INSIDE INOVA
By Chris Wadsworth
As the president of Inova Loudoun Hospital, Susan Carroll has found herself in plenty of high-pressure situations. But one of the most memorable moments happened a few years back at Easter time.
That’s when the hospital’s team had arranged for an Easter bunny to entertain the children in the pediatric unit. Only problem – the bunny suit they rented was a size too small.
“Nobody above the height of 5 feet or so could fit into that suit,” Carroll recalled. “At my best, I’m 5-foot-2… and everyone turned and looked at me and I realized I was the only one who was going to be able to fit. So I did it. I went out – no one on the floor knew it was me – and I hopped around, and when it was done and I took the head off, everyone laughed when they saw it was me.”
No job is too big or too small when you’re running a hospital it seems. Located in Lansdowne, just north of Route 7, Inova Loudoun has some 1,900 employees – all looking to Carroll to lead them as the facility and the community around it continue to grow.
Carroll holds a bachelor’s degree from Radford University and, not one, but two master’s degrees from Ohio University.
“I wanted to be a lawyer and – part of one of my classes – we had to do an internship,” Carroll said. “I got put in a hospital completely by chance. I never realized you could be in the hospital business without being a clinician. That experience led me to see that there was a whole profession out there that was attainable and that I was passionate about.”
Carroll began her career at Inova Loudoun in 1996 as director of business affairs and steadily rose through the administrative ranks, moving around to many different positions at Inova’s facilities in the region. She assumed her current role in 2021.
“I have worked at every hospital and actually been president of every hospital. It’s my claim to fame,” she said with a laugh.
Away from work, Carroll lives in Ashburn. She and her husband, Matt – a stay-at-home dad – moved here 22 years ago. They currently share a home in the Belmont Glen neighborhood with their two sons, one in college at Elon University, the other a senior at Briar Woods High School.
Oh, and we can’t forget Smokey.
“The love of my life,” said Carroll. “He’s a gray Bernedoodle. He should be about 30 to 35 pounds. He’s 70.”
INTERVIEW
Wanting to know more about what makes our local hospital tick, Ashburn Magazine interviewed Carroll about her position and this place that she is passionate about.
Q: How would you describe a typical day as president of a hospital?
When I have a typical one, I’ll call you because there’s no such thing [laughs]. In 26 years, I’ve yet to have a typical day, so I’m not sure I could describe it. It is so varied. It’s being out in the community. It could be getting a call at 1 a.m. that the Internet is down and you can’t get to medical records. It could be working on strategy – how do you grow? How do you recruit new positions? How do you make sure that our team members are happy and satisfied?
Q: What are two or three things about Inova Loudoun that people might not know?
Can I share four things? One, we are a nonprofit hospital which means any excess revenues are used to improve our operations and surrounding community instead of distributing the surplus to shareholders in the form of dividends. Two, the Ladies Board of Inova Loudoun Hospital was instrumental in starting the hospital in 1912. And the Ladies Board continues to thrive. They recently fulfilled a $1.2 million pledge, marking the largest donation in their history.
Q: That’s two things. What are the other two?
Three, we are the largest private sector employer in the county, and four, some hospital departments have waiting lists for people wanting to work here.
Q: Inova Loudoun does a lot with pediatric care. There is a pediatric ER and a robust neonatal unit, and now a new pediatric unit is coming online. Tell us about that.
Our new pediatric unit will be opening next year. It will have the ability to go from 12 to 24 beds, depending upon how busy we are. It will remain a locked pediatric unit because safety is, of course, very important. Inova Loudoun and Inova Fairfax have the only inpatient pediatric units from Northern Virginia to Richmond so we serve as a transfer center for many pediatric patients across the region.
Q: How is treating kids different from treating adults?
One thing I always say is that kids are not small adults. If you treat a pediatric patient, you have to really understand how to treat pediatric patients and it is very different. It’s not just treating a smaller adult. It’s not like you just need a shorter bed. You need child life specialists. You need physicians and nurses who specialize in pediatrics. You need to understand that you’re not just treating the patient – you’re caring for their entire family, and sometimes that includes the stress and pressures around siblings, which isn’t necessarily always the same with adult patients. When you take on a pediatric program, you have to really holistically treat the whole family.
Q: There are many challenges in the healthcare industry, but what is the main challenge facing Inova Loudoun?
One of the unique challenges is keeping up with the growth of the county. When I started at Loudoun 26 years ago, we were an 80-bed hospital. Now we have 211 beds and are continuing to grow. So the challenge is an exciting one. What are we going to do next over the next 5, 10 and 15 years?
Q: And how are you and your team responding to the growth?
Making sure that we can always stay one or two steps ahead of the changing population is something that’s really important to us. This is probably our biggest challenge. We are very fortunate because 15 or 20 years ago, we purchased the adjacent 50 acres next to our hospital, even though we didn’t need it at the time. Now, we have more than enough space to grow and meet the community’s needs. It was a smart decision back then.
Q: What’s the most rewarding thing about your job?
One rewarding aspect is being able to address issues in the community. In 2008, we noticed that uninsured women and those on Medicaid lacked access to the same quality of prenatal care as other Loudoun County residents. Many of these women were showing up in our emergency rooms with no prenatal care whatsoever, putting themselves and their babies at risk. To tackle this, we partnered with the Loudoun County Health Department and established the Inova Cares Clinic for Women–Lansdowne. This clinic ensures that all women in the Loudoun community receive excellent prenatal care, improving birth outcomes and reducing NICU stays.
Q: Down the road, what does the future hold for Inova Loudoun?
Moving to a Level II trauma center. We are currently a Level III trauma center. Level II requires us to have more physicians, and we’ll expand our trauma team. As a Level II, we’ll be able to treat more severe traumatic injuries. Basically, Level II will greatly reduce our need to transfer patients.
Q: Outside of the hospital, you and your family live in Ashburn. How do you like to spend your free time?
I spend a lot of time with my family. Having two boys who are very active in sports, the last 10 years have been filled with travel tournaments and baseball games. Now that my kids are 20 and almost 17, I’ve noticed we can do different things together. Recently, the four of us went to Spain. We also attended a local concert, which was fun. We also have a lake house where we love to go to decompress. We built it so they could bring their friends and family. You never realize how many friends and family you have until you have a lake house – and we love hosting everyone.
LIGHTNING ROUND with Susan Carroll
Favorite book: “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Favorite movie: “The Princess Bride”
Favorite TV show: “Veep”
Favorite music/band: The Beatles
Favorite date night spot: Parallel Wine & Whiskey Bar
Favorite family dinner spot: Passion Fin
Favorite item on Inova Loudoun’s cafeteria menu: During the summer, it’s the fabulous Fried Green Tomato BLT.
Favorite vacation spot: Our lake house at Lake Anna
One secret no one knows about you: “I’m actually pretty good at drawing. My son is a good artist, so I recently started drawing with him and I realized – I can actually do it.”