Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1197558
Dr. La ngell sees the university as uniquely positioned to educate f uture hea lth ca re prov iders who w i l l f i x t he c ou nt r y 's a i l i n g hea lt h c a re s y s t em , repor t e d Plain Dealer hea lth repor ter Julie Washing ton. " W hat N EOMED ca n do is cha nge the pa radig m," Dr. La n gel l, 55, sa id du r i n g a news con ference fol- lowing his insta llation a s NEOMED's new president. Wa shing ton's stor y in the Plain Dealer noted that he chose t o come t o t he hea lt h sciences u n iversit y i n Rootstown because he thinks it represents the future of hea lth ca re. The countr y 's current hea lth system is facing major cha llenges a nd the education system has a role in solv ing them, he sa id. The hea lth system is good at diag nosis a nd treatment of disea se but needs to improve in the a reas of prevention a nd equa l access to a ffordable treatment, he sa id. "It a ll sta r ts with the student," Dr. La ngell says. "How do we cha nge t he f ut ure of hea lt h ca re? We do it by creating physician and pharmacy and nursing leaders who understand busi ness models a nd lea dersh ip sk i l ls a s wel l a s t he pra ct ice of medicine. That 's what the universit y ca n do." For the past 13 yea rs, Dr. La ngell had been with the Universit y of Uta h, where he built out the Center for Medica l Innovation, a hea lth care-focused technolog y commercia lization and process improvement prog ra m that a imed to improve hea lth ca re qua lit y, access a nd the development of new technolog ies. According to the stor y in Crain's, Dr. La ngell a lready has ideas for NEOMED's future, including building dyna mic future leaders. "From the student side, what we need to do that we're not doing well at a ny institution in hea lth ca re education is how do we teach them to be rea l leaders, to be cha nge agents? " Dr. La ngell says. "A nd that includes empowering them through education that 's not just focused on here's the great way for you to treat disease processes but understa nd the business of the world that you're going to be entering into." To some ex tent , N EOMED is doing t hat wel l today, Dr. La ngel l adds, noting t hat ma ny of t he universit y 's g raduates a re in major leadership roles. "So we've done somet hing rig ht , but I'm not sure a nybody here k nows exact ly what t hat streng t h is yet . It 's just been pa r t of our fabric," he says. "Now, we're going to work on developing cha nges to our curriculum to push rea lly intentiona l pathways of development a round this a nd to g row whatever that secret sauce is a nd add to it strateg ica lly a nd thoughtfully." In his most recent position, Dr. La ngell ser ved as vice dea n for the School of Medicine as well as founder a nd executive director of the Center for Medica l Innovation, both at the University of Uta h. He was recruited to the University of Uta h's Department of Surger y in 2006 as its director of acute care surger y and not long af ter ward a lso ser ved as chief of genera l surger y at the George E. Wa hlen VA Medica l Center. During that same period, Dr. Langell, a veteran of the U.S. A ir Force, ma inta ined his reser vist status while ser ving as CEO (Comma nder) of A i r Force Hea lt h Ca re Fa ci l it ies. O ver t he cou rse of 11 yea rs (2006 to 2018) he led four separate Air Force Reserve medica l facilities. " I am both humbled and excited to join the talented team of students, staff, faculty and alumni that makeup the NEOMED family. In collaboration with our community and academic partners, we will continue to build upon NEOMED's strength as a community-based academic health care institution, while innovating to build a vibrant and sustainable future." — DR. JOHN LANGELL M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C l E v E l A N D /A K R O N / C A N T O N ■ 2 019 0 7