In this week’s episode, Joe Ruth joins us to discuss how roles in healthcare has evolved into today’s standing from experience at the loading dock at Saginaw General Hospital to being the Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Sparrow Health System.

During their conversation, Joe goes into depth about how the healthcare industry as a whole has been operating since the pandemic. Joe touches on the diverse job opportunities within healthcare; anything from food service to IT staff to accounting is needed to operate a health system, with patient care at the forefront. The pandemic has exhausted healthcare, with many health organizations continuing to struggle finding staff. For Sparrow, acquiring talent comes from redefining roles and jobs, vertical integration, continuous training for workers and students of major universities and community colleges, and adding specialized roles such as social workers in primary care clinics for mental and behavioral care. Since making the decision to join the University of Michigan health system, Joe has made it clear this will be beneficial for Sparrow as two like-minded organizations add to the ability to care for patients.

Joe is a graduate of Michigan State University and the DeVos Graduate School of Management, Northwood University, where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees, respectively.  He and his wife Pam have 2 children and live in East Lansing. 

Connect with Joe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-ruth-6685345/

https://www.sparrow.org/