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In This Issue:
John Byrne
BWH Bulletin recently sat down with John G. Byrne, MD, chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery, to hear about his experiences leading the division, as well as his goals and inspirations. Byrne trained at BWH and served as associate chief of Cardiac Surgery prior to joining the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2004. Byrne rejoined BWH last April as chief of Cardiac Surgery.
What attracted you to return to BWH?
Coming back to BWH is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity-if you're lucky. Coming back as the Lawrence H. Cohn Professor in Cardiac Surgery is the highest possible honor. It is the most cherished title I will have in my life, perhaps only surpassed by "father" and "husband." Dr. Cohn is a mentor and role model for me. Additionally, BWH has an amazing culture of excellence.
How would you describe your time as chief so far?
It's been wonderful. I'm enjoying the luxury of knowing and having worked with a lot of the team in the past-I've trained, trained with or been trained by most of the surgeons here, and I know many of the nurses, cardiologists and physician assistants very well. There is remarkably low turnover because it's such a great place, and it's been a huge advantage to know people and have that sense of good will already established. These bonds and friendships enabled me to hit the ground running.
What goals and priorities have you been addressing? The number one goal is quality and excellent patient outcomes. We are working on standardizing many processes to improve outcomes and shorten length of stay. We are also looking at the total patient experience. This involves improving access for patients and communication with referring physicians inside and outside of BWH. Additionally, the division is fairly integrated with the Cardiology Division, but I'm working with [Advanced Heart Disease Center Executive Director] Mandeep Mehra, MD, to even more fully integrate the divisions for the benefit of patients.
Can you explain your research?
My research involves clinical outcomes, mainly centered on valve surgery, and in particular, mitral valve repair. We have great experience with minimally invasive mitral valve repair, and we are looking at ways to improve this further. We are also considering integrating some of the financial metrics to evaluate value and cost-effective care. What future goals do you have for the division? We want to serve more patients in all aspects of cardiac surgery, and at the same time, continue enhancing quality in all we do. New areas of focus include building a robust valve practice and developing an arrhythmia and aortic program. We also want to achieve BWH's overarching goals and be good stewards of the hospital and community.
What initially drew you to heart surgery? My parents emigrated from Ireland and had a drive and hunger to succeed. Someone once said: "Imagine the future; then go out and invent it." I think I inherited this entrepreneurial drive from my parents. I was exposed at an early age to [Stanford heart transplant pioneer] Norman E. Shumway, MD, who was Dr. Cohn's mentor. By high school, I knew I wanted to be a physician, and by college, I knew I wanted to be a heart surgeon. Sometime in my residency years, I knew I wanted to be chief of a division-I think mainly because I've always been able to bring teams together. I truly enjoy the success of others around me. There are so many amazingly talented people here, not just in Cardiac Surgery, of course, but throughout the organization.
His Favorite Things...
Book genre: Business, President Kennedy biographies, Vietnam War history
Hobby: Golf and other sports with my boys [Byrne and his wife, Theresa, have four boys, ages 7 to 16.]
Music: Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller Band, Eagles, Elton John
John Byrne and Lawrence Cohn