Strategic leadership: A study of strategic health leadership (SHELDR) practices among former US military Surgeons General

Author's Biography

Douglas E. Anderson is a former Colonel in the United States Air Force (USAF) Medical Service Corps with more than 30 years of healthcare experience. He has been a successful CEO, COO and corporate officer leading high performance teams and implementing strategic system-wide initiatives. He completed a Doctor of Health Administration at Central Michigan University. He served as Air Force Surgeon General’s Director of Strategic Health Communication and Organizational Improvement. He completed a one-year tour in Afghanistan as the senior adviser and team lead for the Afghanistan National Police Surgeon General to rebuild his health system and train corporate headquarters staffs. Currently, he consults in the federal and local health systems domains, serves as an Adjunct Professor and provides senior health leader development services. His current focus is on helping local communities integrate social services with health-care delivery systems. He is a Fellow at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and board member of the ACHE Health Administration Press. He is the Chair, Health Work Group supporting the West Virginia Eastern Panhandle Health and Human Services Collaborative. He co-authored Health Systems Thinking: A Primer, where he introduces systems thinking for health-care executives.

Talbot N. Vivian is a retired USAF Medical Service Corps Colonel and senior health-care executive serving in numerous leadership roles in and outside of the military at the medical facility and corporate headquarters levels. After retirement as USAF’s senior consultant on medical readiness and disaster preparedness and regional headquarters administrator for 32 hospitals and clinics, he completed his Doctorate Degree in Health Administration at Central Michigan University. Since then, he has served in leadership positions with the Newport News and Virginia Corrections system, with Veteran’s Health Administration as the VISN 6 Rural Health Coordinator and serve as a consultant to the Department of Defense (DoD) on counter-proliferation policy development and evaluation. He currently serves as Professor, Old Dominion University, teaching health-care leadership and management. He is also a board member of the Colonial Behavioral Health System and past York County Board Of Education.

Brian J. Masterson is a physician with over 30 years of clinical experience. Dr Masterson continues to practise internal medicine and psychiatry while serving as Senior Behavioral Health Medical Director for United Health Group/Optum. He leads development of value-based integrated care for Optum Behavioral Health Care Engagement. He is principal behavioural health consultant to OptumServe and federal programmes. Dr Masterson concluded 35 years of military service as the Chair of the Health Futures Group, Chief of Interagency Collaboration and the Medical Chair for Global Health at the National Defense University under the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. During that time, he led efforts to predict and anticipate global health crises that prepared the DoD for response to the Ebola outbreak in western Africa in 2014. Dr Masterson received his Bachelor of Science as a Distinguished Graduate (Summa Cum Laude) from the USAF Academy. He received his Doctorate of Medicine as an Aesculapius graduate from Harvard Medical School. He received his Master’s in Public Health from the University of Texas and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the National Defense University. He completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry from the University of Iowa and an Aerospace Medicine residency from the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. He is boarded in both Internal Medicine and Psychiatry.

James A. Johnson , Jr is a medical social scientist and health policy analyst who specialises in organisational and systems development. He is a Full Professor of Health Administration at Central Michigan University, where he teaches courses in comparative health systems, organisational behaviour and health systems thinking. Dr Johnson is also a Visiting Professor at St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies, and the former Chairman of the Department of Health Administration and Policy at the Medical University of South Carolina, where he was also an Associate Professor of Family Medicine. He has been an active researcher and health science writer with over 100 journal articles and 15 books published. One recent book that is read worldwide, is titled, Comparative Health Systems: Global Perspectives, where he and co-researchers analysed the health systems of 20 countries. The second edition was published in 2017. He also co-authored/edited with Leiyu Shi, Johns Hopkins University, of the third edition of Public Health Administration: Principles for Population-Based Management. Dr Johnson is the past editor of the ACHE Journal of Healthcare Management and currently a Contributing Editor for the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration and Global Health Editor for the Journal of Human Security and Resilience.

C. Bruce Green is a veteran with 34 years of service in the USAF who retired as a Lt General in 2012. He is now a Managing Director with Deloitte Consulting LLP, serving as Chief Medical Officer for Deloitte’s Federal Health practice. He advises Deloitte’s federal and commercial health clients and serves as a thought leader in health strategy, innovation, clinical quality, public health and preparedness. Dr Green was the 20th Air Force Surgeon General and the functional manager of the USAF Medical Service. Currently, he focuses on helping clients improve private sector and government care through strategic planning for sustainable models of care. Dr Green is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin, board certified and practised Family Medicine for 28 years. He earned a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health and maintains board certification in Aerospace Medicine.