Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
I sometimes pinch myself not only because I get to do this for a living but because I get to do it in a Catholic setting. It really allows me to be my full self at all times, where living and working and practicing my faith are all intertwined.
In our Fast Forward series, we profile alumni doing unique, interesting and meaningful work in their fields, inviting each to connect the support they received at Creighton, however long past, to the person they are today. See previous Fast Forward features here.
Want to nominate an alumnus for the Fast Forward series? Contact micahmertes@creighton.edu.
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By Micah Mertes
What makes Catholic healthcare different?
“I can’t say that Catholic healthcare is ‘better’ than non-Catholic healthcare, but there is a unique throughline in Catholic healthcare that grounds us in the Gospels, that keeps us doing this work for the betterment of the world,” said Creighton alumnus Anthony Houston, EDD’21, the newly named president of CommonSpirit Health’s Arizona Market.
Houston cited 1 Corinthians 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
“Our name, CommonSpirit, comes from that,” Houston said. “If we’re true to that, if we make that the center of everything we do in Catholic healthcare, then we will serve others, we will be welcoming, we will be universal in companionship with the community for the common good. That, collectively, is what we hold ourselves accountable to do in Catholic healthcare.”
Houston will come to the Arizona market from CommonSpirit Health CHI Saint Joseph Health in Lexington, Kentucky, where he serves as market president. Houston has worked with the organization for nearly a decade, previously as president and market COO for CommonSpirit Health CHI Memorial in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and, before that, as president of CommonSpirit Health CHI St. Vincent in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
CommonSpirit Health is the largest Catholic hospital (and second-largest hospital nonprofit) organization in the U.S., operating more than 2,200 care sites in 24 states, with more than 35,000 providers and more than 45,000 nurses caring for patients.
CommonSpirit Health was formed in 2019 by the merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health, which serves Arizona, California and Nevada. Dignity Health is a partner in the Arizona Health Education Alliance with Creighton University, Valleywise Health and District Medical Group.
CommonSpirit Health's Arizona market alone comprises eight acute care hospitals, a medical group, graduate medical education programs, imaging centers, specialty hospitals, urgent cares, freestanding emergency departments, insurance providers, an accountable care organization and other clinical partnerships.
The man who will oversee all of this originally intended to become a dentist. Houston’s plans took a turn the summer before his junior year as a biology undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati. He was volunteering at a dental clinic — volunteer being the key word. The dentist couldn’t pay him, so Houston took a job at a hospital.
Houston worked as what was then called an “orderly” but would today be called a “tech.” His job was to assist and transport patients throughout ERs and hospitals. He loved it — so much so that it knocked him off his career path. When the hospital he worked for began merger discussions with another hospital, Houston joined a team exploring how the merger might work.
Soon after, Houston received a Master of Health Services Administration at Xavier University (where he met his girlfriend and future wife, who is a nurse). This launched more than 25 years of leadership experience, first as a program manager of cardiothoracic surgery and transplant services at the University of Chicago Medicine and later as an executive at SSM Health before joining CommonSpirit Health CHI.
CommonSpirit Health, true to its name, employs and cares for members of all faith traditions. But Houston said he derives deep meaning working for the organization as a practicing Catholic.
“I sometimes pinch myself not only because I get to do this for a living but because I get to do it in a Catholic setting,” Houston said. “It really allows me to be my full self at all times, where living and working and practicing my faith are all intertwined.”
Houston could also add “learning” to that list. In 2021, he received a Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership degree from Creighton. He felt called to the program because of his affinity for Ignatian spirituality and his desire to learn more about leadership through a Jesuit, Catholic lens.
One of the texts Houston’s EDD program covered was Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney, who also happens to be a CommonSpirit Health board trustee.
“In the book,” Houston said, “Chris talks about how, no matter our role or our title, we’re all leaders, all leading, all the time. That feels very Catholic and very Creighton to me, and it’s how I approach my leadership.
“Certainly there’s a title and responsibilities that come with a role like mine, but what I love most about it is I get to work with incredibly bright people doing amazing work. My job is to help cultivate and curate the context for those people to go out and do their best work.
“That’s one of the big principles I learned at Creighton: That it takes all of us. To be a successful leader, you need to be in community with others and humble enough to know that you don’t have all the answers and you can’t do this alone.”
Houston said he’s excited to join the Arizona market, which presents unique challenges and opportunities to meet the growing needs of a booming patient population. CommonSpirit Health’s scale, he said, offers many avenues to innovate and make far-reaching, sustainable improvements to healthcare in the Southwest. He said he can’t wait to work with his team and explore the possibilities.
On a more personal note, Houston is excited to find a more welcoming home for the Billy Bluejay items in his office. The bird usually gets a few odd looks in Kentucky. The color is right, but the mascot is wrong. (The University of Kentucky’s mascots are The Wildcat and Scratch.)
“It will be so nice to not only work with my alma mater in a new way but also to be amongst new friends who understand my craziness for Creighton basketball and Creighton in general.”
Houston’s new office, located in the Bank of America building in Phoenix’s Park Central area, is only a three-minute walk from the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus—Phoenix.
He said he’s never felt closer to Creighton.
