Alumni Fellow Spotlight: Justin Schmiedel

Justin Schmiedel, Fellow Class of 2011

First, I think it would be good if you described your new role and something about how the CC culture/Institute model works remotely

My responsibility as Administrative Director of Cleveland Clinic Nevada is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Center for Brain Health, develop our new Urology practice that opened last April, and identify/implement any business development initiatives in Las Vegas and the state of Nevada. The Center for Brain Health and urology practice roll-up to the NI and GUKI respectively, and are very well integrated within the Institutes. They share a majority of the same processes and protocols, both on the clinical and research side. We’re starting to create more efficiencies through utilization of Ohio resources, such as transitioning of all of our appointment scheduling from in-house to the centralized appointment center. As we continue to grow and identify the need for more resources, we’re looking more towards centralization of certain functions to minimize costs.

What has been the most surprising aspect about health care in Vegas/Nevada vs. NEO?

The most surprising aspect is definitely the payor landscape. Our reimbursement rate from commercial payors is considerably lower than what we get in NE Ohio. One of the main reasons is because in NE Ohio, the Clinic is the 800 pound gorilla with a huge influence on how rates are negotiated. Here in Vegas, the market is extremely fragmented, leaving all of the power and influence with the payors. Las Vegas has a history and a stigma of poor healthcare, which overall, isn’t far from the truth. Given the reimbursement rates, it’s extremely difficult to retain high quality physicians in the community. The Cleveland Clinic services we provide out here are definitely a diamond in the ruff when compared to the rest of healthcare landscape, yet payors are not willing to negotiate higher rates for better quality. This will be a continuous challenge for us as we evaluate future expansion in Vegas.


Any particular project/skills from the Fellowship that you feel helped prepare you for your new role?

During the Fellowship, I had an opportunity to work on projects both in Weston and Abu Dhabi. I learned a lot through those experiences by seeing how remote locations integrate with the rest of the system. Additionally, as I’m sure any Fellow can relate to, the amount of contacts you make during the Fellowship can be extremely useful. That’s especially the case when you’re working in a remote location like Vegas with limited resources.

What has been the biggest highlight, culture shock moment thus far?

It’s been amazing to see how many high-profile individuals and celebrities are engaged with our Center. In the few months I’ve been here, I’ve met professional athletes, political leaders, musicians, celebrity chefs- all from their interest and involvement with the Center for Brain Health and their relationship with Larry Ruvo. Another highlight is the number and type of amazing events we have out here to raise funds. For instance, we’re having a benefit concert at our Center in a few weeks for celebrity chef Kerry Simon to raise funds for Parkinson’s research. The concert will feature rock stars like Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar, and Slash for about 400 people. Safe to say I would never experience anything like that in Cleveland.

What do you miss most about Cleveland? (We need to make ourselves feel better after we read your response to the previous question).

I’d like to say the weather, entertainment, and dining, but that’s pretty well covered out here. In all seriousness, it’s definitely the people. In the three years I was in Cleveland, I developed some amazing relationships, both personal and professional. Any time you move to a new city, it takes time to get integrated and build that network. Aside from that, as bad as they can be in Cleveland, not having professional sports teams in Vegas is kind of a bummer.


What is one piece of advice that you would provide to current fellows and/or recent fellow alumni?

If you go into a role as a first-time manager, the most important thing you can do is invest in your employees- don’t just focus on you. The true measure of your success will be how successful you can make the people around you. If you show employees that you truly care about them as people and are invested in their development, they will work just as hard to make sure you’re successful as well.