Staff 
Michael S. Woods, MD, FACS, MMM (Candidate)
CEO and Founding Partner
Direct Dial: 505.603.8410
Email: mwoods@actcivil.com.
Michael S. Woods, MD, is a recognized authority and frequent invited speaker on provider-patient communication and relationships, patient satisfaction, and novel strategies to reduce medical malpractice.
Robert E. Quinn, the M.E. Tracy Collegiate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan and author of Deep Change and Change the World, has noted that Dr. Woods' work “has the power to transform the medical system.” Kevin Cashman, the CEO of LeaderSource®, and author of Leadership from the Inside Out, notes Dr. Woods “provides the inspired vision and practical tools to create a more purposeful, healthy future for us all.” His ideas to solve the problems in medical malpractice have been described as “a real breakthrough strategy.”
Dr. Woods practices surgery in Santa Fe, NM, and is the Founder and President of Civility Mutual (www.actcivil.com), a Membership organization for providers and patients, focused on helping them communicate more effectively. Civility Mutual helps individuals and organizations achieve patient-centered excellence through civility.
Dr. Woods is the author of Healing Words: The power of apology in medicine, now in its Second Edition. Healing Words has also been translated into Spanish. His first book, The DEPO Principle: Applying personal leadership principles to healthcare, considered an authoritative assessment of the need for physician personal leadership, is being revised and updated. He co-authored and edited Cultural Sensitivity: A guidebook for physicians & healthcare professionals with Geri-Ann Galanti, PhD, a Professor and recognized expert in medical anthropology. The companion online e-learning program of Cultural Sensitivityis being used to educate medical personnel across the US, including Texas Children’s Hospital and the University Health Consortium. His third book In A Blink: Awareness, Assessment, and Adapting to Patient Communication Needs, was published in September 2007 by Joint Commission Resources. It leads providers to a greater understanding of communication barriers with their patients. The book discusses communication as the variable in health care that carries the greatest risk, and therefore holds the greatest potential to increase patient safety. It is intended to improve the provider's awareness of communication variables, enabling them to rapidly assess an individual patient's needs, and adapt one's communication style to meet those needs resulting in enhanced patient health care understanding.
Dr. Woods has authored numerous articles on leadership development, civility in health care, communication effectiveness, and risk management, and over 20 peer-reviewed medical papers. He served as a resource for NPR's This American Life's segment on apology in healthcare, and has been interviewed by many popular publications, including TIME and SELF magazines.
Dr. Woods is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Member of the American College of Physician Executives. He is a member of the Communications Advisory Panel of the Joint Commission’s International Patient Safety Center. He is the Mountain Region Representative (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming) for the Society of Surgeons of the Alimentary Tract. Dr. Woods will complete his Master of Medical Management at the University of Southern California- Marshall School of Business, in May 2008.
Cynthia Stoy, MA
Vice President, Marketing Communications and Strategy Partner
Email: cstoy@actcivil.com
Cynthia Stoy joins Civility Mutual after spending over a decade helping organizations improve their performance by implementing successful strategic planning, communications, facilitation, change management and organizational development programs.
Before opening her own consulting firm, Cynthia served as Manager of Communications for St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, NM. St. Vincent is the largest hospital system in northern New Mexico, serving more than a quarter million people across seven counties, and Santa Fe’s largest private employer. In this role, Cynthia developed and implemented successful internal communications strategies, fostered communications between hospital staff and the Administration and Board members, developed communications around Union negotiations, and led the communications team for the hospital’s customer satisfaction initiative.
Prior to her work at St. Vincent, Cynthia was an account supervisor for McKee Wallwork Henderson advertising in Albuquerque, NM, where she developed marketing and public relations strategies for a range of clients, including the New Mexico Economic Development Department, Independent Mobility Systems, VanDyke software and Presbyterian Healthcare Services. She also served as a communications consultant at Watson Wyatt Worldwide in Los Angeles, CA, where she performed communication assessments, strategy development and project management for clients such as Yamanouchi Pharma Technologies, PFF Bank & Trust, Rockwell and Stanford University.
In addition to her communications work, Cynthia has spearheaded facilitation and organizational development strategies as a senior consultant for Ernst & Young LLP’s Business Transformation Management unit, and as a change management analyst for Accenture. At E&Y, Cynthia developed change management plans surrounding technology implementations, mergers and corporate spin-offs for domestic and international audiences. Her clients included Agilent Technologies, Hewlett Packard, Catholic Healthcare West, Honda and Mitsubishi. At Accenture, Cynthia implemented training and development programs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Illinois, Kaiser Permanente and PacifiCare of California.
Cynthia holds a Master’s degree in Speech Communications from New York University, as well as a certificate in Training and Organizational Development. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in Communications Arts and Sciences. She is a member of New Mexico Public Relations Society, the New Mexico American Marketing Association, Strategic Communications Management, the International Association for Business Communication, the Society for Human Resources Management and the American Society for Training and Development.
|
I 
I 
