As president and CEO of Lovell Communications, Rosemary Plorin is leading the company through aggressive growth while keeping the company firmly committed to delivering exceptional strategy and client service. She specializes in issues and crisis management for both the private and public sectors, having worked in the communications aspects of numerous mergers and acquisitions, labor negotiations, civil and criminal matters, and regulatory issues for companies large and small across a wide variety of industries. With her focus in health care work, Rosemary has worked with dozens of hospitals, health systems, nursing homes, post-acute and long-term care facilities.
Rosemary serves on the board of directors for the Nashville Health Care Council and Nashville Entrepreneurs’ Organization and on the Franklin Road Academy Board of Trust. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and has been recognized by the Nashville Business Journal as a Woman of Influence, a Healthcare Hero and one of Nashville’s Most Admired CEOs. She’s also been honored by the Nashville Medical News as a Woman to Watch and is regularly included in NashvillePost’s annual “In Charge” list.
What inspired you to go into health care? Tell us a little bit about your career journey.
I fell into it, really. When I joined the firm a million years ago, Paula Lovell (firm founder and my former business partner) was attracted to my experience in transportation, which was an industry the firm worked in at the time. That sector took a hit shortly after I started and I began working more in health care. Within a year or so I knew the vernacular and understood the regulatory environment of health care and never looked back. So the introduction to the industry was happenstance, but purpose and necessity of health care hold my interest every day.
What problem do you most want to solve in health care?
Communication! We forget how complex this industry is. I’m really driven to help people understand health care – including the business of health care.
How did the Fellows program influence your career? (Did you make any specific meaningful connections, create partnerships, find resources/talent, think about health care in a new way, etc.)
Within the class, it was fascinating to see how professionals from different parts of the industry approached challenges and saw the future. To watch how a provider, a payor, an analyst and a regulator each viewed a particular assignment or activity was really valuable and impacts my thinking even now. Over the years I’ve maintained meaningful business and personal relationships with some of my classmates, faculty and even speakers. It is not an understatement to say my Fellows experience has been highly impactful to the trajectory of my career.
What is the most challenging part of owning your own business?
Most entrepreneurs will tell you that being a business owner can be isolating. I’m fortunate to work with a truly exceptional leadership team, but at the end of the day, it’s the owner alone who makes the tough decisions. Those moments can feel pretty lonely.
You are not only a Fellow, but you are also a Council board member. Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary, how does the Council continue to play a meaningful role in shaping the health care industry?
The anniversary is great testament to how well the Council has stayed relevant to the industry. It starts with the board (just as it did 25 years ago), but the administrative team and groups like the Fellows and LHC all play all a role. Our industry has always been dynamic, but the pace of innovation and inevitability of change – especially as we move forward from the crisis years of COVID – requires the Council to stay future-focused and continually ask, “what’s next?”
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Under promise and over deliver. It’s how people want to be treated.
Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your resume.
I’m a New York Times crossword enthusiast (my college friends remember me from my USATODAY puzzle days). I love matcha lattes and saltwater fishing. And growing the perfect tomato.
What books would you recommend that have shaped your business thinking?
“Small Giants” by Bo Burlingham is a definite favorite, but I’m finally reading Multipliers by Liz Wiseman and finding it really valuable.