Administrator's Corner: Kevin Burris
By: Bridget Garland
If he isn't in his office identifying and evaluating industry trends for Premier Surgical Associates in Knoxville, you may find Kevin Burris, CEO of Premier, out on Norris Lake if it's summer time. While his weeks are filled with taking care of day-to-day operations, blocking and tackling, and watching internal trends for the group, on the weekends, he takes time out to be with his family. "We like to go to the lake, particularly Norris," shared Burris. "You have to take time for yourself. Otherwise, you will be less productive."
In addition to taking the boat out, Burris and his family-wife Leann, daughter Lauren, and son Charlie-like to travel, especially to Hawaii. "Take time for your family. It's easy to get distracted and ignore the people in your life who are really important," he advised.
Burris' advice is based on myriad experience, having worked over two decades in the healthcare administration field. Originally from Campbellsville in Central Kentucky, Burris attended Western Kentucky University and graduated with a degree in accounting. From there, he went to Nashville in 1984, where he worked for a large accounting firm and was introduced to the healthcare industry through one of his hospital clients.
"I worked for Columbia HC but decided I wanted to do something a little less stressful; it was a high pressure environment," explained Burris.
About the same time, a group of physicians in Knoxville were considering merging their practices-and when they started a search, Burris' name was among the applicants. "I was chosen, and in 1995, moved to Knoxville. The group started business as Premier in January 1996," Burris recalled.
Since then, Burris has worked to keep the group on the cutting edge of the industry. As he identifies trends, he makes decisions on how Premier needs to react to them. "I really try to keep us out of the reactionary mode and keep us proactive," he said.
A good example of Burris' proactive leadership style would be Premier's adoption of electronic health records (EHR). Long before stimulus funding was made available, Premier became one of the first groups in Knoxville to adopt an EHR.
Burris also puts a lot of effort into the cultural development of the group, as four very different surgery practices merged into one. "It's one of my jobs, to demonstrate the value of the group, practicing as one rather than separately. It's relatively easy to see, bigger is better in a lot of things, and we have a bigger voice in the market," shared Burris.
The bulk of Premier's business is the surgery group practices, who work with Mercy North, Mercy St. Mary's, Fort Sanders Regional, Fort Sanders West, Parkwest, and Blount Memorial. Premier also boasts vein surgery clinics, a vascular access and port center, and a prosthetics business. "I am really proud of the way these guys have worked together to treat patients right, and as a result, they have been rewarded with a tremendous growth in the company," Burris shared. "They are always careful to add only those businesses which will improve patient care rather than something to just make money. I'm proud of the physicians in their decisions-quality first."
Burris cites the Access Center as a good example of Premier's quality first pledge. Before starting the Center, patients would get lost in the system after surgery. Most would wind up having multiple emergency room visits, but with the opening of the access center, patients come back regularly so providers can survey the access site and make sure it's functioning properly. "Early intervention to the dialysis patient is extremely important because there are a limited amount of places on the body for an access site. Once you run out, it's the end of life. We keep them healthy longer and offer them a better quality of life," enthused Burris.
Additionally, part of Premier's philosophy is to be actively involved in the community. "We encourage our physicians to, as they feel they have the opportunity or can, identify a community thing to be involved with, to do that. We also have a lot of guys who travel to central and South America on mission trips throughout the year" explained Burris.
Examples of such involvement include Dr. Randal Graham, who was the chairmen for the Buddy's Race Against Cancer; Lytle Brown, MD, who is on the board for Komen Knoxville; and Burris himself, who is on the board of the Kidney Foundation.
Legislative involvement is encouraged at Premier as well. Burris is on the executive committee of the Tennessee Group Practice Coalition, which tracks physician legislation on the state level. He also serves on the government relations committee at the Chamber of Commerce in Knoxville. "Premier has partnered with the Chamber for the first time this year, as we recognize that more and more people at the legislative level-whether it's federal or state-have a tremendous impact on our patients, and if we are going to have any influence on the process, we have got to get involved."
Such an attitude reflects the additional advice Burris offers to others in healthcare administration. "Don't concentrate solely on what is going on inside your door," he admonished. "You can miss the trends. Pay attention to what's going on around you."
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