On Monday, March 29, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital CEO Roger E. Seaver spoke with KHTS about his 20 years as CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley’s major community hospital.

Seaver discussed his 20-year anniversary as CEO of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital with KHTS, in commemoration of the work he and his team have been able to accomplish since 2001.

Roger E. Seaver was officially hired as CEO of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital on April 1, 2001, beginning his tenure by immediately tackling challenges facing the hospital at the time.

“In our local area, the hospital had previously developed some negative press over time, mostly associated in the 80s with the implementation of managed care programs,” said Seaver. “Reputation-wise, it takes a long time to change perspective, one patient at a time.”

Seaver spoke on the hospital’s difficult decisions during a bankruptcy that occurred early on during his tenure and how the team was able to turn around the hospital’s fortunes.

“Our turnaround financially occurred in the middle of a bankruptcy,” Seaver said. “It wasn’t any magic, it was just canceling bad contracts and then restructuring.”

After overcoming early financial setbacks, Seaver discussed other projects he and his team were able to tackle, some of which include additions of the Roberta G. Veloz Cardiovascular Center, the relocation and expansion of the Wayne and Connie Spears ICU, the expanded Emergency Department, the building of the Henry Mayo Education Center, and the New Patient Tower in 2019.

“I’m proud of the program development in areas such as the Cardiovascular Center,” Seaver said. “The Center has been a shining example and we’re going to be expanding it in the future.”

The conversation shifted then to a discussion of the immense set of challenges faced by Henry Mayo Hospital during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

“The thing that you always hope for in a case like that happened with our hospital,” Seaver said. “They came to work every day, we integrated imported staff, we kept supply chains running from day one. I think we have a lot to be proud of, but people need to understand this was a warlike experience from the front lines.”

Seaver said he felt the major difficulties faced by the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic were overcome thanks to the efforts of the entire hospital staff and everyone involved in facing the coronavirus outbreak. 

“The front lines made us all proud,” Seaver said. “The doctors, the nurses, the therapists, the housekeeping. Everyone contributed to making the best of the situation.”

Throughout the interview, Seaver made it clear how much he believes in his team at Henry Mayo, and when asked about his major accomplishments since 2001, Seaver explained that he simply hopes his tenure has shown constant improvement throughout the years.

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