Celebrating Female Leaders

Leslie Simmons, R.N., F.A.C.H.E.
Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President, LifeBridge Health

As we celebrate Women's History Month, the Bridge asked Leslie Simmons, our highest-ranking woman leader, questions related to a variety of topics including the importance of female leadership, what it means to be a woman leader and as coordinator of the LifeBridge Health's COVID response, her thoughts on how the system has handled the pandemic and what's ahead as positivity rates continue to decline.

Simmons oversees Carroll Hospital, Northwest Hospital and Levindale Geriatric Center and Hospital, as well as the system's hospice programs, pharmacy and laboratory/pathology, imaging and human resources. She leads LifeBridge Health's Food and Nutrition and Environmental Services divisions and the Quality, Risk Management and Infection Prevention departments.  

What does it mean to you as a woman to hold such a high-level leadership position with LifeBridge Health? 
I am proud to bring hard work and experience to the role of COO for LifeBridge Health.  I am grateful that I serve in an organization which recognizes talent and experience regardless of gender.  I love that I can bring strong relationship-building and consensus-driven decision making to some of the most difficult decisions we make as a healthcare organization.  

What message does it send to women, many of whom look up to you as a role model? 
I am equally delighted that I can demonstrate to other women leaders that hard work, experience and dedication qualifies you to serve in top roles in organizations and that you should never think that your gender prohibits you from those opportunities.


What is the significance of having so many female leaders across the system, and what do you feel women bring to the table as leaders? 
Having women as part of our leadership adds to the diversity in our decision making. My belief is women tend to be stronger relationship builders and generally seek to make collaborative decisions based on those relationships.

Any message to female team members about aspiring to become leaders?  
The same I would give to ANY aspiring leader...be authentic and transparent.  Never forget from whence you came. The experiences and opportunities you had earlier in your career helped to prepare you for the role you have today.

Why do we need to acknowledge Women's History Month? 
Because historically women haven't had a role in leadership at the top levels of companies.  I think it's important to draw attention to the SIGNIFICANT contributions that women have made and continue to make.  

What is the state of COVID across LifeBridge Health? 
We are coming off the worse surge since the pandemic started two years ago.  We are striving to find our "new normal."

How is LifeBridge Health transitioning care as COVID levels drop?  
We are relaxing visitor restrictions to some degree, still wearing masks in the hospital and clinical settings and returning to some INPERSON meetings with virtual options remaining.  

What safeguards will remain in place and why is this important?  
We are still screening visitors, wearing masks and using appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) while caring for COVID+ patients and those we suspect might have COVID.  This is important because the pandemic is not over and COVID is still with us.  We need to learn how to function with it indefinitely.
  
What important lessons did we learn as a system as a result of the pandemic?  
We have learned how innovative and resilient our workforce is.  We are tired but we demonstrated that we can work together to care for our patients and the community and get through this.  We learned that we are better together!