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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 59 From left to right: Kathy and her grandchildren celebrate her 60th birthday. Kathy and her grandchildren celebrating the Fourth of July in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Kathy visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, posing in front of one of her favorite works of art by French Impressionists: "Paris Street; Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte (1877). make choices to go to certain places based on that experience. It's the same with hospitals. Doctors make choices to admit patients based on that experience in that hospital. Do you feel a need to uphold the legacy that Bayfront has held for more than 100 years? Absolutely. I made it very clear to them and to the medical staff when I came here that I came here because it was Bayfront. I continue to try to make sure that some of the traditions that we have here, for example, with the way that we recognize and celebrate our trauma services with our patients coming back and getting to see their caregivers. We have to always continue to do that. What do you value in your employees? We just had our employee recognition banquet for years of service. We had an employee there who's been here 50 years, and another one who's been here 40 years. I looked at this woman from the podium - like I want to look like her after I've worked at Bayfront 50 years. She looked amazing! She's 73 years old. She was in OB nursing. I am immensely proud of what they do here at Bayfront because we celebrate those special things. At the end of the day, how do you define success? For me personally, I try to keep a balance. Personally and professionally are two different things. Professionally, I want Bayfront Health to be restored to that beacon on the hill. I continue to talk about that at every public format that I'm given, whether I'm in front of the City Council, the Downtown Partnership, holding a seat on the board at the St. Pete Chamber, or being the top sponsor for the American Heart Go Red for Women. I'm a woman and I can carry that message easier than men. My job is to bring this hospital back to where it once was. And success to you personally? I held a golf club recently for the first time in three years. I'm pretty darned excited about that. It was fun too so I'm hoping that that will be a chapter that I can start to expand upon now that I've kind of gotten my roots into St. Petersburg. Do you feel a responsibility to carry that torch as a woman to help other women in healthcare management? I do feel a responsibility and I do want to have a legacy. I am very proud of the fact that when I worked for HCA, I think I was the first female CEO, not in the company, but in this part of the state. I want women to know that it can be done and you can be successful at it, and you can create a vision and deliver on that, and be successful at it. I love talking to women about that. I don't have any magic bullet to give them. I just know that if you can find your confidence and do it without being overly obnoxious but yet knowing when to use your voice, you can have a great deal of success in your profession. Continued on page 64

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