At just 30 years old, Dr. John Carlo was named the medical director for Dallas County—and tasked with protecting the health of 2.3 million residents. A year into his tenure, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Overnight, tens of thousands of evacuees poured into DFW, seeking refuge. Reunion Arena and the convention center were quickly converted into emergency shelters. Hospitals, doctors, public officials, and volunteers worked feverishly to provide care. “It was so critical for the system to work together and to have everybody focused on a unifying mission,” Carlo says.
Two decades later, as CEO of Prism Health North Texas, he doesn’t see that spirit of coordination in the Dallas healthcare system too often. “It’s incredibly fractured,” he says.
Carlo is determined to change that. Early in his career, he believed he was destined to make a difference as a surgeon. But after completing his residency at Baylor Medical Center, he struggled to envision staying within the operating room. Despite making an impact with a scalpel, he quickly learned that he wanted to effect change on a macro level. “The best operation I could ever do was to not have to operate on someone,” he says…