A trauma center isn’t the only new aspect of Blake Medical Center in Bradenton. After five years as COO at Doctors Hospital in Sarasota, Valerie Powell-Stafford accepted that position at Blake. Although she’s still growing into her new role (she had been there four days at the time of this interview), Powell-Stafford shared with SRQ her enthusiasm for the hospital’s programs and its community initiatives.

How did you get involved in healthcare administration? I’ve been in the healthcare administration industry for over twenty years. I actually became interested while I was an undergrad. I started out as an accounting major but I wanted to be involved in a field where I could work more with people and use my business acumen to help them. Right now, I’m just learning the ropes here and getting to know the staff members and the medical staff. I have also starting making the rounds to some of the patients and getting to know how to improve our services.

What caused you to move to Blake Medical Center? I really believe in our hospital’s mission, which is “to provide exceptional care to every patient at every time.” It takes a lot of effort and teamwork to be the best, which is demonstrated by our numerous awards and accolades. Patient satisfaction is important to us. We want to make sure that patients have a positive experience here. My focus is to really look at the programs and services that we offer to see how we can improve and better serve our patients and the community. Programs such as trauma services and the daVinci robotics program are new to Blake, and there are some opportunities to grow them and let the community know about their benefits.