1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,279 The Becker's team is excited to announce the 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,160 launch of our new CFO and Revenue Cycle 3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:06,660 podcast. 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,240 Tune in for conversations with finance experts from 5 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,119 the top hospitals and health systems. We'll discuss 6 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,679 key trends and ideas to drive meaningful change 7 00:00:15,679 --> 00:00:18,855 in the industry. Look for Becker's CFO and 8 00:00:18,855 --> 00:00:21,995 Revenue Cycle podcast wherever you listen to episodes. 9 00:00:24,535 --> 00:00:26,775 This is Laura Dirdo with the Becker's Healthcare 10 00:00:26,775 --> 00:00:28,935 podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by 11 00:00:28,935 --> 00:00:31,859 Cathy Sanford, senior executive vice president and chief 12 00:00:31,859 --> 00:00:34,100 nursing officer at CommonSpirit Health. Cathy, it's a 13 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:35,799 pleasure to have you on the podcast today. 14 00:00:36,260 --> 00:00:38,020 Thank you. I'm really happy to be here, 15 00:00:38,020 --> 00:00:40,340 Laura. Now I'm excited to have you on 16 00:00:40,340 --> 00:00:42,420 the podcast because I know Common Spirit has 17 00:00:42,420 --> 00:00:45,295 just some very innovative things happening today. You 18 00:00:45,295 --> 00:00:46,895 know, really, truly one of the great health 19 00:00:46,895 --> 00:00:49,454 systems across the country. And, two, I'll be 20 00:00:49,454 --> 00:00:51,054 excited to learn more about how you're thinking 21 00:00:51,054 --> 00:00:53,054 about the future. But before we dive in, 22 00:00:53,054 --> 00:00:54,414 I'm wondering, can you tell us a little 23 00:00:54,414 --> 00:00:56,335 bit more about CommonSpirit and what makes it 24 00:00:56,335 --> 00:00:56,835 unique? 25 00:00:57,950 --> 00:01:00,350 You know, I, have always felt privileged to 26 00:01:00,350 --> 00:01:01,570 work in health care, 27 00:01:01,950 --> 00:01:04,189 and I feel privileged now to be working 28 00:01:04,189 --> 00:01:06,510 in health care as the chief nursing office 29 00:01:06,510 --> 00:01:07,890 for CommonSpirit Health. 30 00:01:08,269 --> 00:01:10,769 We, serve communities across the country, 31 00:01:11,069 --> 00:01:12,530 both large and small, 32 00:01:13,215 --> 00:01:13,715 facilities. 33 00:01:14,254 --> 00:01:16,254 We have 22 34 00:01:16,415 --> 00:01:17,635 2,200 35 00:01:18,254 --> 00:01:21,614 care sites. We're in 24 states. We have 36 00:01:21,614 --> 00:01:22,674 35,000 37 00:01:22,734 --> 00:01:23,635 plus providers, 38 00:01:24,094 --> 00:01:27,280 forty five thousand plus RNs taking care of 39 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:28,959 patients. We have more RNs than that because 40 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:30,239 there are a lot of nurses who do 41 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:32,959 other things in the system, but over 45,000 42 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:35,040 that are actually taking care of patients. And 43 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:35,700 we employ 44 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:36,500 over 45 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:38,159 a 50,000 46 00:01:38,159 --> 00:01:38,659 people. 47 00:01:39,064 --> 00:01:41,885 So it's a it's a very large, complex, 48 00:01:42,265 --> 00:01:44,844 and fun place to work. We have hospitals. 49 00:01:45,385 --> 00:01:47,305 We have home health. We have long term 50 00:01:47,305 --> 00:01:49,245 care, and we have a variety of clinics. 