When Kathleen C. Hittner was about 9 years old, her 33-year-old uncle had a heart attack. She saw him taken away to the hospital in an ambulance.
Hittner knew then what she wanted to be when she grew up.
“I said, ‘I want to be a doctor so I can take better care of my uncle when he’s sick.’ That was my goal, to be a physician.”
From there, she said, there was no wavering. She graduated from Albright College in Pennsylvania and in 1978 earned her medical degree from Tufts University.
And although as a 9-year-old Hittner did not foresee herself in an administrative position, she enthusiastically accepted the role of president and chief executive officer of The Miriam Hospital in 2000.
“Many times during the course of my career, there became a need for someone to step up to a leadership position. … I was always there to do it and I enjoyed it,” she said. “When The Miriam Hospital needed a president, I couldn’t turn it down. I love that hospital.”
Hittner came to Rhode Island in 1979 after completing her residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she also served as chief resident in anesthesiology. She also taught and directed the Cardiac Anesthesia Service Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health.
Three years after she arrived in Rhode Island, Hittner worked her way up to director of cardiovascular anesthesia. And despite her quick ascent through the hospital’s administration – chairwoman of the Pharmacy Committee, anesthesiologist in chief and president of the medical staff – she has continued to make the rounds once a week as an anesthesiologist.
She is quick to laugh, easy to talk to and sounds genuinely passionate about practicing medicine, 30 years after she started.
“[Making the rounds] is one of the best things I do as CEO,” she said. “Everybody feels I’m part of them, of the organization.”
Hittner is also a part of the community; she has held faculty positions at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown Medical school since arriving in Rhode Island 30 years ago, serving currently as a clinical professor of surgery in anesthesiology.
And for two years she has held the decidedly unmedical position as chair of the R.I. Airport Corporation; she’s been a board member since 2001. She also serves on and has headed various medical societies, including the Rhode Island Society of Anesthesiologists and the Rhode Island Medical Society.
These titles make for a handsome resume, but for Hittner they may also serve another purpose.
“I think women do business very different than men do,” she said of the particular challenges of being a woman in her position. “I don’t go out to lunches very often, I don’t golf … and I do think that hurts relationships to some degree. I find that a little challenging.”
Membership in the broader community helps her to navigate the difference, bringing people together for events she has sponsored, such as the American Heart Association Heart Ball, which she co-chaired.
Hittner is also a member of the Rhode Island Commodores, a group of civic and business leaders in the state who work on behalf of the state, promoting the benefits of living, working and playing in Rhode Island.
Bringing people together is also what Hittner sees as her main goal within the hospital. As president and CEO she helps to set and carry out strategic plans for the institution, but for her, the job goes beyond the institution as a whole; she is concerned with getting the best out individuals at every level of the hospital.
“Really, people can talk about strategic planning, and yes, that is critically important,” she said, “but it is really important to understand the people; the employees, the patients, the visitors … that’s what makes this place flourish, the people who are there.”
Like so many successful leaders, Hittner lavishes those around her with praise, saying she doesn’t deserve accolades on her own, but the recognition of her staff, both within Miriam and at Lifespan corporate.
“I feel sometimes that I’m a conductor leading an orchestra,” she said, “The talent is out there, I just put it together.”
The Miriam Hospital continues to grow, with 2,389 employees, 875 licensed physicians and 247 beds, and Hittner has no plans of slowing down. She laughs when asked about what the future holds for her.
“Let’s just put it this way,” she says, “this is my final job. As long as they’ll have me, I’ll be here.” •
