SHSMD’s Leadership Excellence award honors outstanding leaders who have contributed to the field of health care strategy. Recipients are individuals who are truly exemplars of the strategy professions and can demonstrate a career of stellar achievement.
Join Ruth Portacci, a 2022 leadership excellence awardee, as she discusses her career and some of her most memorable moments that helped her get to where she is today.
SHSMD Leadership Excellence Award Highlight – Ruth Portacci
Featured Speaker:
Ruth is a clear representation of a skilled strategy, marketing and communications leader and it shows in her 30 years of service as a member with 9 years as a board member for SHSMD, including Board President in 2017. Ruth was also very instrumental in helping to shape one of SHSMD’s popular publications, Bridging Worlds, which remains one of the Society’s most important pieces of work.
For more than 30 years in the health care industry, Ruth has generously shared her knowledge and expertise by writing, speaking, leading and mentoring. Ruth has mentored several strategists allowing them to grow into new roles and evolve in their careers.
Ruth’s compassion is not only in mentoring but it is also in community involvement in many non-profit charitable organizations that affect the lives of Middle Tennesseans. She is particularly interested in solving for food insecurity and for many years has supported food related projects through faith based and local agencies such as Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee for more than 10 years. Thanks to her efforts, in addition to her financial support, she is credited with providing more than 58,000 meals to children in need.
Ruth Portacci
Ruth Portacci is a healthcare professional, with a long history of experience in for-profit, non-profit and public hospitals. Ruth currently serves as the Vice President of Strategy for Ascension Saint Thomas where she is responsible for growth of the system’s portfolio with focused attention on the development and advancement of the Ministry’s strategic plan.Ruth is a clear representation of a skilled strategy, marketing and communications leader and it shows in her 30 years of service as a member with 9 years as a board member for SHSMD, including Board President in 2017. Ruth was also very instrumental in helping to shape one of SHSMD’s popular publications, Bridging Worlds, which remains one of the Society’s most important pieces of work.
For more than 30 years in the health care industry, Ruth has generously shared her knowledge and expertise by writing, speaking, leading and mentoring. Ruth has mentored several strategists allowing them to grow into new roles and evolve in their careers.
Ruth’s compassion is not only in mentoring but it is also in community involvement in many non-profit charitable organizations that affect the lives of Middle Tennesseans. She is particularly interested in solving for food insecurity and for many years has supported food related projects through faith based and local agencies such as Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee for more than 10 years. Thanks to her efforts, in addition to her financial support, she is credited with providing more than 58,000 meals to children in need.
Transcription:
SHSMD Leadership Excellence Award Highlight – Ruth Portacci
Bill Klaproth (host): This is a special podcast produced onsite at SHSMD Connections, 2022 as we talk with keynote speakers and session leaders direct from the show floor. I'm Bill Klaproth. With me is Ruth Portacci, vice president of Strategy at Ascension St. Thomas Ruth. Welcome.
Ruth Portacci: Thank you. Nice to be here.
Bill Klaproth (host): Great to see you, So Ruth you are a leadership excellence award winner. What does that mean?
Ruth Portacci: That's a loaded question, B ill. You know, I think when the society looks to the leadership awardees, it's folks that have been in the industry who've given a commitment to healthcare and have different aspects of their career through and mentoring and developing. And creating an environment within their hospital systems that allowed them to grow and prosper over time, so it's kind of multi-dimensional, but at the end of the day, you've led your organization and you've helped the society as well, lead and mentor others in the field.
Bill Klaproth (host): So not just your specific hospital, but the industry as a whole?
Ruth Portacci: Correct.
Bill Klaproth (host): What's your drive. What's your passion? Why are you driven to become a leadership excellence award winner? You mentioned mentoring and developing people in leading what's your passion. What drives you to do this?
Ruth Portacci: That's such a great question. So, I got into the healthcare industry when I was 19 years old, actually on my 19th birthday entered my first hospital and I never left.
