Q+A: MAUREEN SCHAFER:

Las Vegas health care executive: Don’t let anyone tell us we can’t do great things

Maureen Schafer, CEO of Nevada Health & Bioscience Asset Corporation (NHBC), poses at the construction site of the UNLV School of Medicine’s first permanent building, the Medical Education Building (MEB), 625 Shadow Lane, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021.

Maureen Schafer has experience in hospitality, real estate, media, politics and philanthropy, but there was something about health care that drew her in.

“It’s personal, sacred and there is always a story,” she said. “Regardless of who someone is — their economic status, age, title, etc. — generally everyone is two decisions or events away from being brought to their knees. And it’s most often around a health issue.

“If I can help deliver resources to empower our citizens with a health need, I have accomplished my highest and best use for being around.”

Schafer is president and CEO of Nevada Health & Bioscience Corporation, the organization bringing to life the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. Recently, the NHBC project building was renamed the Kirk Kerkorian Medical Education Building, in honor of the businessman and humanitarian whose impact was felt worldwide. “His first love was Las Vegas and the employees he supported multiple ways here,” Schafer said, making it a fitting tribute to his philanthropy.

What’s been your greatest success so far?

I donated a kidney in 2014 at the suggestion of a friend, Dr. Eric Klein, who is chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Urological Institute. My donation came through the “paired” program, whereby a kidney donor enters the program with someone needing a kidney. I entered the program as a solo donor; meaning I did not have any partner needing a kidney.

When a person comes into the program needing a kidney, their donor partner is available to donate to someone else and hopefully will match. This process immediately creates a pool of available kidneys for others to match within the program. My kidney was then able to “unlock” a chain of seven kidney donations through the paired program, as the person who my kidney matched to, a 51-year-old anonymous dad from Ohio, was able to match his donor’s kidney to another recipient, etc., then culminating to seven total donations.

I have never minded not meeting the recipient of my kidney; the Cleveland Clinic doctors were spectacular in the surgery and aftercare. The recovery was about two weeks and the enduring gratitude I have engendered to have played a role in extending another person’s life is more than any sum of money any job could have ever paid me. It is I who owe the thanks back to everyone involved in this excellent adventure.

How did the pandemic change your outlook on business?

As a health care executive, I think about supply chain issues for materials like personal protective equipment. Just-in-time manufacturing, location and other typical efficiency measures are already being revisited for the future. Similarly, capacity care challenged our local hospitals and provider offices in ways that we could have never imagined before the pandemic.

More broadly, remote work initially was a necessity, and then became a popular cost-cutting measure, and we will all see how long it prevails in the corporate environment. We all saw technology become extremely efficient for real reasons during the pandemic, but humans still crave in-person interactions. The pendulum will come back to a more stable balance over time. But it is worth noting the important gains made in technology communications and cost rewards derived from that.

Noting behavior between various sectors, it also appears that there may be a new respect for how we depend on schools to not only educate our children but also serve as a vital staple in our communities — as many parents learned they are not cut out for the trying task of homeschooling. Teaching is a rough job. Maybe there is a renewed awareness of the interdependence amongst various professionals who interact with us in society to raise our families and succeed in the business of family and life than we care to admit.

The medical school building is such a massive undertaking with so many moving parts and so many stakeholders. Where do you even begin with a project like that?

It begins and ends with our dedicated founding donors. I wouldn’t be here, and the building would not be here without their commitment and vision to building the project against all odds to date. The Lincy Estate and the Engelstad Foundation worked with founding UNLV medical school dean Barbara Atkinson and me, as the chief of staff, as early as 2014 to explore this very project. We were unable to realize the vision with the higher education system. These same donors, who had already given tens of millions to the medical school and UNLV, understood the medical program needed a permanent education building to receive its permanent Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation, among many other important activities, like being able to raise the cap on entering students per class.

They never wavered in their dedication to building a high-quality medical school, forming the development corporation in 2020, which is now building the current project. Today, that project is ahead of schedule, under budget, and utilizing a funding model of multiple public and private funding sources that, as Gov. Steve Sisolak says, “should be replicated in Southern Nevada for all future public infrastructure projects.”

What kind of impact do you expect the medical school to have on the community and the state?

A 2013 Tripp-Umbach report commissioned by the Lincy Institute to understand the economic impact of a new medical school in Las Vegas determined that a four-year allopathic medical school at UNLV would create 8,000 jobs, generate $1.2 billion in annual economic impact and generate $60 million in annual government revenue by 2030. Medical schools are a significant component of any university, and after four years, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV comprises nearly 30% of UNLV in terms of percentage of employees and budget to the university as a whole. It continues to grow as it adds to its academic, research and clinical missions to serve the community.

Is there some business decision you’d like to have back and do differently?

No. I try to learn from all my mistakes and not repeat them. I mentor a lot of young people and women, and one of the many nuggets of wisdom I extend to them is to not be afraid to make mistakes. And, when you do, learn from what happened so that you profit from that experience. When I worked at the Four Seasons back in college, they taught us to use the experience of an error with a guest to turn it into an opportunity to leave an even better impression for the future. We are human. Errors will happen. Learn from it, improve and be accountable, be kind to yourself and others, and go forward. Life is to be lived and loved, after all.

What is the best business advice you’ve received, and whom did it come from?

My father repeatedly gave me life advice: “Make sure you are trusted, make sure you are approachable, and make sure you do what you say.”

He always told me I would be successful, whether it was on the field, the classroom or in the office. He was my greatest fan. He cautioned, though, that it would come from the ability to garner trust and approachability from the people who worked with me that would engender my greatest successes in life. And when I made a commitment to people, to follow through with them. My dad had no idea what kind of grades I had and often fell behind on which sport I was playing growing up. He taught me that character wins the day, even if you have to lose a friend or a job over maintaining it sometimes.

If you could change one thing about Southern Nevada, what would it be?

I feel like in some corners we are in a phase of “Well, we shouldn’t invest in that or build that or become that until you show us actual proof that we can pursue activity in that area.” There is no question Nevada has resource and governance challenges, but the opportunities for progress significantly outweigh those challenges. We are not only good enough but we can become the center of excellence for whatever “it” is over the next decade, if we plan for it. We are the only ones holding us back. So, what would I change? Our mindset, our confidence and our expectations based on past dominant industries, existing governance and policies from 50 years ago, and a government that operates on an antiquated platform to serve a state from a different time and place.

Let’s stop arguing for our limitations — a strong Southern Nevada is a strong and sustainable One Nevada.

What are you reading right now? Or binge-watching?

I’m watching “Scandal”…. a second time. I just can’t stop. And I’m reading a great biography of Winston Churchill titled “Churchill” by Roy Jenkins, rotating with home décor books.

What do you do after work or on weekends?

This past year, I have taken the opportunity to relocate to different cities and work remotely to take advantage of the world we live in. I take an apartment and enjoy the area, whether it’s Washington, D.C., New York or another locale. Recently I hiked the south rim of the Grand Canyon with friends — 19 miles down and back up during a 7.5-hour span. Spectacular!

Whom do you admire and why?

I admire calmness and thoughtfulness in people. I have had to train that trait in myself. My older brother Matt is a teacher and the smart one in our family. He encourages me to think differently about things. “Mr. Schafer” always presents a new perspective about a person or an issue, and he is as far away from business as anyone could be.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Littering. If I am ever arrested, it will be for an altercation with someone over witnessing a littering incident. I apologize in advance.

What is something that people might not know about you?

I valiantly still hold all the food-eating records from my college soccer team’s road trips.

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