Published in TB Business Magazine
Written by: Alexis Harborth / Photos by: Dustin Ashcraft
Location: Art Museum of South Texas
CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is our region’s brlargest. It includes hospitals in Corpus Christi, Alice, brBeeville and Kingsville, family health centers, a Level brII Trauma Center and a cancer and stroke center. It is brhome to residency programs and community outreach brprograms, and is a provider for self-insured employer brgroups. At the helm is Osbert Blow, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., brwho serves as CEO.
Dr. Blow is a trailblazer, someone who makes a brtour-de-force accomplishment and immediately gets brto work on the next. His compassion, dedication and brstewardship set into motion juggernaut plans that brtransform our community now and for generations to brcome.
It’s particularly apt to say that he “serves” as CEO, brbecause for Dr. Blow, his work is a calling and vocation.
“What drives me is taking on a challenge and brhelping people,” he said. “You have to do everything you brcan to improve the lives of those around us.”
He first joined the Health System in 2006, and brthe next year, led CHRISTUS Spohn Corpus Christi br– Memorial/Shoreline to achieve its Level II Trauma brCenter designation, which Shoreline continues brto hold today. It was just a preview of what was to brcome. Blow has navigated CHRISTUS Spohn through brchallenges—such as hurricanes and a historic freeze—brand supernova successes, including the opening of a brstate-of-the-art hospital tower and the achievement of brcomprehensive stroke designation.
Inspiring as signature achievements such as brthese are, however, Blow remains focused on the bradvancement of care as a whole: “We are in the brbusiness of taking care of people. We can’t lose sight brof that.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he felt an extra brsense of kinship with Dr. Arthur Spohn, the Health brSystem’s namesake and founder. “The only other brphysician to lead the Health System was Arthur Spohn,” brsaid Blow. “He faced the flu pandemic 100 years ago, brand we are facing COVID.”
His passion for helping has led him to engage brwith many organizations. He serves as president of brthe Corpus Christi chapter of the American Heart Association, vice chair of the Coastal Bend Regional Advisory Council and vice chair of the Coastal Bend Blood Center, and is a member of the Texas State Aquarium Board, American Heart Southwest Region brBoard and the United Chamber of Commerce.
Though Blow carries many titles, his favorites are br“husband” and “father.” He and his wife, Dr. Nelly Garcia brBlow, are a power couple and proud parents.
“Moving to Corpus Christi was the best decision I brever made.”
