During the phone conversation, the HCA representative told me the Goels liked my qualifications and wanted HCA to interview me. When could I come to Nashville?
Taken aback and pleasantly surprised, I set a date. Later, I shared the news with Raj, and while she seemed happy that they had chosen to interview me, she wondered why I was going through this if we were not going to move to India.
“Hey, I haven’t gotten the job yet,” I said, “so moving doesn’t come into the picture. Let’s see what happens.”
In a way, the phone call from HCA made me feel good, indicating that I was qualified for the position after all. The next month was a whirl of activity. After my interview in Nashville, HCA wanted me to fly to New York City to meet Z.M. Goel, the head of the hospital project. With Mr. Gilreath’s permission, I took two days off to go there. Z.M. Goel talked to me briefly about my experiences at Providence Hospital. I explained everything to him fluidly, also speaking about finances and how we were able to increase revenue in several departments. After the interview, he shook my hand vigorously, saying they would be in touch.
After I returned to Cincinnati, Arun Mangal called me to set up a time for Z.M. Goel and himself to come to Providence Hospital to spend the whole day with me. When I spoke to Mr. Gilreath about it, he was excited that people from India were interested in me and wanted to see Providence Hospital. He asked the food service department to serve a fabulous lunch for the Goel team. I informed Mr. Mangal that my boss would like to set up a luncheon while they were visiting, and as the next few days passed, excitement spread like wildfire through the hospital as everyone learned that people from India were coming to see the facility and were interested in hiring Kris Bedi as the administrator of a new hospital in New Delhi.
The day of their visit, Mr. Mangal talked to me one-on-one in my office. Then, the entire day, as I went from department to department, he followed me, observing, wanting to know exactly what I was doing in order to make sure I really was the assistant administrator of this facility and that everything I had told them about my professional background was true. Z.M. Goel arrived later that morning. Mr. Gilreath and I treated him and Mr. Mangal to a nice lunch, and I gave them a tour of Providence Hospital, especially going through the SPD department. All the supervisors and managers greeted Mr. Gilreath and me with big hugs, and they showed positive attitudes while performing their activities. All the departments were clean and well-organized, and the Goel team observed the quiet and the automation on the patient floors as well as the interactions between patients and nurses. The Goel team was impressed, and at the end of the day, they wanted to meet Raj as well.
I called Raj ahead of time to let her know we would be coming at around 4:00 p.m. When we arrived, she set before us an elaborate tea and snacks with formal china. Z.M. Goel spoke with her for several moments before presenting her with a beautiful, expensive sari brought from India.
After drinking tea and eating snacks, Z.M. Goel and Mr. Mangal stood to leave. “Once we get back to India, we will let you know our decision,” Z.M. Goel said. After they left, Raj and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
In January 1983, Raj and I stepped off the plane after traveling in executive class to the New Delhi airport. The Goel brothers had personally invited Raj and me to India to further discuss my role in the hospital project. Looking back, it was a daring decision to leave three young children behind while we traveled so far away. Mr. Gilreath gave us confidence that he would take care of the kids in any emergency situation. While we were gone, he visited the children every day after work and also checked on the sitter to see if she needed any help.
Mr. Mangal met us in the terminal, and the three of us stepped forward into the uncertainty of New Delhi with its endless maze of streets. I kept telling myself we weren’t going to move there, and Raj seconded this thought. We had many comforts in the States, and to move to this big city in the northern center of India would be a great risk.
The Goels owned a helicopter, and the next day, Mr. Mangal invited me to join him for a helicopter ride. “Take a look over there!” Mr. Mangal yelled over the thundering roar of the helicopter engine. We had flown eighty miles to Goelnagar to see the city named after the Goel family. “This is a great bird’s eye view of Goel Mills. See, right down there!” Mr. Mangal exclaimed. “Late Mr. Ashoka Goel established the Goel group in 1933 here in Goelnagar, along with his brother, Gobind Lal Goel.”
Ashoka was the father of five of the Goels. He had passed away, and the hospital would be built in his name. Ashoka, an entrepreneur, had started the Goel Industries which his sons kept going. Gobind Lal Goel was the father of two of the brothers, and he was also the chairman of the group.
I could tell the Goels were proud of their family history. As I sat in the helicopter’s front passenger seat, I felt amazed and excited to be with these businessmen high up in the air.
“We take our businesses seriously,” another Goel brother said. “Whether it is a mill or a rubber factory, we uphold the highest level of quality and service. It will
