After 12 years of leading University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, President and Chief Executive Officer Karen E. Olscamp recently announced she will retire this month, January 2021. A native of Buffalo, New York, Olscamp joined the organization in 1987 as an administrative resident and served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for 10 years before she was appointed to CEO in 2008. During her tenure as CEO, the hospital greatly expanded its obstetrics, behavioral health, cancer, critical care, and surgery programs. In 2009, it opened the Pascal Women’s Center, which provided much-needed obstetric care to the community after a 41-year hiatus. That same year, the medical center opened a new patient tower with 111 additional private rooms. During the last several years, UM BWMC completed a $31 million surgical suite expansion, launched a new electronic medical record system, opened new nursing units, constructed a second state-of-the-art endovascular suite, and increased the number of inpatient beds to the behavioral health and labor and delivery units. Under Olscamp’s leadership, UM BWMC has not only greatly expanded its services, but continues to elevate the quality of care provided to patients. Over the last several years, UM BWMC has been honored by organizations such as the American Heart Association, US News & World Report, the Maryland Patient Safety Center, and the Leapfrog Group for its delivery of safe, high quality care. “Karen will be greatly missed across the University of Maryland Medical System for her leadership, compassion and wisdom,” says Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, President and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System. “We offer our deepest thanks for her tireless efforts for almost 34 years.” Just before the busy holiday season started last fall, we talked with Olscamp about her retirement and legacy with the hospital. What’s Up? Media: I’ll just start with probably the most obvious question, which is, why now? What led to you to the decision to retire? Karen Olscamp: I’ve been thinking about it for some time. Professionally and personally, the time just came together. When I think about BWMC, we’re strategically well positioned. We’ve grown into one of the larger hospitals in Maryland. We had actually the second largest hospital at the University of Maryland, within the University of Maryland Medical System. We have gotten a lot of recognition for the high quality of care. And I think it’s the fabric of our organization to continue to strive for excellence. I think that’s going well. Construction-wise, we always have some projects going on, but in May, it was in middle of COVID, we actually opened up the eighth floor, which is the last floor of our patient care tower. We finished the parking garage. We’ve got a medical office building that’s under construction. Related to COVID, it’s the new normal for some period of time, not leaving during a crisis. What was really important to me also was there is real stability in leadership across the organization. The University of Maryland Medical System has a new CEO. The board chair at BWMC is in the middle of his tenure. We’ve got a really talented executive and leadership team here. There’s real stability in leadership. It all just came together and I’m confident there’s a bright future ahead, and this is the right time to make that change. As you reflect on your career, because I’m sure you’ve done a lot of that, when you really got involved and started is there a moment or event in time when you knew or discovered that this would be your passion? There wasn’t a big single aha moment for me. It was much more of an evolution. I started here in 1987 and I was very young at the time. But it was probably in the mid-’90s when I really started to see and appreciate the potential. And then really in the late-’90s. And then in 2000 is when we merged with the University of Maryland Medical System. During that period is when it was about the opportunity and potential to be involved with really transforming an organization. So, it was in that timeframe that I would say, “Oh, this is good, this fits.” Are there some lessons that you learned early in your career, that helped you along the way? And, also, maybe people that inspired you? Yeah, So I would say early in my career, I had a boss who would only read the first page of a memo. Now that’s when we did memos. But what that taught me that has served well over the years is focus. And so, particularly while I learned that lesson 34 years ago, now, when you think of all the data, you get all the information, all the noise if you will, it teaches you to tune out some of the noise and focus on what matters. What are you trying to do? What problem are you trying to solve? That was early in my career. And what you also learn over time, I would say is the real value of trusting relationships. Those take time to develop and they don’t happen overnight. I think that those matter, when you’re trying to move an organization forward. It involves being purposeful. It involves a lot of listening. But when you put those two things together, if you will, have a strong team with trusting relationships and give them clarity of purpose and focus, they really, then, drive the organization. So, I’d say those two lessons are the ones that stand out. And you mentioned an old boss, that had only read the first page of that memo. Is there anyone else that you would pinpoint as someone who’s had a significant impact in your career? Without a doubt, both personally and professionally it’s Jim Walker. Jim was the former CEO of BWMC. First of all, I am eternally grateful for the opportunities that he gave me, but also for him personally, he embraced life to its fullest. He’s resilient, he’s a lifelong learner, and had a leadership style that I’ve always tried to emulate. He has impacted my life in ways that I can never fully express my gratitude. What stands out to you about the hospital system’s progress and its place in the County today as a medical institution? Over this period, both the hospital, and obviously the County has seen dramatic growth and change. Our roots were as a local community hospital, largely serving the northern area of Anne Arundel county. But today we’re a much different organization. And we’ve evolved into a thriving, comprehensive, and sophisticated medical campus. And we’re the only hospital in the County to do intracranial neurosurgery. We do robotic surgery. We’ve received multiple quality awards. And for me, that is the most important thing that we do obviously. The bricks and the mortar are exciting. People will talk about construction projects, but to me, the real heart and soul of the organization is not what happens inside those buildings or in the community. It’s about the care that we provide and the quality of that care. And that’s really where I’ve seen a dramatic change in the organization over the years. And all of that, undoubtedly is due to the people here. And one of the most important things that we do as leaders is set the culture and develop good people. And that strong culture attracts more good people, and then they are the driving force behind organizational success. And to me, what organizational success means is providing high quality care to the community. And that it’s care that they can depend upon every day. That is what I would like my legacy to be is really around the quality of care. Along these lines, we’re talking about the period of transition now, between the hospital under your leadership and whomever is going to be next. What attributes does it take to run a hospital effectively and to create that culture that you just mentioned? The most important attribute is really about that passion for excellence and service. That’s got to be in your DNA. It’s got to be who you are. And then in terms of attributes, I think trustworthy, I’d say transparent and really authentic. The next CEO will be different than I am. I was different than the previous CEO. And you have to be authentic. That’ll be good for the organization. And it brings, some fresh perspectives, which is always positive So, what is next? What are you looking forward to? My plans are probably what most people’s plans are. In terms of, having both your health and time are gifts not to be wasted. Certainly, every day in healthcare, we see that we should not take those things for granted. And so, I don’t intend to. My family all live out of town across the country, so I want to spend time with them. Post COVID, I hope to do some international travel, and then just take time to reinvent myself and see what this next chapter looks like. I like telling people I’m retiring from my role as CEO, but I’m not retiring from life.
