Photo: Mark Wemple
Kelly Cullen, Executive Vice President and COO of Tampa General Hospital, is spearheading a five-year expansion plan that includes the construction of a 13-story pavilion on the main hospital campus.
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Health Care
Running the Railroad
By the time she was 12, Kelly Cullen knew what she wanted to do: “I wanted to help people.” Since she was 8, she had been helping her beloved Aunt Claire, a nurse, take care of Cullen’s grandmother who was paralyzed by a stroke.
From the start, Cullen fell in love with nursing: “I credit it for not just where I’ve come professionally, but who I’ve become as a person.”
She worked in emergency rooms for her entire nursing career, typically pulling 12-hour night shifts. “You never know what you’re going to get coming through the door, and you’re truly helping people at their most vulnerable time. And it’s the front door to the hospital — a little over 40% of our patients come from the emergency department.”
After working for 25 years in the BayCare Health System — which Stephanie Conners now runs — Cullen is now the COO and executive vice president of the 1,040-bed Tampa General Hospital. She’s in charge of TGH’s overall operations, which she likens to “running the railroad.” In particular, she’s spearheading a five-year, $550-million expansion, the largest in the hospital’s history, which will add 144 beds and 32 operating rooms.
“I feel very blessed to have a clinical background. It has helped me tremendously,” she says. “I understand how all the dots and bits and pieces connect. Most importantly, it gives me the ability to lead with my heart. That doesn’t mean that I’m soft or that I let people get away with things. But it’s truly leading with that kindness and authenticity that I have learned as a nurse.”
Business Beat - Week of May 10th