51 00:01:49,784 --> 00:01:52,665 And because we have that combination, it gives 52 00:01:52,665 --> 00:01:55,840 us significant impact on the health care delivery 53 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,319 across the entire continuum of care. And that's 54 00:01:58,319 --> 00:02:00,020 what is exciting to me 55 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,260 because I think that that's so important 56 00:02:02,719 --> 00:02:04,480 that we have an impact and that all 57 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,000 of us who work in health care have 58 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 an impact in making health care better for 59 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:08,659 this country. 60 00:02:09,564 --> 00:02:11,245 Well, that's amazing to hear, you know, and 61 00:02:11,245 --> 00:02:14,044 certainly a sprawling enterprise that you have. That's 62 00:02:14,044 --> 00:02:15,805 a lot of nurses working to, 63 00:02:16,764 --> 00:02:19,004 create better care for their patient communities and 64 00:02:19,004 --> 00:02:21,264 and really making a difference across the board. 65 00:02:21,324 --> 00:02:23,324 I'm wondering if you go back to the 66 00:02:23,324 --> 00:02:25,430 last year or so, what is the accomplishment 67 00:02:25,430 --> 00:02:26,729 that you're most proud of? 68 00:02:27,830 --> 00:02:29,990 There's so many. Really. Right? There's so many 69 00:02:29,990 --> 00:02:31,669 things that are happening. But I think that 70 00:02:31,669 --> 00:02:33,129 I would say that, 71 00:02:33,990 --> 00:02:35,990 because we have a goal, and I've talked 72 00:02:35,990 --> 00:02:37,689 about this before in different, 73 00:02:37,990 --> 00:02:38,490 venues. 74 00:02:39,074 --> 00:02:41,074 We started five years ago with a five 75 00:02:41,074 --> 00:02:43,875 year plan for nursing, five year strategic plan 76 00:02:43,875 --> 00:02:45,574 because I believe very strongly 77 00:02:45,875 --> 00:02:48,514 that not only do organizations have to have 78 00:02:48,514 --> 00:02:51,415 strategic plans, but functions have to have functional 79 00:02:51,474 --> 00:02:54,389 strategic plans that feed into the strategic plan. 80 00:02:54,710 --> 00:02:56,629 So we started five years ago with our 81 00:02:56,629 --> 00:02:58,709 strategic plan for nursing, and we're in our 82 00:02:58,709 --> 00:03:00,709 fifth year. So I think I would say 83 00:03:00,709 --> 00:03:02,629 what I'm proud about is that we were 84 00:03:02,629 --> 00:03:05,189 able to do so many things in that 85 00:03:05,189 --> 00:03:07,270 plan that's made a difference. And it's made 86 00:03:07,270 --> 00:03:09,915 a difference in our KPI, our key performance 87 00:03:09,915 --> 00:03:10,415 indicators 88 00:03:11,034 --> 00:03:11,435 in, 89 00:03:12,395 --> 00:03:15,115 for our patients and for our staff. And 90 00:03:15,115 --> 00:03:16,895 those are both really very important. 91 00:03:17,194 --> 00:03:18,634 So I'd like to tell you a little 92 00:03:18,634 --> 00:03:20,715 bit about what we've done, and here's some 93 00:03:20,715 --> 00:03:23,034 favorite examples. And one is, of course, we 94 00:03:23,034 --> 00:03:23,354 have, 95 00:03:24,180 --> 00:03:26,419 virtually integrated care. And I say, of course, 96 00:03:26,419 --> 00:03:28,659 because I believe that I've been asked to 97 00:03:28,659 --> 00:03:29,540 talk about that, 98 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:31,000 in several venues. 99 00:03:32,180 --> 00:03:34,740 It addresses the nursing shortage, and it lightens 100 00:03:34,740 --> 00:03:37,139 the load for our bedside nurses. Our virtual 101 00:03:37,139 --> 00:03:40,375 nurses are assisting in all aspects of patient 102 00:03:40,375 --> 00:03:43,995 care, and we're having very, very good results 103 00:03:44,534 --> 00:03:47,254 both in the patient care area and, 104 00:03:47,895 --> 00:03:49,914 the quality and patient experience 105 00:03:50,375 --> 00:03:52,694 as well as the experience of nurses. And 106 00:03:52,694 --> 00:03:54,395 that's going to be so important 107 00:03:55,219 --> 00:03:58,120 because the shortages that have alleviated 108 00:03:58,579 --> 00:03:59,079 slightly 109 00:03:59,620 --> 00:04:00,120 now 110 00:04:00,579 --> 00:04:02,579 are going to be back. So I'm really 111 00:04:02,579 --> 00:04:04,340 proud that we've done that and we've started 112 00:04:04,340 --> 00:04:06,120 on that. I'm proud of our nursing, 113 00:04:06,579 --> 00:04:07,639 residency program. 