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> Home > About ECMC > News > Press Release
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Michael Young comes to the Medical Center with demonstrated success in hospital system leadership for quality care and business growth.
In December 2004, the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation Board of Directors concluded a national search for a new Chief Executive Officer with the appointment of Michael A. Young, M.H.A., F.A.C.H.E. In addition to overseeing hospital operations, the Chief Executive Officer of ECMC sits as a member of its board. Michael Young was the unanimous selection of the board following a four-month national search involving a national search firm, members of the corporation's board of directors, medical leadership, senior management, and organized labor. By the end of December he was already spending time at ECMC preparing for his new role, and by the first week of January, Young had begun as ECMC's new leader.
When asked about his management approach, Mike Young explains, "I start with a blank piece of paper and design how care should be delivered, not how it is currently being delivered. My style is to always start with the question: What's best for the patient?" Young uses a diagram to describe his philosophy of patient care. In this diagram, he shows the patient at the center point with services revolving in circles around the patient. It is this focus on patient-centered care that has been the underlying philosophy that has provided the basis for Mr. Young's effective decision-making and success in hospital system administration and business development.
Mike Young said, "ECMC has been headed in the right direction with a focus on quality care." Young arrived at ECMC just as the Medical Center received its "Gold Seal of Approval" in "Quality Health Care & Safety" for a three-year period (2005-2007) from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Young believes every Western New York resident should have access to the highest quality health care available and he intends to better position ECMC to move more swiftly toward a culture of excellence in care and customer service.
In 2004, ECMC went through a lengthy process to be designated as a public benefit corporation (PBC). Mike Young says he can lead ECMC with an opportunity to do things differently, since the health system is now able to function more independently of state governmental rules. With the PBC designation, ECMC can now partner with physician groups and other businesses. "We are beginning discussions with potential business partners that can enhance the delivery of care and enable ECMC to be run more efficiently and cost-effectively. Our goal is to continue quality patient care and make better business decisions that will give us the resources to provide the best healthcare possible to everyone in Western New York. This community deserves only the best," said Young.
Although Mike Young's primary goal is to focus on the quality of patient care, he has identified other important priorities for ECMC. Young believes ECMC provides excellent health care, but must do so more efficiently. He has already begun to improve operating room turnaround times, patients' length of stay, and the number of patients ECMC is able to see on a daily basis. "We were able to improve these areas, and many others, at Lancaster General Hospital and make it the place of first choice for many patients. While ECMC is the place of choice for many of its services, it will become the place of choice for all of its services in the near future."
Michael Young served for 15 years as President and Chief Executive officer at the 563-bed Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania's Amish community. Under Young's leadership, Lancaster General enjoyed tremendous success and growth. Young began his career in pharmaceutical sales in Pennsylvania. The first management position Mike Young held was at Shadyside Memorial Hospital where he was hired as assistant to the president. In 1986, he accepted a position as vice president at Lancaster General. By 1989, Young took over as president and chief of the Lancaster General Hospital system.
A native of Pennsylvania, Young graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree and magna cum laude with a master's degree in healthcare administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
The Erie County Medical Center Corporation is the area's leading health care provider and one of the country's most modern, functional, and efficient health care delivery systems. ECMC Corporation encompasses on- and off-campus health centers, over 40 outpatient specialty care clinics, an advanced academic medical center (with 550 inpatient beds and 156 skilled nursing home beds), and the Erie County Home, a (586-bed) skilled nursing facility. The Medical Center, ranked among the nation's 100 top hospitals for cardiac and intensive care, serves as the regional center for trauma, burn, and rehabilitation, and a major teaching facility for the State University of New York at Buffalo. Most ECMC physicians, dentists, and pharmacists are dedicated faculty members of the University. The ECMC Corporation is dedicated to being the medical center of choice through excellence in patient care and customer service.
