A Helping Hand in Trying Circumstances

Penny Hoglund is living a dream in her role as Physicians Regional Healthcare System’s Director of Provider and Clinical Outreach. 

She recently observed her first year in the position, which sees her applying her two decades as a healthcare executive to assisting seniors in Collier County’s long-term care facilities. Hoglund primarily works with assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and independent living facilities. 

“This is really a position that’s unique to Physicians Regional,” said Hoglund. “Our network CEO, Scott Lowe, recognized that there is a need in the community to support our senior living facilities and their residents. My goal here is to offer that next level of patient service and continuum of care. My role every day is to work with all our senior living facilities and create processes and pathways to get patients the care that they need, with the most ease.”

Sales and business development experience in various aspects of the healthcare sector dominates her professional background, including experience in women's health, cancer and genetics, and mental health care. Before joining Physicians Regional, the Collier County resident was working remotely for a Chicago-based, mental healthcare start-up where she implemented national sales team strategies.

About 20 years of her professional life were spent living in Illinois, where the severe winter weather eventually had the Mississippi native longing to return to the region of her birth. 

“I don't think you ever really get used to the kind of cold that Illinois offers,” said Hoglund. “I couldn't wait to get back to my southern roots, and we started looking up and down the coast of Florida. My ex-husband's family lives in Tampa, and when we came to Naples, it was like, drop the mic, I’m done. It's just so beautiful here.”

After earning bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and business from Delta State University in Mississippi, Hoglund spent three years living in the Caribbean off and on, working in commercial design and sales for a company that built timeshare projects and corporate housing. 

“That's where I learned really quickly that I had a knack for selling,” she said. “And I became passionate about industrial staffing in Chicago.”

“My first year in Chicago, I was presented with an opportunity to join the healthcare sector, a stint with an industrial staffing firm in Chicago working for a national Reproductive Medicine Group” said Hoglund. This organization provided her with the experience to solidify skills in business development, marketing, and other vital aspects of business. 

Hoglund’s professional journey to Physicians Regional began with reading the job description after learning about the open position.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this is really interesting because I've always had a place in my heart for animals, for kids, and for the elderly.’ “I also thought, “This is a community where I'm guessing 60 percent of our population or more is over the age of 55 - what a great opportunity to work with that community.” 

The job posting also sparked memories of her family’s experience when her grandmother was in a skilled nursing home.

“I know that if my parents had not had the ability to be there and check on her every single day, she might not have gotten the care that she received,” she said. “So, I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to really bring this full circle and do something that's really impactful for this community, specifically.’

“And as I said earlier, thank goodness Scott saw the need to be able to bring somebody into this community to try to make it an easy process,” added Hoglund. “It's not easy to go to the hospital when you’re nearing 50, much less when you're 70 or 80, not always knowing exactly what's happening and having to have someone explain things. Creating those pathways to make it as easy as possible, both for the facility and the resident, is really important and I think it's much needed in this community.”

Physicians Regional Health System has hospitals located on Collier Boulevard, near Marco Island, and on Pine Ridge Road. For more information, please visit physiciansregional.com/.