Lending a Hand to Customers in Need 10 - Inside Edison

Susan HellerA Lakers fanin the making,Susan in herSpencer HighSchool basketballuniform.Susan Heller with husband Gordon and son Zack.videoextraThis month, Inside Edisoninterviews Southern CaliforniaEdison’s Corporate MedicalDirector Susan Heller.QWhat was it like growing up in Spencer,Iowa?It was great. Spencer is a small town in northwestIowa. At the time, I thought it was a big citybecause it had 10,000 people. I grew up therewith my mom, my twin sister—she’s five minutesolder—and my brother.Watch Susan talk aboutplaying basketball whilegrowing up and hear herlightning round answerson http://inside.edison.com.QDid you always knowwhat you wanted to dofor a career?I had no idea I would end upbeing a doctor. I was good atmath and science, so I pursuedan engineering degree in college.In my last year at IowaState University, a very goodfriend of mine got burned in afire. That was the first time I had even been in ahospital, and as I visited him and watched whatwas happening, I became intrigued with medicineand decided to go to medical school.QYou have your degree in medicine from theUniversity of Iowa. How did you make thetransition from there to California?When I moved out here, it was to work for Edisonin the Long Beach Clinic. Amazingly enough, alarge number of my patients were originally fromIowa.QYour 22-year anniversary at Edison is comingup in October. What’s something notableyou’ve learned about the company?You may not know, but Edison has been a majorinnovator in healthcare. Back in the ’30s in BigCreek, we had a company hospital, a company ambulanceand a company clinic. And today, we reallyunderstand the business value to having ouremployees be healthy and safe.QWhat kind of interests do you have outside ofwork and medicine?I love biking. I’m getting ready for a 50K in November,and I enjoy hiking because I can do thatwith my family. And I have a guilty pleasure—Ilove reality TV like “Project Runway.”QYou’re on the board of Partners in Care, anationally recognized nonprofit dedicated toimproving healthcare for those most at risk. Why isthis important to you?They look at the most vulnerable in our society,the elderly and the poor. The people in the organizationare some of the most dedicated individualsI’ve ever met. Their lives are consumed with tryingto make their constituents’ lives better.18 insideedison • http://inside.edison.com