William Englert

I arrived at William (Bill) Englert's office at Allegheny Valley Hospital administration building at 7:30 a.m. He was already knee-deep in work and his desktop indicated he had plenty more to go through. It struck me right away that he not only enjoyed his work, but also was functioning at a high level of energy, ready to tackle today's needs at the Alle-Kiski Medical Center, part of which is the Allegheny Valley Hospital.

I learned quickly that as Director of Operations he was responsible for a wide area of the Medical Center's services. He is one of two directors in operations that report directly to the CEO. Among some of the major areas he oversees are the Pharmacy, Lab, Blood Bank, Anti-Coagula Clinic, Food and Nutrition Services, Citizens Ambulatory Care Center, Medical Library, Physician Recruitment, Physician Office Practices, and Revenue Cycle Process.

For the last six months he has also been responsible for meeting with area leaders to discuss Alle-Kiski Medical Center's total impact on our communities. He passionately drives home the economic side of the health system with a yearly $38,000,000 payroll, 1,400 Alle-Kiski Medical Center employees (80% live within 15 miles) and another 800 West Penn Allegheny Health System employees that live in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He points out this is economically increased by patients (who usually come with family members) visiting one of the system's services and will spend a better part of their day, eat in local restaurants, and purchase goods locally.

There's a good reason for Bill Englert's passion about local health care. He was born and raised in New Kensington and still makes his home there today. He is proud of his community and is a solid "hometown boy." While in Valley High School he got his first job at the age of 16 working for Town & Country Pharmacy. His interest in being a pharmacist led him to the University of Pittsburgh where he was "spinning pizza on the side" and interned at Children's Hospital in pharmacy. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1981 his first job was at Allegheny Valley Hospital. He never left.

Bill's interest and high energy liked the operations side of health work including finding solutions and starting new processes. That led to enrolling at Carnegie Mellon University in 1990 to earn a Masters in Public Management. Half way through these studies he was appointed Director of Pharmacy. Nine years later Allegheny Valley Hospital's former CEO Joe Calig promoted Bill to Director of Operations in 2000. One thing Bill pointed out is that the department heads and medical staff are all long-term members of the hospital and are like family. He takes no credit and says it has been the joint efforts, contributions, and support of the staff and members that have made Alle-Kiski Medical Center what it is today.

Bill Englert is a true community person. Married with two daughters, Gianna, 16, and Nicole, 12, they are members of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. He is a Eucharistic Minister there and is involved with their High School where Gianna attends. He also participates with Mary Queen of Apostles School where his other daughter Nicole attends.

What does he do in his spare time? He's an avid historian and loves genealogy, but without a doubt he loves fishing the Allegheny River in the Braeburn area the most. It's best summed up by a quote Bill Englert uses: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." (George Moore, 1852-1933).

Visit Alle-Kiski Medical Center on the web at www.asri.edu/akmc/