Healthcare Heroes

Bennett is also dedicated to making safe and quality healthcare available every day. She says active discussions with practicing clinicians have “revealed frustrations with a nationwide system that tends to be hierarchical, ineffectively regulated and complex.” By listening to those clinicians and through her own experience, Bennett says she is working to remove barriers and simplify processes while improving safety and reporting.

In addition to working at MountainStar, Bennett is involved in the Utah Association for Health Care Quality, Utah Patient Safety Council (Utah Hospital Association) and the National Association of Health Care Quality.

Ross Van Vranken, LCSW
Executive Director, University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute

Ross Van Vranken’s advice for others in his field is: “I would suggest they embrace change, be flexible and focus on a culture that sustains growth.” It is by following his own advice that Van Vranken has found success.

Flexibility was key for Van Vranken as executive director of the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI) when the organization underwent a major expansion and renovation in 2010 and 2011. Despite the project, Van Vranken says UNI attained and kept a 95th percentile ranking when measured against 220 like facilities. “UNI staff are dedicated to a culture of providing compassionate care and service to patients and families and diligently worked to maintain this culture even while our environment was under construction,” he says.

Without embracing change and staying flexible, healthcare providers will have a difficult time in the future. “Current healthcare delivery is extremely dynamic and will continue to be more so with healthcare reform,” he says. “The next year we will face historic changes in healthcare. Providing all populations with access to timely, compassionate, affordable care, if successfully done, will be a significant challenge.”

A talented group of managers and staff make his job easier and keep communication between staff, psychiatrists, patients and families open and effective. Van Vranken says being surrounded by strong people keeps him focused on the mission of providing best possible care while participating in psychiatric research and education.

Van Vranken is a member of the American Hospital Association, the Utah Hospital Association and the National Association of Social Workers.

Marc Probst
Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Intermountain Healthcare

Marc Probst initially worked as an international information systems consultant until a friend recruited him into healthcare information systems—an industry he has since become passionate about. “It is the mission, tremendous professionals and caring aspects of healthcare that have kept me in the industry for nearly 30 years.”

Before working at Intermountain Healthcare, Probst was a partner with Ernst & Young and Deloitte Consulting. He worked in the insurance side of healthcare as well as the provider side, leading projects and serving as interim CIO for organizations across the country.

Having a passion for healthcare is a must for anyone seeking a career in the field, Probst says. He gives recognition to Intermountain Healthcare and the people he works with as key to his success. “I have a terrific team and I work with and for some of the most amazing healthcare professionals in the world,” Probst says.

Probst is known for keeping cool in stressful situations. “When things begin to spin out of control (which they invariably do in information systems), I list out everything happening and everything we need to do, prioritize the list and get to work,” he says. “This helps me to strip away the hype and rhetoric and focus on what’s most important—the mountain of work required remains big, but having a path to the solution always helps.”

Probst is a member of the Utah Digital Healthcare Commission, the Federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee and is a board member of the Utah Food Bank.