In the debut episode of Meet the Team, a new series from From the Lobby, host Joanna Pasceri sits down with Dr. Ellen Grant, the firm’s newly appointed Senior Advisor for Health Care. A former hospital CEO, senior executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health, Deputy Mayor of Buffalo and senior executive at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Grant brings a rare 360-degree view of the healthcare system. In this conversation, she diagnoses the financial and staffing pressures squeezing hospitals and nonprofits, calls for stronger government funding and cross-city learning, and argues that healthcare should be treated as a human right — all while championing servant leadership as the throughline of her career.
Joanna Pasceri
At O’Donnell & Associates, it’s our people who set us apart. And today we’re excited to kick off a brand new series called Meet the Team. Hi, everyone. I’m Joanna Pasceri, director of communications at O’Donnell & Associates. And welcome back to From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell. In this episode, we get to know the people behind the firm and their stories, their experience, and what drives the work they do for our clients. We begin with one of our newest hires, a community leader who brings an extraordinary depth of experience in health care, government and public service. Dr. Ellen Grant is our senior advisor for healthcare. She served as a hospital CEO, a senior executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health, Deputy Mayor of the city of Buffalo, and most recently a senior executive at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Beyond the titles, Dr. Grant’s work is centered on people, their well-being and building strong, thriving communities. Ellen, we are so glad to have you with us. Welcome to the lobby.
Dr. Ellen Grant
Thank you so much. I’m so happy and humbled to be here with you.
Joanna Pasceri
You have worn so many hats throughout your career, from hospital leadership to government to health insurance tech. Take us back to the beginning. What drew you into health care and public service in the first place?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Okay, well, I’ll share that, but first I want to compliment you and I’ll embrace all of your compliments to me from you, the media icon such as yourself. So thank you for that nice introduction. But to go back to the beginning, it really was my parents instilling in all six kids of us about the brotherhood. Do unto others as you would want others to do to you. And you know, that began with us helping the neighbors. We had seniors, neighbors who needed their walk shoveled, who needed something from the grocery store. So I think that was the beginning. But also, you know, I started out from that neighborhood volunteering to wanting to be a candy striper at then E.J. Meyer Memorial Medical Center where we wore pink and white striped uniforms as nurses’ aides. But we were like volunteers and we did everything from getting the meals to the patients to emptying bedpans. Would you believe those were my early beginnings?
Joanna Pasceri
How do you think having experience on all sides of the system shaped the advice that you give leaders in the healthcare field today?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, first of all, it’s a story. I want to hear their story. The human experience. What are you going through and hopefully what can we do at O’Donnell & Associates to help you solve that problem that you’re having?
Joanna Pasceri
Right. Just kind of opening up the conversation.
Dr. Ellen Grant
Absolutely, absolutely.
Joanna Pasceri
From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges healthcare organizations are facing right now?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, I believe it’s really trying to do so much more with less, of course, not enough staff, not enough money to hire the staff and maintain the ever-changing technology that we have in our country. We also know how many health, as well as not-for-profits, lost funding. So that often that means cutting staff, reduction of services, not enough money to provide all of those services. I mean, we really have to learn to shift with the shifting landscape that we’re all going through. It’s not just, you know, one person. I think it’s a global issue right now.
Joanna Pasceri
What else do you think are part of the solutions?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, some of the solutions I believe are, you know, people have to learn how to job share is one of the big ones that I have seen, I’ve done myself, I’ve had my team do job sharing when you have less staff. Also maybe not being able to give 90% of the budget that you thought you had and shifting to see where you can get other partners in the community to help you provide those services. Something that, you know, I believe is ever present in our world today.
Joanna Pasceri
I think you would agree that government funding is so critical in these healthcare challenges. Do you think the government is open to understanding what a lot of these problems are?
Dr. Ellen Grant
I think the government is open, but I also think that they have to have big ears to listen to what the community is really needing. The people on the east side, the west side, the north side, all over our community. Also, what can we learn from our sister neighbors in government? Is Chicago doing something that we could try? Is LA doing something that we could potentially integrate into our own system here? And I think that’s happening right now with our snow emergency where people I understand in some of the southern parts of the country are calling us here as experts who know how to deal with snow, to get our best practices down to them so that they can take care of their community and get the salt on the streets and get communities rolling so they won’t be held hostage, so to speak, in their homes because the streets aren’t plowed.
Joanna Pasceri
Do you think anyone is doing it right outside of New York?
Dr. Ellen Grant
You know, that’s a good question, Joanna. I think it’s all bits and pieces of us trying to string things together to see what works best. And you know, I’m sure all of our government folks at the county, the city level, even in the elected or lawmakers, the legislature, the city council are all looking to see what they can learn to do, because it really is. I mean, every day is an opportunity to learn more in those jobs. I certainly learned that myself when I was in it for seven years with the mayor.
Joanna Pasceri
You know, this Medicaid situation is very real with the funding issues and a lot of these healthcare organizations not getting, like you said, the money they need to take care of people with quality healthcare and giving them the access. What do you think the answer is? Does it mean more funding or are there other issues?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, I think it certainly needs to start with more funding. I mean, for other countries. Like, you know, some of our Swedish neighbors, they seem to have figured out how to provide services. Even people in Canada. I mean, the Canadian government, you know, I know they have to wait for, you know, for example, to get a knee replacement. They may have to wait a long time to get it, but then they are able to get it and it’s paid for. From what I understand, I’m real concerned about the fact that people aren’t able to get the health care services that they need because there isn’t enough funding to do so. But I mean, when we talk about our seniors who are struggling to pay for health care, to pay for food, I mean, having to reduce the medication they’re supposed to take every day because they can’t afford to take the full dose of it, I think it’s frightening that we’re not able to do that. I just believe that healthcare should be a human right.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, Ellen, you are also an entrepreneur, having founded and led First Advantage Consulting, an enterprise focused on health and human services. So how does that entrepreneurial experience influence your work at O’Donnell?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, Joanna, I like to think I can empathize with those who are or who desire to be a small business owner. Receiving certification by the New York State Division of Minority and Women Business Development can be a very daunting process. It’s like you’re going through fire. But it is worth it once you receive that designation. So I believe I can empathize with those folks who come to us at O’Donnell & Associates that, you know, let us work with you to see how we can help smooth the process a little bit.
Joanna Pasceri
For you, a more personal question. Outside of work, what continues to motivate you? What keeps you passionate about this field after such a distinguished career?
Dr. Ellen Grant
Well, you’re very kind, but for me, it’s all about servant leadership. You know, we are all leaders out there, but we’re really here to serve. And if you can just provide a service. If you have the opportunity to lead and just do your best in helping someone else, I think that should in itself put a smile on your face and warm your heart that you helped somebody. And you can do that with small things and little things. You don’t have to be a philanthropist, you know, giving away millions of dollars. You can go to the store for a neighbor, you can shovel their walk. You can be a leader by example in all that you do.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, you’ve certainly helped a lot of people throughout your career and in your personal life as well, I’m sure. And we look forward to having you continue to help people through O’Donnell & Associates.
Dr. Ellen Grant
Thanks. I look forward to it.
Joanna Pasceri
This has been a great conversation. Ellen, thank you for sharing your story, your perspective and your depth of experience that you bring to O’Donnell on this first episode of Meet the Team.
Dr. Ellen Grant
Thank you.
Joanna Pasceri
Stay tuned for more one-on-one conversations with the people behind the work at O’Donnell & Associates. And if you’d like to learn more about our team and the expertise we offer, visit our website at odonnellsolutions.com. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll be back soon from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
