New Year, New Faces of HCA Healthcare: Heather Rohan

It’s been just more than one month since Heather Rohan took the helm as president of HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division headquartered in Nashville. The ICU nurse-turned-administrator, who oversees 15,150 employees, 5,830 nurses and 5,300 physicians in three states, concedes that her unique background has helped shape her career and commitment to a patients-first culture.

The days may be unpredictable, but always fulfilling. Don’t take it from us. Here, Rohan talks about her insights, inspirations and her favorite mobile app.

Name: Heather Rohan

Job: President of HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Division, which includes 22 hospitals in five geographic regions – Bowling Green, Ky., Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn., Northwest Georgia and Northeast Atlanta.

She shares the hometown of Gary, Indiana with the late music icon Michael Jackson.

Years at HCA Healthcare: Thirty years, beginning as an associate chief nursing officer at Northwest Medical Center in Florida and then progressed through a variety of leadership positions at HCA Healthcare hospitals including as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aventura Hospital in Florida, Chief Nursing Officer of University Hospital & Medical Center in Florida, and most recently, CEO of TriStar Centennial Medical Center, a flagship hospital of HCA Healthcare and TriStar Health in Nashville.

Life before HCA Healthcare: I earned a nursing degree from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, and then cared for patients at the bedside in critical care for almost 10 years. I went on to earn my MBA, also from Barry, with the goal of transitioning into hospital administration. I applied for a position as the associate chief nursing officer role, at HCA Healthcare’s Northwest Medical Center. I was fortunate enough to get that job and begin my journey with HCA Healthcare.

When or how did you decide on this profession? My father suffered a heart attack at the age of 49 when I was a junior in high school. That experience inspired me to pursue a career in nursing and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients every day. I later transitioned to management because I saw the chance to have a bigger impact on patients by leading a team and implementing best practices that benefit care delivery on a broader scale.

Nurses are…the heart of our hospitals.

I believe…people are the key to any organization’s success.

What’s the best part of your job? Serving with great healthcare leaders, physicians and team members who work together to save lives, and improve the way we care for our patients.

You know you’ve had a good day when… you’ve been able to provide the support or resources needed to improve patient care in some way. Whenever that happens, that’s a good day.

Sum up your job in three words: Exciting, Rewarding, Humbling.

You credit your success to…excellent mentors who have helped me grow and challenged me at every step throughout my career, and my tremendously supportive family.

What’s your go-to app on your phone? The Calm app. It allows me to include meditation – even for just a few minutes – into my daily routine.

You love…being able to do something I love every day.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?  Believe in yourself.

What’s the future look like for healthcare? The future of healthcare is exciting. We are always finding opportunities to improve and ways to do things better. Tools and processes enhance patient safety, improve outcomes and find efficiencies that allow nurses and providers to spend more time with their patients. One of the many things I’m excited about is predictive analytics, where technology is analyzing patient data and helping identify patients at risk for disease such as heart attack, sepsis and even cancer.

Visit the Nashville Business Journal here to learn more about HCA Healthcare’s new local leader, Heather Rohan.