Dear Search Committee Members:
As a local physician executive, inspiring attorney advocate for health and strategic entrepreneur with a proven track record as a coalition builder and servant leader, I look forward to embarking on a journey of patient-centered care rooted in loving-kindness by developing and mentoring cohesive, high-performing healthcare teams that will nurture a culture of health and engagement across the organization. From Presque Isle to Portland, my advancing leadership experiences in complex healthcare systems in Maine has helped employers, their employees and our community achieve a healthy and productive workforce and patient population. I hope to have an interview opportunity to further discuss how we could reimagine what care and delivery could look like in York County and the Seacoast communities as your next Chief Executive Officer.
Growing up, spending my summers in Wells at my brother’s camp had always instilled a curious sense of adventure with nature, our built environment and was seen as a welcomed relief where we could unplug from our busy city lives and spend quality time with family, friends and neighbors. It is with this spirit that I hope to engage the Board of Trustees, all caregivers and the community to create a viable vision of what York Hospital could be and how to continue to serve our patients with the love and compassion as the destination community hospital built for and by the people of York county.
I continually strive for excellence in service and clinical quality by maintaining my academic appointments at Dartmouth, UPenn and UNE, as well as teaching at the University of Maine. I enjoy translating science and medicine for practical applications not only for promising students and medical trainees, but as a consultant for employers and professional associations in various sectors and industries across the nation. As an established executive leader and an expert in Preventive Medicine with specialty training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, I look forward to partnering with our team to refine and advance strategic priorities through transparent communication and compelling vision with achievable goals for the future.
I enjoy engaging Medical Staff, Board of Directors and Leadership in various clinical, administrative and regulatory settings. I bring strategic experiences as Chief Medical and Science Officer of MedLaw LLC, former Vice President of Medical Staff, Chair of Medical Specialties, Regulatory Liaison and Medical Director for Workplace Health and Wellness, Employee Assistance Program, Employee Health Services, Fitness Centers, Teaching Kitchen and 8 on-site clinics throughout Maine. In these advancing leadership positions, I have developed other clinical staff leaders through quality improvement and evidence-based clinical effectiveness training and partnering with administrative staff through high reliability team building projects. As a Medical Director of the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine, I am also familiar with appropriate regulatory duties of caregivers and would use this as a spring board for strategic innovation of York Hospital through the eyes of the Board and community members of York county.
As President of the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, I chair the education committee to moderate and coordinate continuing medical education activities in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health. To tie my interest in education and workforce development, I am a founding Board member of Kids’ Chance of Maine, a foundation offering educational scholarships for children of injured workers. All these experiences have a unifying theme of service to the community, education, mentorship and provides examples of my managerial, leadership, analytical and organizational skills.
As former Chair of Specialty Medicine, I was responsible for 139 healthcare providers in various Medical Specialties ranging from Allergy, Cardiology, and Dermatology to Hospitalists and Oncologists. This role expanded my understanding as the current Medical Director for Maine’s Board of Licensure in Medicine, where I approach conflict resolution in a similar matter to facilitate and negotiate a win-win scenario for all parties in the interest of patient safety and quality of care. As an Administrative Director, I managed a $6M budget and supervised over 70 clinical and administrative staff. As regulatory liaison, I have collaborated with local municipalities, state government, employers and community members to develop contractual relationships to deliver onsite and near site healthcare throughout the State and with our New England neighbors.
Another experience I will bring with me to the CEO position is the power of communication, team building and fostering an environmental where employees would thrive and flourish. As an expert on Population Health Management, I have translated my clinical experience into business and policy that impacts benefit design, productivity, compensation, workers’ comp and health plan design as well as strategic well-being consultation and lecturing regularly at the annual regional HR Conference and Workers’ Comp Summit. My passion for improving health of the community and educational awareness program has helped me lead a community hospital to national recognition as a leader in employee well-being by receiving honorable mention recognition for the 2018 C Everett Koop National Health Awards presented by the Health Enhancement Research Organization. I continue to champion physician, resident, medical student and clinician well-being by addressing burnout, resiliency and advocating to bring back the joy in medicine.
As a national and global leader in my professional association, I am a Board Member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and a delegate to the American Medical Association (AMA). Regionally, I am a board member to the Maine Medical Association and the YPS Delegate from the State of Maine to the AMA.
My experiences in organizational development at a global pharmaceutical company as well as background in employment, labor, privacy and environmental law in combination with specialty training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine brings my expertise as a dual physician and attorney and ultimately, a leader with progressive healthcare experiences. I hope to serve as York Hospital’s next Chief Executive Officer and look forward to hopefully having an opportunity to meet with you and share my passion and enthusiasm for this opportunity of a lifetime.
Sincerely,
Kenji Saito, MD, JD, FACOEM