Jeremy Brynes joined UTMB as associate vice president for Health System Business Development in July 2014. Prior to that, Brynes served as the assistant administrator and director of business development for Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, where he oversaw a number of health service lines and was involved in the strategic planning process. Under his leadership, patient satisfaction and physician satisfaction rates increased above the 90th percentile.
Now that he’s been at UTMB for nearly a year, we caught up with Brynes to see how he balances his career with family life -- he has three young children who keep him on his toes!
What does the Road Ahead look like for you?
To me UTMB’s road ahead couldn’t be more exciting. In my role I have the privilege to work with some very smart, strong leaders from across the organization. Together we are working to define the strategy that UTMB will employ as we navigate our ultra-competitive market in what is a dynamic time for health care in our country. It’s a great time to be at UTMB.
Tell us about the importance of your department as it relates to future growth at UTMB.
As more and more patients discover how great UTMB is and as we bring new facilities online, we need to have a strategy that will help drive and keep pace with that growth. My role is to help develop service line strategic plans that align the Health System and Academic Enterprise as they relate to clinical growth. Specifically, I work with the operational leaders from the Health System and physician and administrative leaders from the schools to build strategies for several service lines: Heart, Vascular and Thoracic; Digestive Health; Eye and Ear Care services; Musculoskeletal services; Clinical Neurosciences; and Oncology.
What aspect of your job do you enjoy the most?
I really enjoy working closely with our physicians and seeing tangible results of the work we do.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I have three little kids. An 8-year-old girl, a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy. So when I’m not at work I’m watching them grow up. And I’m searching for peace and quiet. I love to golf and fish but there isn’t much time for that.
What have you always wanted to do but have not done yet?
Since my kids are small, I haven’t had a chance to take a proper family road trip yet. I want to take them on the kinds of trips I took with my family when I was little. We would pile into a car, stay in tiny motels and eat foods from strange restaurants. We certainly were sick of each other at the end of a week together in a car, but the memories I have of those trips are some of the best memories I have. I want my kids to have the same wonderful, tortured memories I have of my road trips.
If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
This is a toss-up between a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They both share a couple of things in common: They taste good and are easy for guys to make.