Fall 2019 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
To serve & to heal
Dr. Frank Papay is heralded for performing America's first face transplant, but his practice is driven by mentor Rush Elliott's foundation of servant leadership.
By Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT 鈥91 | October 18, 2019
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Frank Papay would arrive in early morning at Professor Rush Elliott鈥檚 house on Athens鈥 east side. It was 1974 and Papay was summering in the city to paint houses and earn money to pay for fall tuition. What he remembers most isn鈥檛 the paint color used on the house Elliott, AB 鈥24, EMERT 鈥73, shared with his wife, Frances. Instead, Papay remembers the connection he made with the revered scholar during long morning walks.鈥
And that鈥檚 when I really, really got to know him,鈥 says the now world-renowned surgeon. 鈥淚 developed a real deep relationship with him and his wife. And now, as I go through life, I think, 鈥楯eez, if I can only be half that impactful through people鈥檚 lives.鈥 That鈥檚 pretty amazing.鈥
Elliott鈥檚 gifts as teacher and mentor introduced Papay, during those formative years, to the foundation of servant leadership, a model in which a leader puts 鈥渢he growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong鈥 ahead of self, wrote Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970.
Today, the servant leadership model is baked into Papay鈥檚 practice as a surgeon and team leader at Cleveland Clinic. It鈥檚 central to how he relates to patients and their families and with his colleagues鈥攄octors who are rising in their careers as surgeons, future leaders, and, perhaps one day, mentors themselves.
Rush Elliott, AB '24, EMERT '73, served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1956-1966. Photo courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections
Dr. Frank Papay embraced servant leadership early in his career thanks to his relationship with his mentor, the late Professor Rush Elliott. Photo by Tim Harrison
Making a Commitment to His Patients
Papay, AB 鈥75, is a craniofacial surgeon and chair of Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute. His career arc includes expertise in cranial facial surgery, serving babies born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. His tasks at the clinic are to 鈥渁dvance the evolution of surgery through technical innovations, create new surgical techniques, and grow across medical specialties.鈥
Papay was heralded in 2008 for leading a surgical team that performed America鈥檚 first face transplant, and again in 2018 for leading a team of 11 doctors who performed Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 first-ever full-face transplant on Katie Stubblefield. At 21, Stubblefield became the youngest person in the United States to receive a complete face transplant. The case, documented through a story in National Geographic, gave Papay world-wide recognition. Yet, as a student of servant leadership, what鈥檚 central for him isn鈥檛 fame. It鈥檚 serving patients through building solid relationships with them and their families, in some cases for years after surgery.
鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 the expectation you place on yourself in order to really see that person from childhood through well into adulthood,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he relationship isn鈥檛 just one surgery, especially in cleft lip and palate. It鈥檚 performing multiple, multiple surgeries throughout that lifetime or at least the early-year lifetime of those individuals. So, I鈥檓 developing a relationship with the child, with the parents. I鈥檓 also making a commitment to them that I will follow through with this till they鈥檙e done, or I鈥檓 done, or both.鈥
Papay asks his staff to share their personal sense of each patient before they arrive for the first appointment鈥攍aunching the relations before the first meeting. Why all the pre-work? Because strong internal communication is key to making sure patients have a positive first impression, he says.
鈥淭hey sort of tee it up. 鈥 You can end up getting it from the front desk, then you get opinions from the people in that room, then the nurses ... and, then, me last,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to make sure everybody鈥檚 on the same page 鈥 everything is perception.鈥
Communication is Key
A patient鈥檚 first impression of the doctor鈥攁nd vice versa鈥攊mpacts not only the strength of their relationship but health outcomes as well, says Parul Jain, associate professor of journalism at OHIO鈥檚 E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and an expert in doctor-patient communication.
鈥淩esearch about first impressions can involve many things, including how a doctor dresses (white coats influence credibility), their bedside manners, and communication skills,鈥 Jain says. 鈥淔irst impressions can be significant in setting the tone for the long-term care relationship.鈥
Once a solid foundation in communication and that first impression is established, the task of building trust commences. For Papay, trust plus communication equals a solid relationship, he says. The research backs this up, says Jain.
鈥淸The] research is unequivocal in suggesting that [a] good patient-provider relationship leads to enhanced trust, satisfaction, compliance, adherence, and overall better health outcomes for the patient,鈥 she says.
When the dynamic between Papay and his patients shifts鈥攚hen they go from sitting across from him in an examination room to lying supine on a gurney headed toward a surgical theater鈥攈aving a strong relationship is crucial, he says.
鈥淭rustworthiness, to me, is a sense of predictability in somebody鈥檚 actions and personality and statements,鈥 he says. Papay says he always talks to his patients prior to surgery, offering a supportive touch of the patient鈥檚 hand or forehead. 鈥淚 say, 鈥楲isten, I鈥檓 here, you鈥檙e fine. I鈥檒l take great care of you.鈥欌
For Katie Stubblefield, the complete face transplant recipient, and her family, especially her parents, Robb and Alesia, their relationship with Papay was paramount to her successful health outcomes. Papay remains in awe of all of them, especially of Robb and Alesia.
鈥淲hat impacted me was really the support that the mother and father gave and how family is so important. How that family came together despite this horrendous thing that happened to not just Katie, but to the family. That, I just ... I鈥檓 amazed of how that happened.鈥
Like Elliott, Papay champions the surgeons, leaders, and future mentors who will follow him.
鈥淢y job is to make them better than me,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think鈥mpactfulness is a key component.
鈥淚 want to help them, guide them about what I鈥檝e learned, right or wrong, through this.鈥
How employees relate to work culture has evolved, and leaders must keep up, Papay says. Boomers were expected to 鈥渨ork hard and achieve what you can achieve,鈥 he says. Today鈥檚 workers seek more of a work-life balance. 鈥淎nd so, we have to respect that.鈥
As more women enter medicine, leaders must embrace that evolution, too.
鈥淗ow do we, through a group of collective action surgeons, work together? If somebody has a baby, they can take time off, or somebody has young school-aged children, they come in a little bit later,鈥 he explains. 鈥淲e have to understand that and bring in the relative aspects of diversity.鈥
鈥淎s a servant leader, I have to understand even though I鈥檓 not a woman or of color, I have to, to the best of my abilities, ask from their perspective what鈥檚 the best way to achieve where they can go in their lifetime, better than where I鈥檓 at right now?鈥
Doctor Frank Papay consults with Melanie before performing a procedure at the Cleveland Clinic, July 24, 2019, in Avon, Ohio. Photo by Tim Harrison
Papay meets with Melanie* during Ohio Today鈥檚 interview. Melanie had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with carcinoma in situ in her breast, a cancer designation indicating abnormal cells have remained where they first formed. Because Melanie has a family history of breast cancer, she underwent a double mastectomy. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a big decision for me to do that,鈥 she says.
Melanie and Papay are addressing her keloids, ropy scar tissue that can develop after surgery. Four of Papay鈥檚 staff are in the room, ready to give Melanie care. A Fraxel machine, the device that reduces the keloids, is rolled in.
Before he begins his consult with Melanie, Papay invites her to tell Ohio Today her story. She does so, with confidence and detail. He鈥檚 grinning.
鈥淪o, as you can see, she鈥檚 well educated,鈥 he says proudly.
Then he turns his focus to her and does what he鈥檚 there to do. Serve.
*Only Melanie鈥檚 first name is used to protect her identity.
Feature photograph: Dr. Frank Papay with Melanie and Abby Harlan, CNP [LEFT], at the Cleveland Clinic鈥檚 Richard E. Jacobs Health Center in Avon, Ohio. Photo by Tim Harrison
