'High-energy' HUP leader promoted

Garry Scheib, the executive director of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, was recently promoted to the position of chief operating officer of the Penn Health System.

"I've been working at Penn for almost 20 years," said Diane Corrigan, director of finance at HUP. "He's the best executive director at the University of Pennsylvania that we've ever had."

Garry Scheib's responsibilities as COO of UPHS include overseeing its three hospitals, which include HUP, Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center, as well as Home Care and Hospice Services. He will also be in charge of monitoring the financial aspects of the Graduate Medical Education program and supporting its needs.

"He is a very high-energy person that sets high standards," HUP COO Albert Black said. "He's very knowledgeable about health care."

"You know he really cares about the organization," Corrigan continued. "He has a great open-door policy and a respect for all of his employees. Both myself and my entire team couldn't be happier working with him."

Scheib graduated with a dual degree in marketing and management sciences from Lehigh University, where he went on to receive his MBA. But work is not his only passion.

"He's very athletic -- he runs and rides a bike," Black said. "He's also very involved with the community."

He participates in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual "MS 150 City to Shore Bike Tour" in New Jersey, and he raises funds for that ride each year.

Scheib has a number of challenges to face as he adjusts to his new position in the Health System, which he took over in August.

One challenge facing HUP is that "we are a community hospital for West Philadelphia," Scheib said, and "part of our responsibility is to help. The challenge is the amount of people who look to us for their care."

The number of people who seek indigent care -- those without health insurance -- is greater than if there were a public hospital in the area, which would spread the responsibility among the taxpayers. As it is, "HUP serves a disproportionately high share of people without the ability to pay," Scheib says.

The hospital does receive extra funding from the state of Pennsylvania for this care, but "it is nowhere near enough," Scheib said. "We believe there will be government cutbacks in Medicare and Medicaid in the future."

Another problem facing HUP is lack of space. "We are landlocked on this campus," Scheib said. "Our goal is to move all wet-bench research out of the hospital building." These wet-bench labs are primarily used for bench-top laboratory experimentation that requires water or utility services.

Plans for the future include continuous growth and demand for services, so there is a need to find ways to invest in the infrastructure.

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