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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 57 Kathryn Gillette CEO, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg C limbing the corporate ladder to earn a seat in the boardroom is competitive enough for women today, but in the male dominated healthcare field, the playing field is even narrower. While 73% of women work as managers in the health and medical field, just a fraction – only 18%— earn the title as hospital CEOs. By Katherine Ferrara Johnson Veteran hospital administrator, Kathryn Gillette, 60, is no stranger to the demands of a 24/7 schedule or transforming an industry deeply rooted in compliance issues and regulations. As the Chief Executive Officer and Market President of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, Gillette has the task of growing the hospital system to meet the needs of patients, but also of restoring the reputation of one of the oldest hospitals in the Tampa Bay area. Healthcare is big business but it's also big politics. e competitive business of running a hospital in a growing metropolitan area like Tampa Bay alongside several other chains means offering more specialties, recruiting the best doctors in the country, and providing the latest state-of-the-art technology and services under one roof. In order to thrive in the healthcare marketplace today, administrators need to offer more for less while improving patient care and access to the best medical care in the country. In the two years since she was named CEO, Gillette spearheaded the formation of the Bayfront Health Network, which includes six other hospitals along Florida's Gulf coast. She also infused $50 million to upgrade technology and surgery systems for physicians and revived the culture and reputation of the nearly 110-year-old Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. Gillette is soft spoken but firm when we address the needs in Florida's healthcare system and what needs to be done to improve patient care. She is honest, but optimistic about the change in the healthcare field, and equally as optimistic about the role of women in the industry. In her own words, she shares how knowing when to speak up helped advanced her climb in healthcare administration, and how she balances strict government regulations with a compassionate side for managing patients. You came into medicine through management. What was that "aha" moment that you decided healthcare administration over practicing medicine? I got to where I got through some good advice, some good luck, and hopefully a lot of skill at the same time. When I was in my bachelor's program studying finance, I had an advisor say to me, "What are you going to do with that degree?" Frankly, I didn't have a clue. He advised me to get a degree in something I could get a job in and directed me into accounting. In college at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Continued on page 58 Styling by Sandra D, Makeup by Ginny Dworchak, Photography by David Har t. Attire by Dream Weaver Collection, St. Armands Circle..

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