In his first major challenge since his appointment in 2009, the thirty-seven year old initiated aggressive management changes that took the HCA affiliate from hemorrhaging cash to being in the black.
“And he did that while maintaining its high quality scores,” said Margaret Lewis, president of the HCA Capital Division of which John Randolph is part.
For this achievement, Modern Healthcare is recognizing Dia as one of the Up & Comers of 2012, a program that honors rising leaders under forty years of age in healthcare management.
By developing an expense management plan that identified necessary cuts and restructuring the budget to meet area demands for various healthcare services and by assembling the right team with the skill set to deliver on his plan, Dia's met his budget goal within a year's time.
He says the idea for his approach came from a visit to a top-ranked New Orleans restaurant a year earlier. On requesting changes to his order the server reassured him that they would do everything they could to accommodate him.
“Obviously, that was someone who worked for a leader who said, 'Here's the vision, now let me get out of the way and let you get it done,' ” Dia said. His own stance is similar. “I believe in surrounding yourself with quality personnel and then getting out of their way to let them work,”
Success in a hospital is a team effort, certainly, and Dia is always on the lookout for quality candidates for his teams.
Frankye Myers is a prime example of recognizing leadership potential in someone.
She was Director of the cardiac unit at Chippenham Hospital when she met Dia. She had been a nurse for twelve years and says Dia influenced her to enroll in the CNO Development Program at HCA.
“He was very instrumental in my upward mobility in the company,” Myers says. “Sometimes people are able to see in you what you do not see in yourself.”
Now she is Chief Nursing Officer at John Randolph Medical Center alongside Dia.
Dia notes that he too does what he can to keep up with industry changes. Provider report cards, opening price and quality databases, and other changes require creative thinking to maintain emerging industry standards.