When Rob Hood, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, learned he would be receiving the Five Pillar Leader Award, he did what all great leaders do: gave the credit to his team.
“I am very proud and humbled to be singled out for this award. I feel, however, that the individuals who nominated me for this distinction, the team at the Office of Outpatient Referral Assistance (OORA), is more deserving of recognition. Their passion for patient welfare, their loyalty to Vanderbilt and their tireless work ethic are truly remarkable. I feel that the honor which has been afforded me reflects those individuals and their heartfelt commitment to the highest standards of service,” Hood said.
The Five Pillar Leader Award recognizes exceptional leaders who consistently model a balanced approach to leadership across the five pillars of excellence and the Credo. These leaders sustain a focus on people, service, quality, innovation, growth and finance that supports Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s service and operational excellence. Hood received the award at the Nov. 7 Leadership Assembly.
“He is the ideal person anyone would want to take away influence from in professional aspects as well as personable.”
Hood, who is associate chief medical officer for VUMC, medical director of One Hundred Oaks, medical director of OORA, and a practicing cardiologist, was nominated, in part, for his collaborative nature and dedication to treating all staff he encounters in his many roles with equal respect.
“Dr. Hood is congenial, level-headed and genuine in all his interactions with others. He will always try to understand someone else’s perspective, even if the perspective is the opposite of his own,” one of his nominators wrote. “This genuine concern and care extends to the care he provides his patients, and in addition to all his leadership responsibilities here at Vanderbilt, he still practices cardiology full time.
“He possesses an invaluable ability and prowess in communicating with others and doing so in the most empathetic, genuine and appropriate manner. So much of what our team has succeeded in is owed to Dr. Hood’s immeasurable support and wisdom, and I can easily say myself as well as each of my team has grown in multiple positive ways in working with him over the handful of years. He is the ideal person anyone would want to take away influence from in professional aspects as well as personable.”
Hood graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1980, and then went to Emory University in Atlanta for his residency and fellowship. He returned to Nashville to join the Page-Campbell Cardiology Group, which eventually merged with Vanderbilt to form the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. Hood made the move to Vanderbilt in 2002.
In addition to his many administrative duties, Hood continues to see patients in clinic three-and-a-half days a week and in Kentucky once a month. He rounds with residents and medical students for two-week blocks and has participated in a mentoring program with medical students.
To place a nomination for an Elevate Credo Award, Five Pillar Leader Award or Team Award, visit the Elevate website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when they: make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cutoff for quarterly award selection, the nomination will be considered for the next quarter. VUMC Voice will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