114 00:04:08,175 --> 00:04:10,415 We've been able to put in a one 115 00:04:10,415 --> 00:04:13,215 year program that helps all of our young 116 00:04:13,215 --> 00:04:15,694 new nurses with their professional development. We do 117 00:04:15,694 --> 00:04:18,095 coaching with them. We have mentorship for them. 118 00:04:18,095 --> 00:04:19,795 We give them consistent feedback. 119 00:04:20,175 --> 00:04:21,634 And we make sure that 120 00:04:22,220 --> 00:04:25,420 even with the number of experienced nurses that 121 00:04:25,420 --> 00:04:27,899 are leaving, we are able to help these 122 00:04:27,899 --> 00:04:30,379 new young nurses as they get on their 123 00:04:30,379 --> 00:04:33,360 feet in a profession that is wonderful, 124 00:04:33,914 --> 00:04:35,294 but very challenging. 125 00:04:35,995 --> 00:04:38,474 And so, I'm proud of that. And I'm 126 00:04:38,474 --> 00:04:40,474 also proud of our what we call our 127 00:04:40,474 --> 00:04:43,115 care based team. Some places call them command 128 00:04:43,115 --> 00:04:45,115 centers, but it was part of our we 129 00:04:45,115 --> 00:04:47,115 changed the word the name to care based 130 00:04:47,115 --> 00:04:49,534 because it isn't someplace where we command people. 131 00:04:49,889 --> 00:04:51,810 And I know about command. I'm a retired 132 00:04:51,810 --> 00:04:52,550 army nurse. 133 00:04:52,850 --> 00:04:54,370 It's it's more about, 134 00:04:55,729 --> 00:04:59,169 basing our care somewhere centrally that can help 135 00:04:59,169 --> 00:05:00,389 the rest of the country 136 00:05:00,769 --> 00:05:03,425 to take care of patients. So we we 137 00:05:03,425 --> 00:05:06,225 augment and enhance our patient flow. We work 138 00:05:06,225 --> 00:05:08,785 on our progression of care. We provide direct 139 00:05:08,785 --> 00:05:10,884 care to patients across the care continuum. 140 00:05:11,584 --> 00:05:12,324 We monitor, 141 00:05:13,024 --> 00:05:13,524 centrally. 142 00:05:14,305 --> 00:05:16,305 We let's see what else. We have physicians 143 00:05:16,305 --> 00:05:19,520 and advanced practice providers there. And we're focused 144 00:05:19,580 --> 00:05:22,879 on unburdening nursing and creating provider capacity 145 00:05:23,500 --> 00:05:24,960 while we're decreasing readmissions, 146 00:05:25,660 --> 00:05:28,960 falls, and contract labor. So I'm really proud 147 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:31,259 of the five year plan that it did 148 00:05:31,259 --> 00:05:33,339 what we said it would do, and now 149 00:05:33,339 --> 00:05:34,160 we're ready 150 00:05:34,514 --> 00:05:36,294 for the next five year plan. 151 00:05:37,154 --> 00:05:38,754 Well, that's amazing to hear, you know, and 152 00:05:38,754 --> 00:05:40,854 certainly a time of a lot of transformation 153 00:05:41,154 --> 00:05:43,014 in the last five years, especially, 154 00:05:44,115 --> 00:05:46,194 to get to where you're at today, and 155 00:05:46,194 --> 00:05:47,954 really see the results of some of those 156 00:05:47,954 --> 00:05:48,454 efforts. 157 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:50,439 I think it's really cool, especially as you 158 00:05:50,439 --> 00:05:52,920 were talking through the nursing residency program. I 159 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,480 think so many organizations are trying to figure 160 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,199 out how to strengthen their pipeline of nurses, 161 00:05:58,199 --> 00:06:00,680 nurse leaders as well, and figure out how 162 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,014 they can bring in additional caregivers into their 163 00:06:03,014 --> 00:06:05,814 health system in a strategic way. So, for 164 00:06:05,814 --> 00:06:07,335 those folks, do you have any advice when 165 00:06:07,335 --> 00:06:08,694 you're trying to set up a program like 166 00:06:08,694 --> 00:06:11,495 this, whether it's a large regional system or 167 00:06:11,495 --> 00:06:13,335 or a smaller community hospital? How do you 168 00:06:13,335 --> 00:06:14,155 do it justice? 