‘The most important thing I do is provide perspective’
Ken Rothfield, M.D., chief quality and medical officer at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, knows what it’s like to be a critically ill patient, an experience that gave him powerful insights and deepened his passion for healthcare quality and safety.
Ken Rothfield, M.D.
After what seemed like an uncomplicated outpatient hernia operation during Thanksgiving week 2015, he was readmitted to a hospital in Baltimore with symptoms Rothfield realized were indicative of sepsis. He gave directions to his care team that likely saved his life. The next day, exploratory surgery revealed that a postoperative small bowel obstruction had resulted in catastrophe.
During almost two weeks in the hospital, Rothfield “learned to see life through the lens of a critically ill patient. I thought I was going to die there. I was overcome by fear and anxiety.”
This episode (it was almost three months before he returned to work) helped him to become more empathetic as a physician leader and, he added, “I learned how hard it is to be a nurse. What patients need most is someone to take time to be compassionate with them. But nurses have to balance that with an endless list of tasks.”
Rothfield came to Texas Health Arlington Memorial five years later, in 2020. Here, he has found the organization he calls “America’s best healthcare system.”
Hospital President Blake Kretz said, “We are blessed to have a chief quality and medical officer of his caliber here. Dr. Rothfield does an excellent job of working with our physicians and staff to promote quality care for our patients.”
If his father hadn’t insisted he become a doctor, Rothfield would have taken his life in a completely different direction. Below, he tells us about that and more:
What did you want to be as a kid and how did you choose your current career?
I often joke that I was born to rock and roll but forced to anesthetize. I was programmed from birth to be a doctor by my dad, who was a lawyer. But I played tuba and synthesizers through college and medical school and then reinvented myself as a Sinatra-style crooner. I now mainly play bass guitar and I’ve performed with several bands in the DFW area, including a country group that gigged at the Fort Worth Stockyards. Currently, we’ve put together an R& B band including Ed Archangel (Texas Health director of Talent Acquisition) as lead singer and Ken Jones, PsyD, LCSW-S (Texas Health administrator, Behavioral Health), on keyboards.
As for changing my career focus, I had spent years running anesthesiology departments, but by 2014 I was ready for a new challenge. I started training in the late ‘80s and witnessed a lot of tragic safety events in hospitals. That has driven me my whole career, and ultimately inspired my decision to focus on quality and safety.
What is a typical workday like?
I start every morning reviewing incident reports to see if anything requires urgent attention, followed by our stand-up safety huddle. I like everybody in that meeting and I mean it. We have an amazing group of people and a wonderful culture of collaboration and respect. The most important thing I do is help provide perspective so that we never lose sight of our primary goal to keep patients safe. I also make sure that we are always looking out for our front-line staff because there has never been a more challenging time to work in healthcare.
What is your favorite part of your job, and what is the biggest challenge?
I love the feeling of doing the right thing. The challenge — which I also enjoy — is supporting our physicians and staff in difficult patient and family situations.
What’s something people would be surprised to know about you?
As a vocalist, I am very competent with Sinatra standards, but I also do a pretty good Johnny Cash.
How do you do your life’s best work at Texas Health?
It’s easy to speak up for patient safety at Texas Health because I am supported at all levels to do the best for our patients and staff regardless of the situation. It helps that I work for a person of impeccable character, Blake Kretz — and I’ve never said that about a boss before. It really is an honor to be on the Texas Health Arlington Memorial team.
Article published by Texas Health Resources