Editors’ Note

Mark Gloade joined Northwell Health in 2000 and is currently involved in managing the day-to-day operations of its Office of Legal Affairs (“OLA”) and in OLA’s and Northwell’s long-term strategic planning as well as leading OLA’s labor and employment practice group. Before joining Northwell, he was an associate at Marshall & McEvoy, where he represented hospitals and financial companies in employment and labor matters. Earlier, he was an associate with Paul Hastings in its New York office in that firm’s Employment Law group. He began his legal career in Epstein Becker & Green’s New York office. Gloade holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and earned his JD from New York Law School.

How critical is it for the role of deputy general counsel to be engaged in business strategy?

Our people at Northwell are smart and creative and know their business, but they also need to be able to evaluate the feasibility of doing something and whether it may be impacted by any regulations or laws. It is critical for our legal team to be engaged in business planning and strategy since the healthcare industry is so heavily regulated. It is also vitally important for our lawyers at Northwell to be involved in formulating business strategy since it keeps everyone informed of the legal ramifications and may also lead to discussions that create other business opportunities.

Is the legal function at Northwell Health centralized and how does it operate in order to be most effective given Northwell’s size and scale?

We are primarily centralized but we are firm believers in getting out to all of the locations within the health system since there is no substitute for meeting with our people and being together in person. This was a challenge during the pandemic, but we place a strong emphasis on being at the different facilities so that the legal department is viewed as a resource that our people can use.

You worked at law firms prior to joining Northwell. What excited you about this opportunity and made you feel it was the right fit?

I worked for different size law firms coming out of law school and realized pretty quickly that there was a uniform business model and approach to how they worked. At the time that the Northwell opportunity came along, I had a one-year-old daughter and was barely able to see her or spend time with her as I was working at all hours. While I was not actively looking to make a change, when someone I knew mentioned that there was an opening at Northwell and that someone of my background would be a good fit, I decided to talk to them and learn more about the opportunity. When I came for the interview and spoke to the people in the legal department at that time, they were all truly nice people who described the work as being different every day and that it provided the opportunity to address a diverse set of issues and challenges. I was excited to get the chance to work for a single client on diverse issues with smart and nice people. The opportunity to come in-house and to be a part of an organization that provides healthcare in a community setting was appealing to me.

How do you describe Northwell Health’s culture and how critical is culture to the success of the organization?

I believe that culture is the single greatest factor driving Northwell’s success. We start by attracting people whose purpose is to take care of other people and that drives everything else we do. We are often taking care of people at the most vulnerable moments in their lives and our people are those who are driven to meet these challenges and care for others. When you have this purpose as your foundation, it is easier to build on it and create a culturally competent organization that takes care of its patients, its people and its communities.

Will you discuss Northwell Health’s commitment to diversity and how important is it for Northwell’s workforce to mirror the diversity of the communities it serves?

We are located in New York which is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the world. In order be successful, it is vital that we reflect the communities we serve and understand the cultures and backgrounds of the people in these communities. Diversity enhances our service delivery since we have people at Northwell who have been through the same experiences as the people we serve in our communities. This drives a level of empathy, understanding and competence which enhances the level of service we deliver.

Northwell Health has taken a leadership role in addressing societal issues, from gun violence prevention to human trafficking to social justice. Will you highlight Northwell’s commitment to these issues and its focus on being a force for good in society?

There are many reasons why I am proud to work at Northwell, but this is probably the one that makes me most proud. It would be very easy, for example, for Michael Dowling to say that we would not touch the issue of gun violence since this has become a political issue and people like to focus on the Second Amendment. However, to Michael’s credit, he does not let this deter him and he gets involved since he believes that this is a public health issue and, as a healthcare organization, we need to dig in on this issue since it is impacting the communities we serve. Northwell is a member of a community and we have a responsibility to put forth a position that has a positive impact on the members of our community.

Will you highlight the strength and resilience that Northwell Health’s workforce at all levels of the organization has displayed over the past year being on the front lines fighting the pandemic?

Our people were remarkable. As New Yorkers, we did not have the luxury of waiting to see how others handled the pandemic because we were the first area in the United States to be impacted and we had to react quickly and competently. Our people at Northwell, and New Yorkers in general, were remarkable. If you look today at what is happening in places like India and Brazil, we see what it could have been in New York. It is through the efforts of people at Northwell directly and New Yorkers generally that we are not in the situation now that those other places find themselves in.

Northwell Health has a long and deep commitment to New York. Are you optimistic about New York’s recovery and rebuilding?

I have no doubt about New York’s future. I am an immigrant and I think that New York is a beacon that draws and will continue to draw people from across the globe. There is nowhere else that compares – New York is a great city.