Dr. G. Alan Kurose | Coastal Medical CEO and president
Twenty years of practice as a primary care physician and now eight years as CEO of Coastal Medical have taught me a lot about two very different sides of health care.
After 11 years of college, medical school and residency, you’re pretty pumped when you arrive for your first day on the job. But then you quickly learn – it’s not about you. It’s about the patients, especially those who look to you for guidance as they confront critical illness. You’re on guard to avoid making mistakes. In return, they invite you to bear witness as their character is revealed and sometimes transformed in a defining moment of their life.
When you show up for your first day on the job as CEO, you’re once again pretty pumped. But then it’s deja vu as you realize once more – it’s not about you. Now it’s about the organization and its mission. It’s not your role anymore to be the subject-matter expert. Now you need to lead and to share a vision, and to empower others to succeed. And of course, listening carefully to patients is still an important part of the job.
Coastal Medical is one among hundreds of organizations nationwide striving every day – perhaps unnoticed amidst the fury of partisan politics – to transform care and payment models to achieve the triple aim of better health and better care at a lower cost. It’s a privilege to be a part of that.
