Franciscan St. Margaret Health president affects community as deacon, lawyer

While Tom Gryzbek may have diverged from his original plan to become a priest, he has found his own ways to serve as a hospital administrator, lawyer and deacon.

"I was in the seminary system at the Chicago Archdiocese," he says. "As people began leaving, the pendulum began to swing in the direction that you could date if you were so inclined."

Gryzbek realized he wanted to keep the option of marriage open, so took his life in a different direction and went on to earn a bachelor of science in psychology from the University of Illinois in 1974. He eventually married Marilyn and has two children, Joe and Mary.

It was right out of college that Gryzbek began his long career with the Franciscan Alliance. He joined the former St. Margaret Hospital as suggestion plan manager after graduation. "When I applied, I had no knowledge of health care and it intimidated me," he says. "But out of all of my interviews, the place that seemed most attractive to me was St.  Margaret."

Gryzbek actually had applied for an administrator position, not fully understanding the scope of the role. "They smiled at me when I came in," he says. "I ended up with an entry–level position starting at the bottom of the organization and what was remarkable was some years later they gave me that position ( I had originally applied for)."

Gryzbek worked his way through various leadership roles at the hospital, including progressively responsible positions in safety, security and risk management and a vice presidency and senior vice presidency in legal and support services. In 1993, he became executive vice president and chief operating officer of Saint Margaret Mercy and in February 2004, he was appointed to his current position as president of Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Dyer and Hammond.

"I am very honored to work alongside very good people and the Sisters who operate an organization that took someone with no talent and gave him every opportunity to develop beyond his expectations and make contributions right out of college," Gryzbek says. "It is a very nurturing organization."

With the assistance of Franciscan's continuing education program, he earned a master of science in business administration at Indiana University Northwest in Gary in 1978 and a juris doctor from DePaul College of Law in Chicago in 1983.

"With my humble beginnings, I didn't have the financial wherewithal to go beyond the bachelor level. I wanted a master's in business to promote myself within the organization that I fell in love with," he says. "It was through the Sisters' generosity that I was able to get where I am today.

"I decided to go to law school as there weren't a lot of specialized health care attorneys at that time. It was a niche not capitalized on back in the '70s and '80s. I was on the front wave of that work."

Gryzbek was in private practice for a while, but decided to concentrate on corporate law and working to ensure the hospital is in compliance.

"The health care industry is the most regulated in the U.S. There are constantly regulations being passed regarding reimbursement, quality and safety," he says. "I want to make sure the hospital is a good corporate citizen and make sure we are doing everything according to law."

Gene Diamond, CEO of the Northern Indiana Region of Franciscan Alliance, has seen first–hand how Gryzbek has grown in the 20 years since Diamond joined the network in 1991.

"As time has gone on, he has become a very remarkable leader. Much of this proceeds from his deeply held Catholic beliefs," Diamond says. "For example, he is responsible for creating the Volunteer Advocates for Seniors Program that protects vulnerable, ill and dying patients who have no relatives in their distress. It protects them and their legal options in terms of their health care treatment. Tom conceived the idea, educated folks about it and pursued attorneys and judges to support it."

The Volunteer Advocates' mission includes serving the health care, social service and legal protection needs of incapacitated seniors who are inpatients in the Lake County health care system, are without sufficient support from family members or significant others to make health care decisions or address their daily living needs, are in need of support services from a limited guardian and are in need of intervention through the Lake County Superior Courts.

Gryzbek saw the need for such a program as the population continues to age. Many seniors are living longer than their relatives and they are left without a voice when they can no longer make decisions for themselves. The Court Appointed Special Advocate Association program for children is a model for VAS.

"We needed to find a way to allow someone to step into the shoes of these individuals who was acknowledged by the state and courts. We want to treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve," he says. Franciscan St. Margaret Health's program currently has 125 volunteers and has prompted interest across the state and nation. It is being expanded in Lake, Porter, LaPorte and Marion counties and it also led to the creation of Indiana's Volunteer Advocates for Seniors law, which took effect in 2004.

"The program is premised on the training of good people who have good hearts and want to help someone. I've seen it touch the lives of the volunteers and change their lives," Gryzbek says. "My ultimate hope is it grows in importance like CASA as it's still in its infancy."

Gryzbek also has served the community as a Gary Diocese deacon at St. Andrew Parish in Merrillville, an avenue he followed in the 1990s after deciding not to remain at the seminary as a young adult.

"I had a calling to participate in some way beyond what I was doing. I wanted something deeper. As I wasn't to be a priest, maybe I was supposed to become a deacon," he said.

He has the opportunity to help with Bible study, Baptism prep classes, Masses, spiritual programs and retreats. As diaconate director for post ordination, he assists newly ordained deacons during their first few years of service.

As a deacon, he also meets with inmates as part of the prison ministry at the Westville Correctional Facility and he hopes to expand the program at the Lake County Jail.

"I find it very rewarding to visit prisoners and hold liturgical services with them. They are extremely appreciative of these contacts as I help them continue to right themselves to re–enter society," he says. "They come across wanting to turn their lives around and get closer to God. It's a process that touches you probably more than it touches them."

Gryzbek believes the Sisters, hospital staff and Diamond have all helped him follow his path of service as well as his wife and kids, who have exhibited patience and selflessness over the years.

"God calls us to step away from ourselves selflessly. Those of us who have the privilege of helping those in need are unattended beneficiaries of His graces and it moves us more than those we are helping," he says. "That I am able to work with very good and hard–working people ... you stand in the shadows of their successes and their glory splashes on you."

"He is quite a committed and devoted guy. His commitment to service is kind of a hallmark of his personality," Diamond says. "He is respected by his peers and the broader community. His efforts and accomplishments have a long–lasting impact here and will continue to do so."