success. My goal is to engage the minds and passions of all 4,000 employees, so we can make a difference for ourselves, our hospital and, most importantly, our

community we’re privileged to serve.”Gardner and his wife of 28 years,

Judy, are organizing their move to the St. Louis area, although Jim began full-time on April 16. Judy Gardner is a pediatric physical therapist by profession, but has spent most of her time of late looking after family and volunteering in the community.

The Gardners have three sons: Jack, 25, a Georgia Tech graduate completing a master’s degree at the University of Georgia; Joe, 23, a West Point graduate, now a Ranger 1st Lt. and Executive Officer of Charlie Co. 4th Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan; and Jeff, 19, who recently joined the Army and is in basic training.

jim gardner

at a glance

• Joined St. Anthony’s April 16, 2012, with more than 25 years experience in health care management and hospital administration

• Served as president and CEO at Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc., Gainesville, Ga., 2004-2011

• Served as president and CEO at Wyoming Medical Center, Casper, Wy., 2001-2003

• Served as President and CEO for Christus Health, Inc., Irving, Tex., at Christus St. Patrick Hospital, Lake Charles, La.; Christus St. Mary Hospital, Port Arthur, Tex.;

Christus St. Mary’s Hospital, Galveston, Tex.; and as Chief Operating Officer of Christus St. Mary Hospital,

Port Arthur, Tex., 1990-2001

• Served as assistant administrator for HCA, Inc., Nashville, Tn., at HCA Parkridge Medical Center, Chattanooga, Tenn. and HCA Trident Regional Medical Center, Charleston, S.C.; and as administrative resident at HCA Trident Regional Medical Center, Charleston, S.C., 1984-1990

• Master’s degree in healthcare administration from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Va.

• Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

JAMES E. GARDNER JR. SAMC President and CEO