Jeanette G. Clough
MHA

One of Suffolk’s most distinguished alumni is Jeanette Clough. As President and CEO of Mount Auburn Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, she oversees a $350-million annual budget and guides 2,800 staff and 850 physicians. Jeanette transformed Mount Auburn from a fiscally ailing institution into a healthy one while improving patient safety and quality of care – and, employee satisfaction. In 2009, Boston Business Journal named it a “best place to work” for the fourth consecutive year.

Managing risk and cost are paramount concerns these days. Jeanette believes hardheaded business sense, teamwork, and compassion must converge to promote patient safety and quality care. An article she authored in the May 2008 Forum, “Collaboration between Physicians and Nurses: Essential to Patient Safety,” beautifully illuminates her approach.

As a trustee of the American Hospital Association, Jeanette is now helping to shape historic reform of our nation’s healthcare system. As chair of the Massachusetts Hospital Association in 2004-2005, she contributed to the state’s healthcare reform initiatives. She is also the recipient of many awards, the subject of media profiles and a Harvard case study, and in demand as a public speaker.

Her views are valued in part because she’s observed healthcare at close range from many different vantage points. She began her career as a staff nurse and clinical nurse specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. She was Chief Operating Officer of WalWest Health Systems, Inc.; Vice President for Patient Care at WalthamWeston Hospital & Medical Center; and president and CEO of Deaconess Waltham Hospital, where she also engineered a turnaround.

Jeanette credits her success in part to Suffolk, where she earned a Dean’s Award for Highest Academic Distinction and an MHA in 1996. The opportunity to step back in mid-career, take a big-picture look at the industry, and explore some subjects in depth was invaluable, she thinks. She finds that “Suffolk’s blend of public administration, health administration, and business courses exactly reflects the conditions under which I now practice.” Because many Suffolk students are working professionals, their real-world experience enriches the classroom, she observes, and their motivation and hard-work ethic “create a dynamic, exciting environment.” 

Jeanette remains an active member of Suffolk’s Healthcare Programs community. In April 2009 she participated in a panel co-hosted by Suffolk, “Women Making a Difference in Healthcare.” We hope she’ll return often, to share her knowledge, insights, and steadfast commitment to “patients first.”

Posted July 2009

A fuller version of this profile is available upon request from
Healthcare Programs at hcadmin@suffolk.edu