Since appointment, Kelley turns Med Center around

On October 1, 1989, when William Kelley was named the new Executive Director of the Medical Center, HUP had lost $28 million in the last two years and the Medical Center had gone through five different top administrators. By 1990, he had turned HUP's finances around, recording a $6.7 million profit where, only a year before, the hospital had lost $14 million. Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs Mark Kelley, who is not related to the dean, described Kelley as a "very dynamic leader who infuses a lot of energy into our organization." "He's a go-getter -- hard driving and hard working, and he expects the same from us," Kelley said. He said the director possesses an "unusual combination" of both clinical understanding and research knowledge. Kelley himself attributes the financial turnaround to the high quality of the faculty. "The faculty members are doing an outstanding job, both in the patient care arena and the research arena," he said. He added that recruiting new faculty is his "most important job." During the reorganization period, Kelley appointed three new vice presidents and he has recruited seven department chairmen over the last two years. "It was important that we created a new infrastructure," he said. He is now considering several long-term plans, including the continued expansion of research, ambulatory care and patient care facilities. "We want it to be the finest care center in the country," Kelley said. The dean said a main priority for the future will be on improving the quality and quantity of space at HUP. This winter, construction will begin on a major research building dedicated to research on aging and gene therapy. The building is scheduled for completion by 1994. In his effort to streamline, Kelley has had to contend with several different bureaucracies of the large number of medical institutions affiliated with the Medical Center. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Veterans' Administration Hospital, the Children's Seashore House, and the Philadelphia Guidance Clinic are autonomous organizations, but are affiliated with the Medical Center. Although Kelley admitted that dealing with these different institutions is more difficult than if they were all part of one organization, he said that the relationships are mutually beneficial. "Our synergistic relationship is very important to us," he said. Before coming to the University, Kelley was chairman of the Internal Medicine Department and a professor in biological chemistry at the University of Michigan. Kelley received his M.D. from Emory University and worked at a number of different medical institutions, including Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Massachusetts General Hospital, the National Institutes of Health and Duke University Medical Center. When Kelley was at Michigan, he spent time researching genetics and rheumatology. Although he is still involved at the national level in setting research policy, he was forced to give up his research because he no longer had enough time. "It's real hard to do research part time," Kelley said. "Now I'm content to be involved in research vicariously." "However, the things which have replaced it are things that I enjoy doing," he added. Kelley said he will also miss teaching daily classes, but he still periodically gives genetics lectures at the Med School. He also said he wishes he had more time to spend with Med students. Kelley attributed the success of the Med School to the students themselves, who he called the "jewels in our crown." "We have fantastic students who go on to be the leaders of medicine," he said. According to Kelley, the future of medicine lies in gene therapy. Kelley said he believes molecular biology has the potential to be as important as immunizations and antibiotics. "The whole new area of gene therapy will be truly revolutionary," said Kelley. "This is a fantastically exciting time in medicine.

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