By Vanessa Orr

When Maggie Gill accepted a position this past September as the CEO of Delray Medical Center and Group CEO for the Tenet Palm Beach County hospitals, it was more than a new job; it was an opportunity to return to a place that she always loved.

“I first worked for Tenet 15 years ago in Miami-Dade as a chief financial officer,” explained Gill. “I was excited to return to South Florida—I mean, who doesn’t want to be in Palm Beach? Both my husband and I have family here; I’m from Tallahassee, and he’s from Miami-Dade. It’s a real homecoming.”

In addition to her role at Delray, Gill will be the CEO of Tenet’s Palm Beach Group, which includes Good Samaritan Medical Center, West Boca Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

Gill brings with her a wealth of experience, having worked as the COO and CEO of Memorial Health, a large teaching hospital in Savannah, GA, and as the CEO of Novant Health UVA Health System, a not-for-profit that runs three hospitals in Virginia.

“I think one of my strengths is that I have a varied background; I’ve worked in finance, operations and as a CEO for a number of years for investor-owned, not-for-profit and joint venture operations,” she explained. “I’ve also worked with people from a variety of backgrounds, which is a plus in a place as culturally diverse as South Florida.

“As a native Floridian, I have a lot of love for this state and a passion to strengthen the services that we provide to its people,” she added.

Although she’s only been in her position for three months, Gill is already looking at opportunities to improve patient care. Some of her first goals include establishing more coordinated care between the hospitals and their ambulatory sites, including urgent cares and surgical centers, and creating a seamless network approach so that the community is aware of all of the services that each location provides and is better able to seek the right level of care at the appropriate facility.

“We will also be developing oncology services for the community; this is one area that is not as well served as it could be in Palm Beach,” she added. “In Delray, we’re expanding the campus to include advanced radiation oncology, including proton therapy. And we’re expanding capabilities at Good Samaritan as well.”

Gill is also planning to continue to invest in cardiovascular and neuroscience programs to meet growing community needs. “We’re going to build on the strong foundation we have, add new services, and expand our holistic approach to the network of care we offer,” she explained.

According to Gill, one of the biggest challenges that the hospitals—and healthcare in general—face is the ability to balance affordability with new technology. “Physicians and consumers want the latest and greatest, and they should have it,” she said. “But you have to find ways to make new technology and new medications affordable.

“We also need to make sure that the flow of medical information is seamless,” she added. “Does a patient’s physician know that they had an X-ray last week? Is the person getting frustrated by having to register again and again? Healthcare providers all talk about the need to reduce unnecessary testing by streamlining this flow of information, but it doesn’t always happen.”

Gill has an impressive track record of accomplishments, which includes establishing a four-year medical school on the Memorial Health campus through a partnership with Mercer University, and bringing numerous stakeholders to the table at Novant Health UVA Health System to establish a new approach to healthcare delivery.

“I believe in collaboration and building relationships to create a foundation for success,” she said of her approach. “I also believe in building strong teams.

“I feel that I am successful when I see people on the team grow and go on to have great careers,” she added. “You can learn a lot from helping others and helping them reach their professional goals—it’s all about the people.”