_________________________________________________________________________________________ Gulfside
Healthcare
Those skills became essential when she arrived at Gulfside. By then, she had spent more than 20 years in larger healthcare organizations and had a clear vision of the leader she wanted to become.“ I knew I had the sales, operations, and executive leadership skills to truly run a company and help it grow. My goal was to provide the best care with the best people, which naturally led to serving more people.”
Hospice remains Gulfside’ s largest service line, but the full continuum of care shows how patient needs change over time. Some people need end-of-life care. Others need help managing a chronic illness or are recovering after a hospital stay and need nursing or rehab at home. For Linda, that continuum means more than an operational model. It is about meeting people where they are.
People drive growth
Most people talk about growth in terms of numbers, locations, or capacity. Linda sees it differently. She believes patient outcomes and employee experience go hand in hand, and the organization’ s expansion reflects that.
Gulfside grew from its roots as a local hospice provider, but Linda credits that progress to culture, not size.“ If I had to sum it up, I would say engagement. You have to connect with everyone who works here. Nobody is more or less important,” she explains.
Linda’ s belief in engagement is not confined to leadership theory. It influences how people are recruited, trained, developed, and supported throughout their careers at Gulfside. New employees receive organizationwide orientation before moving into
americanhealthcareleader. com 103