President, Baylor Scott & White and Wellness Center
Improving the health of the community, including those who are uninsured or underinsured, is the goal of the Baylor Scott & White Health and Wellness Center. That mission is a motivational driver for Venita Owens, who served as chief operating officer of the center for eight years before becoming president in March. In a role that she says allows her to be selfless, Owens is leading a team that is making a positive, measurable difference in the communities in the southern sector of Dallas.
What is your leadership style?
I am very hands-on and inclusive. My favorite part of the day is walking around the center and talking to our staff and our members, the people we serve. I am very approachable and have an open-door policy, and I include our staff in decision making. I like transparency.
Can you point to a life experience that helped shape the way you think?
I grew up in a neighborhood in Illinois very similar to those that we serve. If there had been a center similar to this where I was reared, there would have been fewer amputations, fewer organ failures and fewer premature deaths. If this center had existed there, people would not have waited until they were so sick that they needed to be hospitalized. My experience and history drive me. I understand the importance of having these services in the neighborhood where people can easily walk or catch a bus to the facility. And it allows us to raise the importance of health in the lives of these individuals—we are able to help them make a healthy lifestyle a higher priority.
“We have a hands-on approach to everything that we do, and it works. Information is power, and that is what we give them.”
—Venita Owens
How big of a role does communication play in healthcare?
It is critical. I will give you an example: With the COVID-19 vaccine, we know there is a lot of incorrect information out there. Our role is to give accurate information and communicate it regularly—several times a week—to individuals in the community on the topic of the vaccine and the importance of receiving it. We also speak with our members about ensuring that their health is good and that they are taking their medications appropriately, exercising and cooking healthy meals. It requires constant communication. We have a hands-on approach to everything that we do, and it works. Information is power, and that is what we give them.
How do you motivate your team?
People who are successful at the Health & Wellness Center are those who see their jobs as a mission and a ministry. These are people to whom helping the community is second nature. Everyone on our frontline staff is cross-trained in both wellness and chronic disease education, and 80% of our staff is certified as community health workers. Certification requires a 120-hour course through the State of Texas, and it indicates that the staff is serious about what we do. We have
to be available when the need arises and, for our staff, our members are an extension of their own families.
How do you stay healthy?
Thank God we have a fitness center on-site! I follow the same principles we teach. I see my doctor regularly, I exercise and I eat right—that has been a challenge during the pandemic, but I am getting back on track! Maintaining your health is a marathon; it’s not something you can do overnight. It takes time and it necessitates a lifestyle change. Changing behavior is difficult, but not impossible. That is our goal, to change the behavior and the mindset of our members, and I try to put that
into practice as well.
