Lorraine Lutton, the new president and CEO of Mount Carmel Health system, says she’s up to the task of helping it repair its reputation, which was damaged after Dr. William Husel was charged in 2018 with killing 25 Mount Carmel patients by using high doses of painkillers.

When Lorraine Lutton moved to Columbus in April to become president and CEO of Mount Carmel Health System, she knew her job would entail much more than leading the hospital network through a worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Lutton, 54, has to help the Columbus-based health system repair its reputation, which was damaged after Dr. William Husel was charged in 2018 with killing 25 Mount Carmel patients using high doses of painkillers.

In an interview with Columbus CEO, Lutton said her experience in previous positions, including a recent three-year stint as president and CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, South Carolina, has prepared her for the challenge. Here are excerpts from that interview.

You seem to be accomplished at listening to those you work with and leading as a team member rather than as someone who leads with a “my way or the highway” mentality. How did you learn to do that?

There are two answers. First, I realized I was a student of conflict as the youngest of five in our family, and I observed how our family got along. Second, I had the benefit of being on sports teams my whole life, and for me, that really resonated.

I started on a co-ed soccer team when I was 8, and I learned that if you want to win, you have to work together and emphasize the skills and expertise of everyone on the team. And you have to understand what those skill sets are in order to succeed. In high school, I was on just about every sport that was in season soccer, basketball, cross-country, track, volleyball and cheerleading and that taught me how to lead. In college, I joined the fencing team, and even though I’d never fenced before, I ultimately became the captain.

Mount Carmel has been through a great deal in the past two years, notably the Husel charges and having Legionnaires’ disease crop up in the newly built Mount Carmel Grove City. What will it take to regain the trust of the community?

I think every patient and community member’s interaction with us is going to have to be a positive one. We need to be making sure the work we do as we’re going forward is of the highest quality and as safe as it can be. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our patients and our staff. How we demonstrate that is essential in rebuilding trust.

At Roper St. Francis in South Carolina, you expanded physician responsibility. Do you plan or need to do that at Mount Carmel?

Mount Carmel has some of this going on already, but the question is, how do we grow it and strengthen it so physicians feel engaged with the opportunities here and the work we have to do? I don’t know what it will look like yet, but I believe physician engagement is essential to our success.

I’ve revised a monthly meeting where we’re working together on goals, and I hope that soon physicians will be actively leading some of these efforts. Physicians want to have meaningful influence and feel valued as members of the team. We need to model what that looks like at the most senior level.

What goals do you have for Mount Carmel over the next few years?

We want to be in the top quartile of all measures of patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes and financial performance. Our longer-term goal is to be five-star hospitals across the system. We want to grow, to better meet the needs of our community, to be consistent with our mission and to be a preferred employer and a preferred place of care. We want to be a trusted partner to our community.

How do you personally manage the stress of a demanding job, a pandemic and a family of five?

First, with physical exercise. I’ve always felt if I can get some exercise, it is better for my body and for my mind. It helps me to step away from an overactive mind and step away from work. I also love to read, and we like to travel. I’ve figured out ways to enjoy distractions from work and yet make sure that when I’m working, I’m clearheaded and present in the moment.

Kathy Lynn Gray is a freelance writer for Columbus CEO magazine, a sister publication to The Dispatch. Read the full profile of Lorraine Lutton at columbusceo.com.