Leadership Creates Leadership

Leadership Creates Leadership 

Hendricks Regional Health president and CEO Kevin Speer’s decision to make Adam Scott the foundation’s president has paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic 

By Stephanie Dolan

When Adam Scott started working as the community relations manager at Hendricks Regional Health more than six years ago, he never anticipated the vital role he would play for the local hospital and foundation in the midst of a global pandemic. 

In October, the Avon resident who has a master’s degree in sports management from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State, was named director of the Hendricks Regional Health Foundation when the position unexpectedly opened up.

“We serve as the fundraising arm for Hendricks Regional Health,” said Scott, a married father of two. “We’re all about our patients and our community. Anything that we can do to help our patients with safety, comfort and overall experience, that’s what we’re here to do.”

Scott said he’s thankful that HRH president and CEO Kevin Speer and the foundation board believed in him.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Adam for a number of years, and he had a role which allowed him to be out in the community and be my representative at activities and events and things that I had conflict for and couldn’t be front person for,” Speer said. “I’m a very relational guy, but Adam has great relational skills. When the opening came at the foundation very unexpectedly, he was the natural, logical choice to fill that responsibility.”

Speer acknowledged the leap from community relations to director of the foundation was significant, he believes that Scott was the best possible choice for the role.

“It was a significant opportunity for him, and he definitely was ready for it, and he’s done a great job in that role,” Speer said. “The foundation is a subset of the hospital. He had the skills and talents and relationships to step into that role in a seamless manner.”

A year ago, Scott never would have dreamed of sitting in this position.

“Today, it really is a dream job, and I feel blessed to work with Kevin and his leadership team,” Scott said. “I’m surrounded by very smart and talented people, and I’m very humbled by it.”

The foundation had a key role during these last few months supporting the hospital and its associates in the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“When the COVID virus was first identified, we asked the community to practice social distancing, wash their hands, wear masks and to delay non-urgent healthcare so we could take care of the sickest of the sick and not use unnecessary resources,” Speer said. “I asked the community to remember us in prayer and to remember us with donations of PPE and cash.”

Scott took those cash donations and turned it into meals for Hendricks Regional Health associates.

Scott’s leadership and coordination efforts allowed hospital staff to provide meals to employees and their families outside of the hospital walls.

“In some cases a loved one or spouse had lost their job,” Speer said. “We also provided two weeks of groceries and a Kroger gift card. During the pandemic, we’ve fed more than 8,000 people. Adam and his staff went from a fundraising department to a catering and delivery department.”

Donations to the foundation totaled approximately $80,000, and the foundation used a little more than half of that to pay for food for Hendricks Regional Health employees.

“It’s amazing how certain basic services were not available,” Speer said. “Employees couldn’t access food for themselves and their families. The monies provided by the foundation were invaluable in the foundation’s endeavors.”

Scott meanwhile humbly gives the credit to Speers.

“We did whatever we could under Kevin’s leadership to provide support to our frontline workers,” Scott said.

As the world adjusts to life in the midst of coronavirus, foundation board chair Michelle Reed trusts Scott to continue to think outside of the box so the foundation can reach new donors and spread the word about the work they are doing.

“Under his leadership, I believe the Hendricks Regional Health Foundation will become an even more valuable financial resource for the programs of Hendricks Regional Health, the patients it serves and the community as a whole,” Reed said.   

The thing Scott likes most about the foundation is that 100% of donations go toward the cause.

“We’ve had a lot of very heartfelt gifts and donations since I’ve started,” he said. “It’s been rewarding to help grateful patients to pay it forward. That’s one of the reasons this is my dream job.”

Each year the healthcare industry surmounts a bigger and bigger challenge based on reimbursement models, leaving a place for the foundation to step up and enhance patients’ experiences, Scott said.

That continuation of work and fundraising happens with Scott’s efforts behind the scenes, including taking over several fundraising activities that were in the works when he took over the leadership role.

“Not only did he manage to get up to speed quickly, all while still working in his previous role, but he surpassed all of our expectations,” Reed said. “Since then, he has continued to help the foundation reach new heights.”

Scott leads others through his organization, preparedness and looking for ways for HRH and the foundation to improve, Reed said. 

“During this national pandemic, it was awesome to see how quickly Adam and his staff shifted gears and were able to launch a very successful COVID-19 fundraising campaign, bringing much needed relief to those hospital staff working on the front lines,” Reed said. 

Donors, community members and businesses who gave allowed this success to happen, Scott said.

“They sent us a very powerful message that they stand with us,” he said. “I can assure them that our associates felt their love and support, and that really motivated us to provide outstanding care during this difficult time.”

Getting to know Adam Scott

Do you have any pets? We have two dogs, a Labrador named Sugar and a beagle named Bailey.

What is your favorite TV show? Anything sports I will tune into. With the pandemic we haven’t had as much of that. I think “The Office” may be my favorite all-time sitcom.

What’s your favorite movie? Either “Back to the Future” or “Forrest Gump.” I grew up with the back to the future series. “Star Wars” is a good one, too.

What are you currently reading? Now that I have a 3-year-old and an 11-month-old, I do not read as much as I would like, but I do listen to various podcasts. One is called WorkLife with Adam Grant. I like to listen and read anything that will help me develop personally and professionally. It’s more of what I gravitate toward, and then sports and athletics is where I go for entertainment, along with spending time with family.

Aside from the Hendricks Regional Health Foundation, what is your favorite Hendricks County charity? Habitat for Humanity. We’ve done six home builds with them since 2014. To see them help very deserving families establish a home for the first time is very rewarding.

What do you enjoy in your down time? Being a dad, and I run. My wife and I met in a runner’s club. We both run and participate in the Hendricks County Summer Fun Run Series.