Meet Paul Brock, Regional Hospital Administrator for East Central Regional Hospital in Augusta

Paul Brock joined our team through Augusta University in 2015 as the Hospital Administrator of East Central Regional Hospital (ECRH).   Paul has 30 years of executive level management experience in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors of the health care industry, primarily in the states California, Illinois, Indiana, & Ohio.  We are fortunate to have an individual with Paul’s depth of health care expertise in several states leading our facility in Augusta.  Dr. Emile Risby, Paul’s immediate supervisor stated, “Paul has the difficult job of managing two campuses and balancing the art of satisfying two masters, DBHDD and Augusta University.” 

Paul has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Master of Science degree in Counseling from Wright State University, a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Dayton, and a Master of Hospital and Health Administration from Xavier University. 

Recently Paul took time from his busy calendar to speak with David Sofferin about how he manages his time at East Central Regional Hospital and what his greatest talent is away from the Hospital. 

What is your SDI Motivational Value System and how do you use SDI at East Central Regional Hospital?

My MVS is Red, and I am motivated by task accomplishment and achieving goals and results. My identified strengths are inclusive, persuasive and persevering. The effectiveness of a team depends on the quality of its relationships and communication patterns. SDI has provided us with an understanding of what motivates ourselves as well as what motivates others. It goes beyond one’s simple behavioral traits and reaches into our core values. It also has provided us with an understanding of our strengths and those of our team members. It’s provided us with a greater consciousness to practice effective communication in a collaborative manner. It’s been an excellent tool based on relationship awareness, which has help team members recognize the unique motivations of themselves and others. It has also greatly enhanced their ability to handle disagreement and conflict more productively.

What is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up?

I review all my scheduled meetings, presentations, conference calls and specific projects I want to accomplish. Have a light breakfast and head out the door.

What is the first thing you do when you arrive at work?

I read and send text and emails based on events/changes and review critical incident reports to prepare for morning meeting.

How often do you round and meet with your staff?

I meet with staff and rotate the campus locations daily. We have a morning administrative meeting to review census, admissions, discharges, levels of care, hospitalizations, waiting list etc. along with reported incidents for both the Gracewood and Augusta campus locations. Following this meeting, I tend to have sidebar/department/unit conversations or scheduled group meetings with medical staff, nursing, social work, department heads, program/treatment coordinators etc. to problem solve events/situations.

How much time do you spend with your direct reports?

I Daily have a 30-60-minute group meeting with direct reports and a scheduled individual meeting biweekly or monthly.

What is the most challenging part of your day?

Since the closure of Augusta University’s psychiatric facility, the challenge every day is to ensure there are available beds for the increasing referrals from emergency departments and probate courts due to the shortage of beds in the community.

What do you consider your greatest talent or skill outside of work?

Enjoyed serving 5 years as an adjunct instructor at Indiana University in the School of Public Administration and Health Management providing undergraduate and graduate student instruction and counseling. A competitive and pleasurable outside activity, I continue to develop has been my golf game.

What are some of the key goals you hope to accomplish in Fiscal Year 2020 at East Central Regional Hospital? 

Continuing to promote a culture of recovery and treatment team building across disciplines and working in conjunction with community providers to enhance treatment services for individuals and families. Continue to prepare Gracewood individuals/families for community transition and offer training to receiving community providers to achieve placement. Recruit and retain high-performing leaders and staff. Enhance staff’s knowledge and understanding of CMS/TJC standards and continue our journey to become a High Reliability Organization (HRO).

What do you consider your greatest achievement so far at East Central Regional Hospital?

By identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the facility, began developing a culture of survey readiness and placing an emphasis on continuous education on accreditation and certification standards with the tremendous support of DBHDD providing mock survey reviews/feedback. Building a stronger executive leadership team has resulted in significant improvement, goal attainment and success in consistently meeting CMS/TJC compliance. We have also made tremendous strides in I/DD community transition placements, strengthened and expanded the Augusta University partnership with the Medical College of Georgia and the College of Nursing. I am also quite proud of the leadership and staff serving as a pivotal asset during emergency weather events.

If you had an opportunity to pass along a “word of advice” to another Regional Hospital Administrator what would you tell her/him?

Regional Hospital Administratorss serve as change agents and are motivated in making a difference by achieving established goals and results. The real kicker is there’s no guarantee that it will be sustainable. How many times have we successfully lost weight only to start over again a few months later? Often with personal changes, we try too much too soon. We want immediate or grand changes to happen like losing 20 pounds in a week. The key is to find small leverage points that we can push in order to create lasting change. Only eating cantaloupe for a week may help you lose a lot of weight quickly, but it certainly isn’t how we would want to live the rest of our life! What would happen if we were to go into our facilities and announce that starting tomorrow, everyone must reduce seclusion/restraint use by 50%. This may certainly get everyone’s attention and it may even change some behaviors quickly. However, forcing immediate behavior changes is not going serve for lasting change. Being a change agent requires continuous communication, ownership, monitoring, reflection, and adjustment for it to be sustainable. We must be committed to be a long-term change agent. To be a change agent isn’t a short-term job, it’s a lifestyle choice. It is a dedication to continually improving yourself, the organizations and the communities we serve.

Related to: 

• State Hospitals