Bill Klaproth (host): Wow, you've done a lot in three years.
Ruth Portacci: I have done a lot in three years.
Bill Klaproth (host): Wow. That's amazing. Holy cow.
Ruth Portacci: That's so true. So 31 years later, you know, I'm still fueled by this passion. We have so many great things to do in healthcare. And when you think about your mother and your brother and your sister and your father and the change and the impact that we make as strategists within our facilities and the entire ecosystem, right. It's just not about hospitals. It's about the entire experience. I am just fueled by that. I constantly just. Get up every morning, excited to do what I do. And I'm very blessed to do it.
Bill Klaproth (host): I love that. So help someone listening to this podcast. Now, what tips can you share to help someone move up the ladder as you did. Become a leadership excellence award winner?
Ruth Portacci: One of my greatest, I guess, abilities is to be able to give back. And the give the gift of what I know to other people. So I have mentored for a long time, and it's not only in our career path, which is, being in strategy and as a strategist, I've helped, young individuals find their way into nursing, find their way into being physicians, finding their way into other pieces of the ecosystem and healthcare environment. So, at the end of the day, I think that the idea is understand your passion every day, come ready to do what you do.
And, use your gifts and talents in a way that is, Utilized And effective for the organization in which you work, and all good things kind of come from that. I think leaders recognize when a young person or a new person into the field is just fired up. Ready to understand the challenge that's ahead of them. And they go for it and they, you know, maybe ask a few questions along the way, but they jump in and they just get things done and that's what healthcare really needs. It really needs this passion in this fuel. And this energy of not only our youth, but those that are just interested in health care to come in and make the system better.
Bill Klaproth (host): Well, your passion clearly shows through. There's no question about that. So you mentioned mentoring and giving back, obviously that gives you great satisfaction. In your mentoring. What is the one thing you see that most people need the most as a mentor?
Ruth Portacci: I think they need guidance. I think they need, direction. There's a lot of ways to kind of fall off the path. And I'll use my greatest example as of late. And it's a young lady who is very young. She's probably at this point, maybe 23 years ol., fresh out of her college day's just kind of, where do I go next? How do I make a difference? Our younger generation, our millennials, and then those after the millennials are, truly fueled by what they can do and to make a difference in society. I said to Mary, I'm like Mary, I can see things in you. You have incredible gifts. You are smart you are, energetic. You have critical, good thinking skills.
I'm going to introduce you into the medical practice. And from the medical practice, she, within a year, gifts and talents displayed, moved on to an MA program, which is a medical assistance program. She'll soon be an RN. And her ultimate goal is to be a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. So not a path of the doctor, but the doctors sidebar is what we need to feel in healthcare. And I feel so well, I don't know, gratified around Mary's experience. And she's just one Mary. I mean, we need to be doing this across the board to fuel the new generation in healthcare.
Bill Klaproth (host): We need more Ruth's, that's what we need. Right. That's what we need.
Ruth Portacci: I don't know about that, but.
Bill Klaproth (host): So, let me ask you this. How has SHSMD been a positive to you in your career?
Ruth Portacci: So I joined SHSMD when I was 23 years old, 1992. Wish. And, it's just been instrumental. The people that I've met, I set it on stage this morning, the relationships that have been built, the people that I've met. there's a connected society here at one point in time. The society it's probably greater than that now, but it was 4,000 plus communicator, strategists, planners, business development, people from all around the country, right. And even some international.
That network seems like 4,000 ish plus, but it's a tight bonded group of individuals who care for each other. Make sure that, we're taking good measure to see what's happening in hospitals and the ecosystems around hospitals. Stay connected. Share best ideas, best practice. And so I think for me, SSHMD has brought me this valuable network and overall it's brought me the ability to write and teach and do things in this industry. That I might not have done anywhere else. It's been great.
Bill Klaproth (host): It's been a good partnership. Schmidt has given to you and you have given back to SHSMD and its members.
