Sam DeFord, 30, Manager of Cardiac Cath Lab and Cardiac Diagnostics, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Covenant Health
Sam DeFord is dedicated to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier community as manager of the Cardiac Cath Lab and Cardiac Diagnostics at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, part of Covenant Health.
In his management position, DeFord oversees 12 team members in Cardiac Diagnostics who serve about 8,000 patients per year, as well as 38 team members in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab who perform around 1,200 heart interventions per year.
I think that serving in health care management is my biggest achievement. My wife and I have had to move for her training, so I've had to be intentional - and a bit lucky - to pursue moving into the cardiac field, then advancing within that field. While we were in Memphis for three years, I worked in the intensive care unit, then took a second job in the cardiac catheterization lab to seize an opportunity to reach my goal. I'm also proud to have assumed my role at such a young age.
Becoming a manager at age 27 was both a difficult obstacle and a great time of development. I became a manager in interventional radiology with team members who were older and more experienced. I had to learn how to be strong, take criticism, earn respect and lead with confidence. I found the best way to do that is to be there and be mentally present every day, take no shortcuts, do the job and do it well. Obstacles excite me. Every day, I must learn something new, and every new issue is a new opportunity to learn and grow.
I strive to be in tune with staff needs and have made significant changes that I hope to grow in 2025. I want to continue to improve departmental operations and patient outcomes and appeal to younger providers through steps such as hiring more local nurses, offering new shift options and distributing holiday schedules earlier to allow more planning time for the team. I'm excited to focus on expanding our electrophysiology team with a new provider and constructing a new area to accommodate additional patients who need these crucial services.
This changes, but I'd say that becoming a chief nursing officer is a big professional dream. Regardless of the title, I want to be somewhere where I'm helping people - using my gifts to improve internal culture and patient outcomes. After recently seeing the needs for medical professionals in Guatemala firsthand, another dream is to move to somewhere similar and serve there after I retire.
I think a big lesson as a manager is aligning expectations for new processes and procedures to fit the timeline of reasonable acceptance based on the size of the team that will implement them. I've made the mistake of sharing a new change and thinking it would start immediately. But I've learned you have to give people time to adapt to the changes. So now, I can break goals down and introduce incremental steps over time to achieve them. I think this has helped me grow as a manager.
I am motivated by my faith in Jesus and my passion to improve health care in Knoxville.
I don't follow the advice to be a "yes" person to advance in my career. I am so lucky to work in a place where I can respectfully bring questions, concerns and new ideas to my leaders and know that they will be considered. I'm not opposed to shaking things up and introducing innovative ideas if I think it will help our team, our organization and most importantly, patients. If it takes some uncomfortable conversations, that's OK - I'm up for it.
I want to be surrounded by people who are easy to work with, knowing that they're 100% invested to be there for the patient and be there for the team. I want colleagues who thrive in an environment where they're properly trained, then empowered to do their jobs. I want to provide a welcome, healthy, positive work environment for the team so that they can prioritize the needs of patients.
I want to be an integral part of making my community a heart-healthier place. The South is rife with cardiovascular disease, and so many people are sick due to diet and lifestyle. I want to help patients get the care and interventions they need, then make sure that they're properly educated to implement changes to help ensure that I don't have to treat them again. I think that creating a road map with patients that includes a proper diet, ways to exercise and the importance of taking medicine they need can help change lives and enhance health in our region.
I love history, and I love to travel, and I combine those two passions whenever possible. I've studied the history of Rome, then got to visit and explore places like the Roman Forum. I was recently on a mission trip in Guatemala, where I took some time to learn about the influence of Spanish colonization in the country. My next trip will be to France, where part of the trip will be dedicated to visiting Normandy and standing in the place of the D-Day invasion that was a crucial turning point in World War II.