Healthcare

 Dr. Gawande Shares Vision at Suffolk

Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish with guest speaker Atul Gawande, MD MPH at Suffolk Construction headquarters in Boston / photo by Neal Hamberg

Boston – Dr. Atul Gawande — the renowned Brigham and Women’s surgeon and New Yorker writer who’s been making headlines since being tasked by Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and Jamie Dimon to transform healthcare — shared his approach as a leader and vision for healthcare with employees of building contractor Suffolk.

 Suffolk Chairman and CEO John Fish brought Dr. Gawande to Suffolk’s newly expanded headquarters and event space in Roxbury for an informal and interactive discussion with his employees as part of the construction giant’s “Suffolk Speaker Series.” Dr. Gawande — recently named CEO of the innovative new Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture — shared his vision for transforming the nation’s healthcare system with a focus on better communication among physicians and a more reasonable, personalized approach to providing care.

He also spoke of the importance of collaboration and creating a “culture of humility” that will result in a healthcare system that is less expensive for companies and more effective for patients.

Dr. Gawande would not reveal details of the new, Boston-based venture, but did let the Suffolk team in on his philosophy for innovation and how he shared Fish’s vision for disrupting an industry through reliance on big data and cutting-edge technologies, in addition to creating a team-first culture of respect in the workplace.