Lunch with Ernest

Chamber, patients and rats

By ERNEST HOOPER, Times Columnist
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 14, 2003

Mike Fencel, a Pennsylvania native, became a hospital CEO six years after earning a master's degree at Boston University in 1983. He has been the CEO at Brandon Regional for five and a half years. Now the 43-year-old Fencel has taken on the additional task of being chairman of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

Over grouper sandwiches at Jesse's Limited, we talked about the hospital, the chamber, golf and giant rats.

Pull up a chair and join us.

Ernest: Are you aware there is a giant, inflatable rat in front of your hospital?

We have a major construction project going on right now and one of the subcontractors, the sheet metal contractor, chose the company that they felt was the best one for cost, availability and reputation and it was a non-union shop. This is a sheet-metal workers local who is trying to raise the awareness that the company is using some temporary personnel instead of using people who may work in this area. Actually, it's helped our business because people think it's more like Disney World. I think they call it more of a mouse than a rat.

What things do you want to accomplish as chairman of the chamber?

We have a fairly broad agenda. We're looking at whether the current location we're in will meet our needs in the future. Philosophically, we're looking at the ability to have a political action committee. Is that something we want to do? We have a legislative agenda that's pretty broad. It includes the Main Street program, education, water, transportation.

Anything else?

Representation on councils and boards. If you look at the complement of different counties and boards, you would probably find there is not an equal representation from out this way. Hillsborough County has roughly a million people. Brandon itself has about 180,000. I don't believe 18 percent of these council and board seats are served by people who live in this area. But, in the same token, we have not been aggressive in expressing to our commissioners we want to be at the table, that we have qualified people interested in being in that role and we haven't identified who those people are. Our government affairs committee have begun to learn about that process and we're starting to identify people.

What about the chamber's relationship with the County Commission and Commissioner Ronda Storms?

We need to do a better job. That's one thing I personally plan on trying to do. Ronda has Sun City, Brandon and Plant City -- three very diverse communities. But I had a very good discussion with her and I'm very optimistic that we can re-establish a relationship there. I hope we can do it by choosing those issues that we do agree on and building a foundation. I'd like to see her involved with our chamber.

How difficult is it to have an open-door policy at the hospital?

How many situations are there when people want to go into a hospital? There's only two. Can you think of them? Pregnancy and cosmetic surgery. Other than that, people don't go there because they want to, they go because they have to and that's different than going to a hotel or going to an amusement park. We're a service industry, but the difference is that people aren't choosing us because they want to. There's a whole different orientation dealing with the mindset of the customer that way.

What's this I hear about you walking around the hospital in your pajamas?

It was probably more like my sweat pants, but my hair would be sticking up. It started when I went to Missouri (his first job as CEO). My family couldn't join me right away, so when you first get started, you just get absorbed by everything that's going on with the new opportunity. I decided I would like to spend nights in the hospital. I actually ended up living in my first hospital for a month. Weekdays and weekends. It was a way for me to really get a good handle on what the organization was like. I got a good response from the employees, so when I went to my job in West Palm Beach, I did the same thing. And when I came to Brandon, I did the same thing.

You know, two of my kids have been treated there and both were positive experiences.

Our employees really are a caring group. To hear that makes me feel good. But I have people who may have been a patient 15 years ago telling me about a not-so positive experience and some people have not been back to see if things have changed at all.

Have they changed?

I know it has. There's no doubt in my mind. When I have people who aren't satisfied, they'll write a letter saying other people say the same thing. There's not a middle of the road with hospitals. You're either really happy and you like them or you don't like them. I know we've moved the pendulum where there are a lot more people who talk positively about the hospital.

Golf is one of your hobbies. Isn't it a terribly frustrating game?

No, I love it.

Really? What's your handicap?

At one time I had a 1. But I don't play much any more. But I'll shoot anywhere from the mid 70s to the low 80s.

Wow. That's outstanding. Yeah, it's not frustrating ... for you.

I've been playing since I was 8. In fact, I have four brothers and every year around the first week of March, they all come from the Northeast and we have a big family golf tournament.

Is it pretty competitive?

Oh yeah. My wife found, at some yard sale, a silver champagne holder. So what she did was she had it mounted so we have this traveling trophy that goes to the winner every year. They get to display it in their home or wherever. We've done this for about eight years and I've won it twice. We have some family friends come along and we have about 12 to 16 guys play three days of intense competition.

Where does that competition come from?

There are parts of me that are very competitive. In sports, it's always very competitive. And even if we weren't the best, I've always wanted to do my best.

Have you always been a leader?

Growing up, I was captain of every team I played on. I don't think you can become an educated leader. I think you're either born with that or you're not. For me, being the first born (of six), I've always been a leader.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

Mike recently found himself playing mom and dad to his children, Nicole and Jordan, because his wife, Jami, was visiting Paris with friends. Mike, a wine collector, tries to know the name of all 1,500 hospital employees. I don't know if he has succeeded, but he did spot two employees in Jesse's and paid their lunch tab.

-- Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. Lunch With Ernest is edited for brevity and clarity. To suggest lunch partners call Ernest at (813) 226-3406 or e-mail hooper@sptimes.com .

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