Langhorne’s St. Mary Medical Center, part of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, recently announced its new leadership duo.
On July 1, Dr. Michael Magro, DO, MBA, FACOI, stepped into the role of the hospital’s president, while Dr. Edward O’Dell, DO, FACOI became the chief medical officer.
Both were already serving in the same capacities at Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia (also a member of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic), and will continue to do so as they take on their responsibilities at St. Mary.
“It’s been going well,” Magro told The Times. “I’ve been transitioning with [former president] Dr. Larry Brilliant from the end of May until July 1. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time over the course of June with the St. Mary team.”
Magro has been involved in the healthcare field for over two decades. After graduating from medical school in 2000 and completing his residency in 2003, he worked as a trained hospitalist with a clinical background in internal medicine. He also boasts a strong background in medical education and hospital operations.
In 2013, Magro shifted into administration as the chief medical officer at Mercy Suburban Hospital. Two years later, he held this same title at Nazareth, where he helped launch its graduate medical education program. Four years ago, on July 1, he transitioned into the role of president, with O’Dell moving into the chief medical officer position at the same time.
“Dr. Magro and Dr. O’Dell have proven themselves to be extremely effective leaders and community partners within Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, wholly capable of enacting positive change in the healthcare field,” said Jim Woodward, president and CEO of THMA. “I am excited for our patients, community members and colleagues at St. Mary to enjoy the benefits of their forward-thinking vision and deep commitment to patient-centered care.”
Regarding the recent leadership change, Magro explained, “Over the past two years, dealing with COVID and challenges related to expenses and supplies, and looking to be able to remain competitive and invested in growing and expanding services, we did go ahead and make the decision as a regional leadership team to reorganize between Nazareth and St. Mary to put one senior leadership team structure in place over the two campuses.”
He added, “Part of this was to reduce administrative overheads so that we could put money at the bedside and also help foster collaboration and culture between St. Mary and Nazareth.”
So far during his tenure at Nazareth, Magro has enjoyed a number of accomplishments, most notably implementing a residency program, which currently has 73 participants. This is something he intends to emulate at St. Mary.
“Medical education and education in general, how do we work with the local high schools and local colleges and create a pipeline for the future?” he said.
Magro also hopes to expand St. Mary’s offerings, something he did at Nazareth. In recent years, he said the Philadelphia hospital opened a cardio-pulmonary rehab unit, invested in orthopedic robotic technology and created an oncology center. If Nazareth isn’t able to provide a service, Magro wants to ensure a patient can seamlessly receive that service at St. Mary, and vice versa.
“I am working with the medical staff on how to prioritize our service line investments over the course of the next year. One thing I know that we’re going to be working on this coming fiscal year is replacing one of the cardiac cath labs to bring state-of-the-art technology to St. Mary Medical Center for heart catheterization,” said Magro. “We’re taking a look at how to reinvest in the services that are most meaningful to the community. We’re making sure we’re supporting the women’s health service line from an OBGYN perspective, heart and vascular, oncology.”
Outside the walls of the hospital, Magro hopes to get St. Mary more involved as a partner within the community. He recently had the hospital rejoin the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce, for which he attended a meeting to interact with local small businesses. St. Mary will also be the sponsor of the forthcoming arts and crafts festival at Tyler State Park.
Another major goal of Magro’s is to bring back St. Mary’s dedicated volunteers, which at one point totaled over 1,000.
“COVID unfortunately prevented them from coming into our hospital because we were afraid they would get sick,” he said. “The volunteers really felt like part of the lifeblood of the hospital.”
Overall, his key mission is to keep the welfare of patients at the center of every decision.
“We will remain steadfast in our commitment to achieving the best patient care experience and challenging ourselves to do better for our patients and our community. That starts with a renewed investment as active partners in the communities we serve,” said Magro. “I want to make sure that St. Mary is the go-to place for the community in Bucks County and that they know St. Mary will be there for them.”
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
