Austin Ross, past MGMA Board President and 1983 recipient of the Harry J. Harwick Award, died Oct. 3, 2020, at the age of 91. Ross was very influential in MGMA’s growth in the 1970s and 1980s and was active in the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE).
Ross joined Virginia Mason Hospital in 1955 as its first administrative resident, and rose to become the organization’s executive administrator in 1977, serving in that role until his retirement in 1991, according to Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE, chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Health System.
In Ross’ time at Virginia Mason, he also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia Mason Medical Center. Ross also worked at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community, starting as a clinical faculty member in 1977, then becoming a professor in 1993 and professor emeritus in 2000. Upon his retirement from teaching, Virginia Mason and friends of the master of health administration (MHA) program established an endowed chair in health administration in Ross’ honor.
"He was a giant in our profession — he defined class," said Marshall M. Baker, MS, FACMPE, who was a beginning administrator in 1969 when he got to learn directly from Ross and other Virginia Mason leaders. Ross was "a gentleman and a gentle man," Baker added.
The Ross family said no formal memorial service will be held, per his wish, though a celebration of life maybe planned for next spring.
Beyond playing soccer and collecting butterflies at a young age, Ross noted he was fascinated with medicine and would keep scrapbooks on the vocation. After high school in Berkeley, Calif., Ross received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of California, Berkeley, while also working part time delivering appliances and electrical supplies for the local electric company.
After graduation, Ross expected to be drafted into the Korean conflict, so he took the step of enlisting and training at the Artillery Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, Okla. During this training, Ross discovered he had a heart murmur and that he was partially colorblind; Ross was transferred into the Medical Service Corps (MSC) in Fort Lewis, Wash., where he retrained as a field medic.
Rather than Korea, Ross would head to California — first to Camp Stoneman, and later to Fort Irwin, near Barstow. Ross noted that his military experience taught him more than his college days: “I learned about myself and how to deal with obstacles that I thought might have been impossible,” and that “there wasn’t anybody holding your hand, so you had to make decisions and go with it.”
John Dare — one of the early administrators at Virginia Mason — would invite Ross to become the first administrative resident at the hospital, which brought Ross back to Washington State.
With time, Ross would begin researching and writing on practice management topics, and speaking at clinic manager meetings. This increased networking led Ross to Medical Group Management Association, where he would attend committee meetings, section meetings and the annual meeting. He also represented MGMA at meetings of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).
Ross recalled his MGMA experience as, “in many ways, more fruitful and satisfying than the hospital executive side, in that the clinic managers were always thinking about survival,” and that the culture of personal contact and sharing information with colleagues was “very satisfying.”
This melding of hospital executive and clinic manager perspectives made Ross well-suited for the difficult task of merging the not-for-profit Virginia Mason Hospital and for-profit Mason Clinic in 1987, which required a “deep understanding of the need for doctors and administrators to work together out of mutual respect in the patients’ best interests,” as Modern Healthcare’s Ed Finkel wrote in 2010.
In 2010, Ross was selected to the Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame. Writing on that occasion, Kaplan heralded Ross for his work in saving Bailey-Boushay House, the country’s first facility designed and built to treat HIV/AIDS patients. “No one at the time knew exactly what that meant, but they trusted his judgment. … Today, Bailey-Boushay House is a national model for chronic care management treating people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses,” Kaplan wrote.
Beyond dozens of journal publications, Ross was heralded for his book Ambulatory Care Management. As former MGMA President and CEO William F. “Bill” Jessee, MD, FACMPE, FACPM, FACPE, noted in 2010, “so many people who run group practices now, it’s their bible,” and said Ross was “one of the pioneers of the integrated delivery system movement, back before we knew what those were.”
Ross credited Annette and his family for the support he received in his work at Virginia Mason and countless other contributions to healthcare organizations nationwide. The family would often camp at Kalaloch in Olympic National Park along the Pacific Coast, and the kids would go skiing in the area.
Annette often would travel with Austin to MGMA events, as would their children. When MGMA’s 1977 Annual Conference was held in Houston, Ross recalled exiting his hotel room and seeing two of his children floating paper airplanes from the 40th floor into the open atrium, down to the lobby floor. Annette even joined Austin for a meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho, when their daughter Carol was only 4 weeks old.
“The most important part of my life wasn’t the clinic,” Ross noted in 2011. “It was the family.”
Both Austin and Annette designated bequests to help sustain the endowment at the University of Washington, which he described as “an obligation of appreciation,” in 2017. Additionally, Ross dedicated a gift in his will to Virginia Mason, where he received treatment for prostate cancer and where Annette received care for heart problems in her later years. “I have always been emotionally tied to what I consider to be the finest health care anywhere,” Austin said. “The privilege I had to learn under magnificent leaders tied me permanently to Virginia Mason.”
Editor's note: MGMA wishes to thank Marshall M. Baker, MS, FACMPE, and Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE,, for assisting in assembling this remembrance.
Ross joined Virginia Mason Hospital in 1955 as its first administrative resident, and rose to become the organization’s executive administrator in 1977, serving in that role until his retirement in 1991, according to Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE, chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Health System.
In Ross’ time at Virginia Mason, he also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia Mason Medical Center. Ross also worked at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community, starting as a clinical faculty member in 1977, then becoming a professor in 1993 and professor emeritus in 2000. Upon his retirement from teaching, Virginia Mason and friends of the master of health administration (MHA) program established an endowed chair in health administration in Ross’ honor.
