Dr. Gil Padula: New UH St. John Chief Medical Officer Brings Vision

As new Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals St. John Medical Center, Gilbert D.A. Padula, MD, is bringing fresh energy and vision to the Westlake Hospital.

“I have a vision for UH St. John as the leader in the western region of UH, regionally and nationally in quality and in patient experience and physician satisfaction,” he reports.

His vision shares the mission of new Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Sague of shooting for the best care for every patient at every opportunity.

“We share the same goal: ‘Vision Zero: Zero Harm, Zero Suffering, Zero Defects,’ every time.”

Every person involved in hospital activities is part of this mission and values team.

“We want to bring doctors and medical staff and caregivers together to find areas for growth and elevate our standards for quality. We will provide the best care to each patient, every single time without any risk of harm, zero risk of harm,” he says.

“It starts with everybody, from the valet to the housekeeper, the doctors, the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Operating Officer. If you look at something and it doesn’t seem right, it’s OK to say, ‘I need to discuss this.’ Go to a superior, go to a colleague and say, ‘This doesn’t seem right.’”

It is an approach that differs from the traditional chain of command.

“In medicine, we used to be very patriarchal, very hierarchical and say, ‘If the doctor says it’s fine, then it’s fine.’ But the doctor may not have gotten a chance to see it.

“We want to look at our processes from a critical angle and always see if there’s an opportunity for improvement, to learn from the frontline people where the opportunities are. Talk to the people who are on the ground and taking care of the patient. Learn from them where the opportunities are for growth. And use our roles as leaders to help growth and shape things so we succeed going into the future.”

This approach, says Dr. Padula, is synonymous with the professional pride already alive at UH St. John.

“What is unique and special about UH St. John is that we have a strong, independent streak of physicians. I accepted this role here because I spent many years in private practice. I don’t think I would have been as successful as I have been if I wasn’t in private practice. I want to support these private practice doctors. They tend to be very entrepreneurial, very business minded, and they also are very loyal to St. John. So I am going to do everything in my power to support them in their roles and work alongside our employed physicians,” he says.

Dr. Padula is also impressed with the range of services offered by UH St. John.

“We have UH Seidman Cancer Center on site, and hopefully we can expand that. We have orthopedics here, which is very vibrant. We have UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital Obstetrics, and UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Pediatrics.

“Our full-service OB here at UH St. John is affiliated with UH Cleveland Medical Center. We offer every service imaginable. If there is something a patient needs that we don’t have at UH St. John (like a high risk procedure), we’re closely linked with UH Cleveland and we can ask for their expertise. We have a large labor and delivery unit here. It’s very busy and it’s great to see a lot of babies being born here in a growing community.”

“We have UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute on site with cardiovascular experts offering a full complement of services. I think there may be some opportunity to grow GI as a distinct service line, and maybe Neurosciences as well.

Dr. Padula comes to UH St. John with over 23 years of experience in the treatment of breast, head and neck cancers and expertise in clinical trials and community clinical research as a radiation oncologist. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan, completed his post-baccalaureate premedical studies at Columbia University and earned his medical degree from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He completed his internship at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., and his residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

As a radiation oncologist, Dr. Padula is in tune with patient needs. “I really like to alleviate suffering,” he says. “What I’ve learned migrating into this role, although it seems very different from oncology as a specialty, it’s very similar. Cancer has become a chronic illness. In oncology, we’ve had to come up with newer ways of delivering better care at lower costs over a shorter period of time. Guess what? Everybody else is also grappling with these issues, the cardiologists, the neurologists, surgeons.

“I am really excited about the potential for growth at UH St. John. We are in a beautiful location on a beautiful campus in a suburb that has a very pivotal role in northeast Ohio. I see this as an opportunity for growth. And I am looking forward to meeting as many people as I can!”