By Lisa Breslin
At the heart of Dr. Megan Baker’s trajectory to becoming the COO of Roper St. Francis Health system are good mentors, collaborative and talented teams, optimism and her lifelong passion to ensure that each patient has access to the best, most equitable health care possible.
The inequities and the optimism in health care became evident to her when she was a 16-year-old high school student. It was the ’80s, and the AIDS epidemic roared through the country. “I found myself as a 16-year-old hospice volunteer for HIV/AIDS patients,” Dr. Baker reflected. “It was uncharted territory. I think back to my parents who were so brave to let me do that.”
Dr. Baker continued working with AIDS patients while she attended college. “Despite the challenges, optimism prevailed,” she said. “I have always been in awe of what science and health care can do to take someone from what was once a death sentence to a chronic disease. It remains an honor to be able to make a difference in even one person’s life, whether that moment is end-of-life care or during a moment of optimism.”
As Dr. Baker shifted from leadership role to leadership role, a photo of a poster she got in college traveled with her and still rests above her computer screen today. The poster, which commemorates the National Aids Memorial Quilt Project, continually reminds her of her sense of purpose. “Whenever I get frustrated, I look at it,” said Dr. Baker. “It speaks to highest quality, cutting-edge health care.”
As a leader for a nonprofit health care system, Dr. Baker devotes considerable time to fundraising. Even in that aspect of her job, she weaves in a quilt metaphor to inspire others to give.
“Each donation, each gift, is just one square of the quilt with which we cover our patients,” Dr. Baker explained. “Just as each square represents the life of a patient who was so unique, so important and so lost during that epidemic, something big happens when, together, donors, clinicians, administrators are brave enough to sew all quilt squares together to make something really big happen.”
Perhaps the best example of a big thing happening as the result of brave collaboration unfolded about two years ago when Dr. Baker and RSFH Regional President Matthew Desmond bolstered RSFH’s cancer program by welcoming a partnership with Charleston Oncology. The partnership, which included Charleston Oncology’s impressive clinical trial portfolio, improved services and streamlined patient access.
“Strong leaders recognize how often they need to back away or step in so people can do their best, which is sometimes hard for Type A people like me,” acknowledged Dr. Baker. “I’m lucky to work with some of the smartest, kindest, mission-driven experts who are so committed to our community and to being here for the long haul.”
Ultimately, Dr. Baker hopes that her legacy mirrors the legacy of two female mentors who guided and inspired her far beyond her time in medical school and until their deaths: thoracic surgeon Dr. Carolyn Reed and Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Herrmann, a professor of surgery at multiple universities, including Washington University in St. Louis.
“Both mentors, friends, showed me that even when there are not many women in the medical field, I could achieve what I wanted to,” Dr. Baker explained. “That is what I want my legacy to be. I want to thrive in the world of medicine, build bridges for patients who need them and affirm that women can be both successful and happy.”
Dr. Megan Baker
COO, Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital
3500 N. Highway 17, Mount Pleasant
843-606-7000
rsfh.com/mount-pleasant-hospital
