Erol Akdamar runs North Texas operations of Medical City Healthcare. It’s one of the largest divisions in HCA Healthcare’s portfolio, with 16 hospitals, 11 ambulatory surgery centers, more than 40 CareNow urgent care centers, more than 5,000 active physicians and 16,000 employees. Additionally, he’s a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the board of both the Texas Hospital Association and the Dallas Medical Resource.
How are you coping amid the COVID-19 crisis?
If you had told me a few months ago we would face a global pandemic that would fundamentally change the world as we know it, I would have been skeptical. Having HCA Healthcare as our healthcare system’s parent company—with its size, scale, access to resources, and unshakable focus on mission—has brought tremendous benefits to Medical City Healthcare patients and colleagues.
We make critical decisions every day to protect and support our patients and community; it is the skill, compassion, and unwavering dedication of our physicians, nurses, and caregivers that have provided the inspiration to cope for us all.
Have you found silver linings in these difficult times?
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of the North Texas community who has fed us, prayed for us, and encouraged us in so many ways. Outside and inside our hospital system, I am also inspired by the capacity of our leadership team to plan for a medical surge the likes of which our country has never experienced.
This crisis required us to think in new ways to solve and anticipate the unthinkable. Every day, we hear remarkable stories of how our people are going above and beyond to provide the best care possible and to support our community in this time of great need. Perhaps most of all, we have witnessed in these challenging times that together we can spread what this virus never intended: gratitude, hope, and compassion.
How are you maintaining your company culture?
Medical City Healthcare is grounded in its mission to care for and improve human life. At no other time has that steadfast commitment been more evident. Through our vast array of communication channels and responses from colleagues, we can clearly see that the bond of our family is stronger than ever. So, while much continues to change around us, our mission, our culture, and who we are, carries us forward.
