By Lois Thomson, South Florida Hospital News, for ACHE of South Florida

As Vice President of Ancillary Operations, Brian Altschuler is responsible for myriad support services at Boca Regional Hospital, including such areas as pharmacy, laboratory, imaging, construction, security, food and nutrition – in essence, as he said, “all clinical and non-clinical ancillary departments at the entity level.” He acknowledged that encompasses a wide range and explained, for example, “We’re working on a massive facility plan that’s going to include a new bed tower, a new medical arts building, enhancing our infrastructure – basically redesigning our campus. My role on a day-to-day basis can be interacting with our corporate construction groups, and then the next hour I could be dealing with a family that has concerns about their loved one and needs assistance from one of our departments.”

Altschuler likes it that way because, he pointed out, “It’s a nice role because no day is the same, every hour is different.” He said his current role has evolved over the past several years, that he originally worked in the hospitality industry – including for Marriott International and Walt Disney World – and spent much time in operations. He then worked in human resources and organizational development in areas of healthcare, and that eventually expanded into this current role. “My career path is a winding road, I have a lot of diverse work experience and it’s really helped me evolve. I love what I’m doing. I’ve found my passion of interacting more with patients and families in my role, whereas my prior roles were wonderful because I worked a lot with the internal teams. Now I get to work with both.”

With his experience in healthcare, Altschuler decided to join the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) six years ago, saying he did so not only to grow as an individual, but also to be able to become part of a healthcare community. “I’ve always believed that we’re stronger as one, and while we’re all different healthcare systems, fundamentally we are here to provide better health to our community.”

He said if he hadn’t joined ACHE, he might be viewing others as competitors instead of as peers or people he can rely on. He reasoned, “In healthcare, we’re not all good at everything, and the more we know about each other’s personal expertise and learn from each other, the better our ability to help patients get better access to care. As a bonus, we all get to become friends and establish a strong network.”

Altschuler admitted that when he first joined, he just viewed the decision as wanting to be a member. “But as the years went on and I learned more about the organization’s capabilities and what was available through ACHE, including attending the Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Chicago, that made me want to get more involved.” That also led to him considering becoming president with the purpose of helping to move the South Florida chapter forward.

Along the way, he decided to undertake the journey to become a fellow. “That really was well supported by ACHE, my leader, and my colleagues. I became certified as a fellow last year, and I’ve been very proud of that accomplishment. I give a lot of credit to the fact that I got more involved, and learned how to round out my skills by going through the process.”

Altschuler said he finds great value in ACHE, and would highly encourage people both to join, and also to consider the value of becoming a fellow. “It brought me not only greater education that we can all gain from, but in this industry and in my hospital, it also raised a level of respect for achieving that accomplishment; it gave me credibility.”

Now 2024 President-Elect of ACHE of South Florida, Altschuler said one of his biggest goals as president will be to continue to build bridges in a collaborative sense, making one healthcare community, where the local chapter is seen as that bridge. He wants to bring unity and create an impressive group of healthcare leaders – whether through education, community outreach, the supportive efforts of each other, or celebrating and highlighting key accomplishments. “I know it’s an ambitious goal, but I also think it’s a realistic one.”