Dr. Ninfa Saunders took the helm of Central Georgia Health System in 2012, and the President and CEO has already made a number of noteworthy changes – not an easy feat when the organization is already considered by many to be world-class. 

For starters, Saunders established the Women’s Health Series during her first year. The program includes events like the Women’s Health & Maternity Fair and the “CEO of the Household” lunch and learn series. 

“Women are the CEOs of the household, but we take care of ourselves last. We like to take care of everyone, and even if we have five minutes to ourselves, we try to use it for someone else,” Dr. Saunders says. “So at end of the day, we end up not having a resting place to take care of ourselves.” 

The number one killer of women in the U.S. is heart disease, so emphasis on regular care and healthy living is vital in today’s fast paced world. 

Saunders adds, “Women today, as focused as they are, have an incredible level of stress that makes it even more difficult to take proper care of ourselves. We must compel our families to help our moms  to take care of themselves.”

Dr. Saunders’ passion for this initiative is unmistakable, probably because as an extremely successful woman in the healthcare field, Dr. Saunders knows firsthand the pressures working women face. Dr. Saunders holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Rutgers University and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University, along with her Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. Her extensive education led to many positions of leadership including the Director of Nursing Resources at Emory University Hospital, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Dekalb Medical Center, service on the Governor’s Georgia Cancer Coalition, and President COO of Virtua Health, one of New Jersey’s largest health systems. 

She notes one of the key tools that she uses in her work is her certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt from the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering - “I focus a lot on this,” Dr. Saunders says. The program incorporates manufacturing principles into daily business in order to achieve maximum efficiency. Saunders has introduced this program to Central Georgia Health System in order to reduce expenses and grow revenue, minimize variations and maximize quality, and manage resources through continuous improvements. Employees are currently being trained in the program in order to eliminate waste while delivering extraordinary service. She emphasizes that these principles mean nothing without the right people. 

Earlier this year, Central Georgia Health System honored a number of employees celebrating milestone employment anniversaries, and Dr. Saunders said she was touched by the gratitude when she is the one that feels grateful. 

“You are incredibly touched  when you sit next to these people, as they could never think of working anywhere else but here. It is a privilege. The hallmark of it all is the pride we have in our people. They are caring, they reach out to patients in the most special ways, and they look at people as someone that they love like family - the advocacy of our staff is incredible!”

Keeping the employees connected and informed is a big part of Dr. Saunders’ mission to keep Central Georgia Health System at the top of its game. In order to do so, she has established regular Town Hall Meetings in order to personally inform employees of system-related news.

 “One of the things I focus on with our staff is transparency. The organization’s agenda should not be an enigma to anyone. We need to inform everyone. If the employees are informed, they will be an active part of what we’re doing. Inclusion is big to me because it creates a high level of accountability,” says Dr. Saunders. “We are the largest employer in Macon, so information can come through different ways. Since we are a large family, information is shared from staff to staff, and doesn’t always get to the core of our messaging. The meetings allow us to have a unified approach to get information to our employees, to get information to everyone, to get feedback and to act as one system.”

Speaking of the community, Dr. Saunders stays on task by constantly asking herself, “Are we impacting the community? Is the community better because of us? That level of accountability is important to us. We don’t want to be insular; we want to partner with the community through health initiatives.” 

Her commitment resonates with love for the city itself. 

“Macon is a wonderful city. It’s so culturally connected and has a hometown feel. You know the people around you, and they support you. You are not anonymous. There is a closeness in Macon,” she says. 

In order to unite Macon with communities across the state in the pursuit of community health, Dr. Saunders – along with the leadership of Tift Regional Health System in Tifton - created an alliance called Stratus Healthcare. Stratus Healthcare currently unites 29 hospitals, 14 health systems and approximately 2,000 physicians in order to improve community health across the state. Stratus Healthcare workgroups are analyzing four major areas, including:

• Making sure people have access to the right care at the right time, and in the right place.  

• Uniting through an informational technology platform for care coordination and the pursuit of quality metrics. 

• Pinpointing where gaps in care, as well as duplications in services, in order to better meet the health needs of communities. 

• Discovering strategic initiatives - what each member can pursue individually and collectively for the betterment of the community. 

As busy as she may seem, Dr. Saunders also enjoys the system successes. 

“U.S. News & World Report ranked The Medical Center of Central Georgia as one of the top performers in the nation in 11 specialties. Our stroke program has received a number of accolades from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. For many years, we’ve focused on why we are the stroke belt of Georgia, and since there are so many strokes here, our commitment to early identification as well as appropriate intervention is important,” said Dr. Saunders.  “Our palliative program is one of the very few accredited programs in the country. The Medical Center of Peach County has received a number of awards for quality and safety, and Central Georgia Rehabilitation Hospital is doing wonderful, groundbreaking work for patients with varying handicaps. We are very proud of all that we are achieving as a system, and we continue to look for ways to improve.” 

Excited to enter into her second full year , Dr. Saunders remains committed to the ongoing pursuit of greater health care, stronger community ties and transparency among patients, physicians, staff and community  stakeholders.