Ruth Portacci: Yep. That's exactly right.
Bill Klaproth (host): So we need more. Ruth's.
Ruth Portacci: And we need more Bills to talk story.
Bill Klaproth (host): Oh, well, thank you. Wow. Well thank you. That's right. See, we're all connected. Wait a minute. SHSMD Connections. Wait a minute. We're all connected. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. It's all, it's all coming to me now. I'm now I'm understanding I
Oh my God. Absolutely Ruth, thank you so much for sharing your story and being a mentor and giving back and developing future leaders in our industry. We appreciate that so much. Thank you for your time and thank you for stopping by our podcast booth today. We appreciate it.
Ruth Portacci: So happy to be here. Thank you, Bill.
Bill Klaproth (host): And make sure you sign up for this year's SHSMD virtual conference, October 12th, 2022 plus on demand. Through the end of the year, the virtual conference will feature access to 50 plus sessions recorded from the September in-person annual conference. Plus all new live sessions, just go to shsmd.org. That's S H S M D.org/virtual to learn more and to get registered. And please join us at the next Med connections, annual conference September, 2023 in Chicago. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and find access to our full podcast library at shsmd.org/podcasts. I'm Bill Klaproth. As always, thanks for listening.
SHSMD Leadership Excellence Award Highlight – Ruth Portacci
Bill Klaproth (host): This is a special podcast produced onsite at SHSMD Connections, 2022 as we talk with keynote speakers and session leaders direct from the show floor. I'm Bill Klaproth. With me is Ruth Portacci, vice president of Strategy at Ascension St. Thomas Ruth. Welcome.
Ruth Portacci: Thank you. Nice to be here.
Bill Klaproth (host): Great to see you, So Ruth you are a leadership excellence award winner. What does that mean?
Ruth Portacci: That's a loaded question, B ill. You know, I think when the society looks to the leadership awardees, it's folks that have been in the industry who've given a commitment to healthcare and have different aspects of their career through and mentoring and developing. And creating an environment within their hospital systems that allowed them to grow and prosper over time, so it's kind of multi-dimensional, but at the end of the day, you've led your organization and you've helped the society as well, lead and mentor others in the field.
Bill Klaproth (host): So not just your specific hospital, but the industry as a whole?
Ruth Portacci: Correct.
Bill Klaproth (host): What's your drive. What's your passion? Why are you driven to become a leadership excellence award winner? You mentioned mentoring and developing people in leading what's your passion. What drives you to do this?
Ruth Portacci: That's such a great question. So, I got into the healthcare industry when I was 19 years old, actually on my 19th birthday entered my first hospital and I never left.
Bill Klaproth (host): Wow, you've done a lot in three years.
Ruth Portacci: I have done a lot in three years.
Bill Klaproth (host): Wow. That's amazing. Holy cow.
Ruth Portacci: That's so true. So 31 years later, you know, I'm still fueled by this passion. We have so many great things to do in healthcare. And when you think about your mother and your brother and your sister and your father and the change and the impact that we make as strategists within our facilities and the entire ecosystem, right. It's just not about hospitals. It's about the entire experience. I am just fueled by that. I constantly just. Get up every morning, excited to do what I do. And I'm very blessed to do it.
Bill Klaproth (host): I love that. So help someone listening to this podcast. Now, what tips can you share to help someone move up the ladder as you did. Become a leadership excellence award winner?
Ruth Portacci: One of my greatest, I guess, abilities is to be able to give back. And the give the gift of what I know to other people. So I have mentored for a long time, and it's not only in our career path, which is, being in strategy and as a strategist, I've helped, young individuals find their way into nursing, find their way into being physicians, finding their way into other pieces of the ecosystem and healthcare environment. So, at the end of the day, I think that the idea is understand your passion every day, come ready to do what you do.
