Platte Valley welcomes a new Chief (leader and fan)!
On Monday, March 4, Platte Valley welcomed its new chief medical officer, Joel Meyer, MD. Most recently, he served as the regional chief medical officer with ChenMed, an organization that provides primary care to underserved seniors throughout the United States.
(While working for ChenMed, Meyer lived in Kansas City, hence the offensive Chiefs gear. But before that, he spent 32 years in the Army as a Family Medicine physician, holding a variety of leadership positions. If you missed his bio in the last issue of Pulse, click here.)
We reached out to Meyer after he spent a couple weeks within sight of the Rockies and asked him for all the deets, like why here? why now? and what’s next?
Q: How has your Platte Valley reception been so far?
A: I couldn't have imagined a more welcoming reception to the hospital and the community. To the individual, everyone I have met has been warm and friendly.
Q: What are your first impressions of the medical staff and the care the hospital provides?
A: I've been very impressed with the medical staff. There is a clear sense of teamwork and collaboration with a strong tie to the community. I'm honored to be joining such an exceptional team.
Q: Why accept this position at Platte Valley?
A: Of all my roles throughout my career, Chief Medical Officer has been the most rewarding overall. It's all about overseeing and promoting safe, quality healthcare in the organization. It gives me the opportunity to engage with and influence all aspects of healthcare delivery. So as I transitioned out of military service, I knew that was the type of role I was seeking. Intermountain Health was the first organization that grabbed my attention with this role. It has a great reputation in the healthcare industry. Beyond that though, I very much enjoyed and respected the individuals I met during my interview process. Through them, I was given a good picture of what the position would look like. It was a picture I saw myself in! Since coming on board, the entire team has exceeded my expectations.
Q: Is there anything specific about your experience that lends itself well to this position?
A: I have a lot of experience leading through change and guiding teams to positive solutions. I value people and understand the importance of systems and processes that help us deliver safe and effective care. I seek to make the right way, the easy way by ensuring implemented solutions don't create new problems or aren't overly complicated or burdensome to staff.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish for Platte Valley? What is your philosophy of leadership?
A: In simple terms, support the staff in helping people live the healthiest lives possible. In my role, I am the clinical liaison between the Administration and the Medical Staff. Much of what I will accomplish will be through collaboration with other leaders and teams. That is both within the hospital and externally with enterprise and community partners. I also promote a just culture and feel that is an important aspect of the medical staff.
Q: Have you been to Colorado before? What's on your state bucket list?
A: I have never lived in Colorado before. A few things I'm looking forward to checking off my list here are the Manitou Incline, hiking some parks, catching a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater and riding my motorcycle on some of the beautiful scenic routes.
Q: You join us from Kansas City. What's the best way to spend a weekend in the Heart of America?
A: Kansas City is a great city! It's not too big yet offers plenty of things to do with good restaurants, music venues, breweries and performing arts. All of which are even better—for me, anyway—when enjoyed with my fiancée who lives there!
Pulse apologizes for inciting anger and envy by publishing this Chiefs-friendly photo. Twice.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside the office?
A: Staying active, enjoying good food and beer, attending concerts and riding my motorcycle.
Sounds like a Colorado weekend! Thank you for sitting down with Pulse! Physicians who would like to welcome Meyer to Platte Valley or those with issues they’d like to bring to his attention can contact him at joel.meyer@imail.org.