"He was a giant in our profession — he defined class," said Marshall M. Baker, MS, FACMPE, who was a beginning administrator in 1969 when he got to learn directly from Ross and other Virginia Mason leaders. Ross was "a gentleman and a gentle man," Baker added.
The Ross family said no formal memorial service will be held, per his wish, though a celebration of life maybe planned for next spring.
- Tributes and other remembrances can be made on Austin Ross' Caring Bridge site.
Early life, college and military
Ross was born Aug. 12, 1929, in Milwaukee, Wis. In a 2011 interview for an oral history project, Ross detailed hard times for his family just before the Great Depression: His mother died when Austin was only 4, and his father had financial difficulties as a bond salesman leading up to the stock market crash.Beyond playing soccer and collecting butterflies at a young age, Ross noted he was fascinated with medicine and would keep scrapbooks on the vocation. After high school in Berkeley, Calif., Ross received a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of California, Berkeley, while also working part time delivering appliances and electrical supplies for the local electric company.
After graduation, Ross expected to be drafted into the Korean conflict, so he took the step of enlisting and training at the Artillery Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, Okla. During this training, Ross discovered he had a heart murmur and that he was partially colorblind; Ross was transferred into the Medical Service Corps (MSC) in Fort Lewis, Wash., where he retrained as a field medic.
Rather than Korea, Ross would head to California — first to Camp Stoneman, and later to Fort Irwin, near Barstow. Ross noted that his military experience taught him more than his college days: “I learned about myself and how to deal with obstacles that I thought might have been impossible,” and that “there wasn’t anybody holding your hand, so you had to make decisions and go with it.”
Virginia Mason by way of Berkeley
After his MSC service, Ross was accepted into the hospital administration program at Berkeley — a very hands-on program with lots of dialogue with working administrators, and a far cry from the packed undergraduate lecture halls he experienced.John Dare — one of the early administrators at Virginia Mason — would invite Ross to become the first administrative resident at the hospital, which brought Ross back to Washington State.
With time, Ross would begin researching and writing on practice management topics, and speaking at clinic manager meetings. This increased networking led Ross to Medical Group Management Association, where he would attend committee meetings, section meetings and the annual meeting. He also represented MGMA at meetings of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).
Ross recalled his MGMA experience as, “in many ways, more fruitful and satisfying than the hospital executive side, in that the clinic managers were always thinking about survival,” and that the culture of personal contact and sharing information with colleagues was “very satisfying.”
This melding of hospital executive and clinic manager perspectives made Ross well-suited for the difficult task of merging the not-for-profit Virginia Mason Hospital and for-profit Mason Clinic in 1987, which required a “deep understanding of the need for doctors and administrators to work together out of mutual respect in the patients’ best interests,” as Modern Healthcare’s Ed Finkel wrote in 2010.
Accolades
Ross also served on numerous committees and held leadership roles for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) throughout the years, earning a Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service from ACHE in 1989. He also has the distinction of being the only person to serve as president of the board of directors for both ACHE and MGMA. “I must have been crazy,” he told Finkel.In 2010, Ross was selected to the Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame. Writing on that occasion, Kaplan heralded Ross for his work in saving Bailey-Boushay House, the country’s first facility designed and built to treat HIV/AIDS patients. “No one at the time knew exactly what that meant, but they trusted his judgment. … Today, Bailey-Boushay House is a national model for chronic care management treating people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses,” Kaplan wrote.
Beyond dozens of journal publications, Ross was heralded for his book Ambulatory Care Management. As former MGMA President and CEO William F. “Bill” Jessee, MD, FACMPE, FACPM, FACPE, noted in 2010, “so many people who run group practices now, it’s their bible,” and said Ross was “one of the pioneers of the integrated delivery system movement, back before we knew what those were.”
Family and legacy
Ross married his wife, Annette Wolff, on Dec. 28, 1950, just as he prepared to enlist in the military after his undergraduate years in Berkeley. They were married for more than 60 years until her death. Together, Austin and Annette had four children — Carol, Randall, Becky and Austin Thomas — and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.Ross credited Annette and his family for the support he received in his work at Virginia Mason and countless other contributions to healthcare organizations nationwide. The family would often camp at Kalaloch in Olympic National Park along the Pacific Coast, and the kids would go skiing in the area.
Annette often would travel with Austin to MGMA events, as would their children. When MGMA’s 1977 Annual Conference was held in Houston, Ross recalled exiting his hotel room and seeing two of his children floating paper airplanes from the 40th floor into the open atrium, down to the lobby floor. Annette even joined Austin for a meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho, when their daughter Carol was only 4 weeks old.
“The most important part of my life wasn’t the clinic,” Ross noted in 2011. “It was the family.”
Both Austin and Annette designated bequests to help sustain the endowment at the University of Washington, which he described as “an obligation of appreciation,” in 2017. Additionally, Ross dedicated a gift in his will to Virginia Mason, where he received treatment for prostate cancer and where Annette received care for heart problems in her later years. “I have always been emotionally tied to what I consider to be the finest health care anywhere,” Austin said. “The privilege I had to learn under magnificent leaders tied me permanently to Virginia Mason.”
Editor's note: MGMA wishes to thank Marshall M. Baker, MS, FACMPE, and Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACP, FACMPE, FACPE,, for assisting in assembling this remembrance.