And, use your gifts and talents in a way that is, Utilized And effective for the organization in which you work, and all good things kind of come from that. I think leaders recognize when a young person or a new person into the field is just fired up. Ready to understand the challenge that's ahead of them. And they go for it and they, you know, maybe ask a few questions along the way, but they jump in and they just get things done and that's what healthcare really needs. It really needs this passion in this fuel. And this energy of not only our youth, but those that are just interested in health care to come in and make the system better.
Bill Klaproth (host): Well, your passion clearly shows through. There's no question about that. So you mentioned mentoring and giving back, obviously that gives you great satisfaction. In your mentoring. What is the one thing you see that most people need the most as a mentor?
Ruth Portacci: I think they need guidance. I think they need, direction. There's a lot of ways to kind of fall off the path. And I'll use my greatest example as of late. And it's a young lady who is very young. She's probably at this point, maybe 23 years ol., fresh out of her college day's just kind of, where do I go next? How do I make a difference? Our younger generation, our millennials, and then those after the millennials are, truly fueled by what they can do and to make a difference in society. I said to Mary, I'm like Mary, I can see things in you. You have incredible gifts. You are smart you are, energetic. You have critical, good thinking skills.
I'm going to introduce you into the medical practice. And from the medical practice, she, within a year, gifts and talents displayed, moved on to an MA program, which is a medical assistance program. She'll soon be an RN. And her ultimate goal is to be a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant. So not a path of the doctor, but the doctors sidebar is what we need to feel in healthcare. And I feel so well, I don't know, gratified around Mary's experience. And she's just one Mary. I mean, we need to be doing this across the board to fuel the new generation in healthcare.
Bill Klaproth (host): We need more Ruth's, that's what we need. Right. That's what we need.
Ruth Portacci: I don't know about that, but.
Bill Klaproth (host): So, let me ask you this. How has SHSMD been a positive to you in your career?
Ruth Portacci: So I joined SHSMD when I was 23 years old, 1992. Wish. And, it's just been instrumental. The people that I've met, I set it on stage this morning, the relationships that have been built, the people that I've met. there's a connected society here at one point in time. The society it's probably greater than that now, but it was 4,000 plus communicator, strategists, planners, business development, people from all around the country, right. And even some international.
That network seems like 4,000 ish plus, but it's a tight bonded group of individuals who care for each other. Make sure that, we're taking good measure to see what's happening in hospitals and the ecosystems around hospitals. Stay connected. Share best ideas, best practice. And so I think for me, SSHMD has brought me this valuable network and overall it's brought me the ability to write and teach and do things in this industry. That I might not have done anywhere else. It's been great.
Bill Klaproth (host): It's been a good partnership. Schmidt has given to you and you have given back to SHSMD and its members.
Ruth Portacci: Yep. That's exactly right.
Bill Klaproth (host): So we need more. Ruth's.
Ruth Portacci: And we need more Bills to talk story.
Bill Klaproth (host): Oh, well, thank you. Wow. Well thank you. That's right. See, we're all connected. Wait a minute. SHSMD Connections. Wait a minute. We're all connected. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. It's all, it's all coming to me now. I'm now I'm understanding I
Oh my God. Absolutely Ruth, thank you so much for sharing your story and being a mentor and giving back and developing future leaders in our industry. We appreciate that so much. Thank you for your time and thank you for stopping by our podcast booth today. We appreciate it.
Ruth Portacci: So happy to be here. Thank you, Bill.
Bill Klaproth (host): And make sure you sign up for this year's SHSMD virtual conference, October 12th, 2022 plus on demand. Through the end of the year, the virtual conference will feature access to 50 plus sessions recorded from the September in-person annual conference. Plus all new live sessions, just go to shsmd.org. That's S H S M D.org/virtual to learn more and to get registered. And please join us at the next Med connections, annual conference September, 2023 in Chicago. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and find access to our full podcast library at shsmd.org/podcasts. I'm Bill Klaproth. As always, thanks for listening.