Doctors Who Go The Extra Mile

Phillip A. Rozeman, MD
Creating "paths to excellence" in his community

In place of the phone booth Clark Kent used to change into Superman, Phillip A. Rozeman dives into his car. There, the invasive cardiologist from Shreveport, LA, carries several sets of clothing to accommodate his whirlwind daily schedule: scrubs for the cath lab, a white coat for visits to a rural clinic, and a business suit for meetings with local school superintendents and community leaders.

But he needs no pajamas. Rozeman's colleagues say he never sleeps.

"I would have hated to be his fifth-grade teacher!" says Peyton Cole, executive director of the Alliance for Education, a schools improvement program that Rozeman started in the twin towns of Shreveport and Bossier. "He has such an infinitely high degree of energy—I can't see him sitting still for an instant."

That view is seconded by Alan J. Beason, CEO/administrator of Cardiovascular Consultants, the nine-physician, 50-employee cardiology practice Rozeman founded, and where he's one of the top producers. "The doctors and staff members don't complain about all the work he generates; we look at it as job security," he jokes.

What makes Rozeman run that extra mile in Shreveport? "I was born in this town, and I've been here all my life," he explains. "This is a way to give something to a community that's given far more to me."

As a physician leader and board member in the local Willis-Knighton Health System, Rozeman spearheaded efforts to improve treatment of patients with myocardial infarction and CHF and—most recently—to enhance quality systemwide by trying to view service through the patient's eyes. The Golden Rule is the underlying philosophy, he states.

Rozeman's greatest source of pride is the collaboration he's helped develop between local business and education leaders. "I found that the business community didn't know how to help the schools, and the school system didn't know how to ask for help," Rozeman says. "Working with school superintendents, we've built a leadership institute for principals and teachers in which community volunteers are giving their time, effort, and expertise. The collaboration involves two school systems—and that's never happened here before."

The Alliance for Education created a "Path to Excellence" program to honor schools that show improvement in meeting Louisiana's newly instituted state standards of performance. "With those standards," Rozeman says, "there were some 'carrots' people got when they did the right thing, but a lot more 'sticks'—punishments—when they didn't perform well."

Thanks to Rozeman, there's now a very big carrot: The board and CEO of the Willis-Knighton Health System have committed $1 million to the program over 10 years. Local newspapers and TV stations now publicize the accomplishments of the award-winning schools.

These successes have convinced Rozeman that physicians have a unique opportunity to lead efforts to improve community life. "We receive instant credibility," he says, "just by being physicians."

Away from the public eye, Rozeman cherishes the time he spends with his wife and three school-age children. "I don't get home as early as I should," he says, "but once I'm home, I don't go anywhere else."

That's not entirely true. He also devotes considerable time to Shreveport's Broadmoor Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon.

"I teach in my church Sunday school," he notes. "Eighth-grade boys—that keeps me very humble!"

~Toni L. Goldfarb

The author is a freelance writer in Teaneck, NJ.

 

Toni Goldfarb. Doctors Who Go the Extra Mile: Creating "paths to excellence". Medical Economics 2000;17:137.