Back
to All
Posts
As we continue to enjoy our 50th anniversary celebration, team members from across the organization gathered together to ask our CEO, John Cassar, some impactful questions about his career as a healthcare leader. Get a behind the scenes look at their insightful conversation here.
Q: Looking back on 50 years of supporting patients, what is the proudest moment in your career?
A: As a respiratory care company facing the pandemic head on, the entire SuperCare Health team and I felt a personal responsibility to care for our communities, going into high alert in support of the healthcare systems throughout California. We set aside expenses and shipped respiratory devices in major cargo and commercial transports to help with the demand. My team and I went to the docks and small airports to unload planes and cargo containers with our own hands. We drove respiratory care supplies in our personal vehicles to the local hospitals. We did whatever we could to save just one more life.
As the pandemic intensified, SuperCare Health was among the first organizations to establish in-home respiratory therapy and remote patient monitoring programs. At a time when everything was locked down, these virtual options allowed our partnered healthcare professionals to support symptomatic patients remotely, freeing up beds and avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. Our respiratory therapists, technicians, care coaches, and customer service staff worked courageously 24/7 to support our community as we rolled out these programs, streamlining the discharge and follow up experience for patients and providers alike.
When the pandemic continued through 2021 and beyond, SuperCare Health worked to increase access to respiratory care. Hospitals, clinics, and healthcare professionals still contact us to help manage their influx of patients and provide ventilators and oxygen. Ultimately, I am most proud of how we instantly mobilized to save lives. We adapted to the extreme circumstances within our communities at a time when our patients needed support the most.
Q: How has constant change in the healthcare environment affected the way SuperCare Health serves patients?
A: As technology, standards of care, and treatments change, our teams pivot to update our goals, business model, leadership style, and organizational structure. We always strive to stay one step ahead of the next big change in our industry, especially when it comes to life saving technologies. It’s not just about putting something new on our shelves. It’s creating entirely new branches of the business, growing and training our teams, and ensuring everyone is able to collaborate and adapt seamlessly throughout the company’s transformation. Our leadership team embraces and looks forward to continuous change.
Q: How can we continue to foster innovation and creativity within our teams?
A: At SuperCare Health, we’re never satisfied with the norm and have developed an environment of continuous innovation among our team members. Within each of our divisions, we encourage everyone from the top down to identify opportunities and pilot their own planes. We take a step back, and sometimes we have to allow others to fail. We believe failure creates the best learning opportunities, so we never place blame. Instead, we continuously learn and adapt, coming back smarter and stronger.
From an operations perspective, we perform many technology sprints with our in-house IT and software development teams. We continually grow our software development division where we create customized applications that offer a positive patient experience. We also look outside our industry for unique models that can fit what we do. Sometimes it’s a fun challenge to make a round peg fit into a square hole.
Q: How have you built a strong and connected organizational culture among team members?
A: With every new initiative, we are sure to continue building on our foundation of lifelong learning and our Culture of CARE, which stands for Connection, Alignment, Respect, and Empathy. In action, those key elements of our culture include:
- Work as a team with respect, professionalism and kindness while lending support to our colleagues.
- Be consistent in words and action, so trust is established.
- Speak openly about concerns and bring solutions to the table.
- Recognize, encourage, and model positive and productive behaviors.
- View all employees as important members of the SuperCare Health team and value their contributions regardless of job, role or title.
- Treat everyone with integrity, compassion, and respect.
Over the last decade, while many healthcare organizations were laying off their clinical teams because of cutbacks to Medicare and reimbursements, SuperCare Health differentiated itself by holding strong to our values and our clinical programs. Our team members understood those values from the moment they walked through our doors, so we were able to reach our common goals together while keeping our teams united.
Q: What advice can you share with people who are just beginning their careers in healthcare or looking to make their next move?
A: No matter how much success you experience, always remain humble and hungry. Never forget where you came from. I will always push myself and my teams as though we’re still a struggling small business trying to survive. Regardless of how much our organization grows, we always make decisions from that standpoint of survival. We always think and choose like underdogs.
There is always room for improvement. Something can be exceptional, and it’s still not good enough. When you see yourself comfortable, don’t get complacent. Be in a mode of constant improvement, adaptation, and change. Success is really never achieved. It’s a continuous journey that we get to traverse throughout our lifetime.
Be willing to pivot and stay agile. We must be willing to adapt to changing circumstances while still staying true to our vision.
A: No matter how much success you experience, always remain humble and hungry. Never forget where you came from. I will always push myself and my teams as though we’re still a struggling small business trying to survive. Regardless of how much our organization grows, we always make decisions from that standpoint of survival. We always think and choose like underdogs.
There is always room for improvement. Something can be exceptional, and it’s still not good enough. When you see yourself comfortable, don’t get complacent. Be in a mode of constant improvement, adaptation, and change. Success is really never achieved. It’s a continuous journey that we get to traverse throughout our lifetime.
Be willing to pivot and stay agile. We must be willing to adapt to changing circumstances while still staying true to our vision.
Thank you for joining John Cassar, CEO & Owner, for this intimate fireside chat. We’re so glad you were able to celebrate our 50th anniversary with us! To learn more about SuperCare Health and to explore our comprehensive respiratory care programs, visit our patients page online. Read about our newest division, SuperCare Diabetes, by clicking here. To get in touch with a SuperCare Health customer service representative, call (800) 206-4880.