169 00:06:14,935 --> 00:06:17,014 Well, you have to start with finding out 170 00:06:17,014 --> 00:06:19,389 what the nurses think. You have to start 171 00:06:19,470 --> 00:06:20,589 and you have to start it with a 172 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:22,029 vision. What is it you wanna do? What 173 00:06:22,029 --> 00:06:23,949 is it you're trying to solve? I think 174 00:06:23,949 --> 00:06:25,949 sometimes we're in such a hurry to solve 175 00:06:25,949 --> 00:06:28,110 things that we come up with solutions before 176 00:06:28,110 --> 00:06:29,569 we have carefully 177 00:06:30,029 --> 00:06:32,269 defined what the issue is and what the 178 00:06:32,269 --> 00:06:33,490 issue is for 179 00:06:33,904 --> 00:06:34,725 the staff. 180 00:06:35,264 --> 00:06:37,585 So, the advice that I always give people 181 00:06:37,585 --> 00:06:39,824 is be sure that you are involving the 182 00:06:39,824 --> 00:06:41,345 people who you are going to ask to 183 00:06:41,345 --> 00:06:43,685 do the work. Be sure you ask them 184 00:06:43,745 --> 00:06:44,725 what they think, 185 00:06:45,025 --> 00:06:47,069 and be sure that when you come up 186 00:06:47,230 --> 00:06:49,230 with what you wanna do going forward, you 187 00:06:49,230 --> 00:06:50,850 know where it is, where you wanna go. 188 00:06:51,069 --> 00:06:53,490 You know, where where did you wanna go? 189 00:06:53,710 --> 00:06:55,149 We we you have to have a vision 190 00:06:55,149 --> 00:06:57,710 first, then figure out where you are and 191 00:06:57,710 --> 00:06:59,389 then figure out the steps of how to 192 00:06:59,389 --> 00:07:01,285 get there. And as long as you do 193 00:07:01,285 --> 00:07:02,964 that, I think you'll be on the right 194 00:07:02,964 --> 00:07:04,425 track with one caveat. 195 00:07:05,125 --> 00:07:07,605 When we get started on new and different 196 00:07:07,605 --> 00:07:09,365 plans to go to the future, we need 197 00:07:09,365 --> 00:07:10,745 to be willing to change 198 00:07:11,125 --> 00:07:13,050 if those plans don't work out 199 00:07:13,370 --> 00:07:16,349 and dust stand up, dust ourselves off dust 200 00:07:16,490 --> 00:07:18,669 ourselves off and say, hey, that didn't work. 201 00:07:18,810 --> 00:07:20,569 But what would work? Let's see how we 202 00:07:20,569 --> 00:07:22,889 could change this and make it work and 203 00:07:22,889 --> 00:07:25,289 not get so set in what we have 204 00:07:25,289 --> 00:07:27,209 come up with that it's the perfect solution 205 00:07:27,209 --> 00:07:28,875 that we're not willing to change along the 206 00:07:28,875 --> 00:07:30,714 way because the world is gonna continue to 207 00:07:30,714 --> 00:07:32,714 change. Health care is going to continue to 208 00:07:32,714 --> 00:07:34,334 change. We know that. 209 00:07:35,355 --> 00:07:36,574 Policies, procedures, 210 00:07:37,035 --> 00:07:38,954 everything is going to change, and we need 211 00:07:38,954 --> 00:07:40,735 to be ready to change as we go 212 00:07:40,875 --> 00:07:42,495 along to get to that future. 213 00:07:43,769 --> 00:07:46,250 That's really great insight, and I appreciate, the 214 00:07:46,250 --> 00:07:48,810 extra context around there. What a great inspiration 215 00:07:48,810 --> 00:07:49,389 and and, 216 00:07:49,850 --> 00:07:52,169 motivation to really connect, as you mentioned, with 217 00:07:52,169 --> 00:07:54,350 the nurses and those and and listen to, 218 00:07:54,810 --> 00:07:56,925 what's important to them as they are working 219 00:07:56,925 --> 00:07:59,564 towards that goal of providing better patient care. 220 00:07:59,564 --> 00:08:01,644 Now when you look at the future, the 221 00:08:01,644 --> 00:08:03,404 next year or even five years as you 222 00:08:03,404 --> 00:08:05,245 were talking about, what are some of the 223 00:08:05,245 --> 00:08:07,745 big opportunities for growth that you're focused on? 224 00:08:08,444 --> 00:08:11,164 Well, I wanna start with something in the 225 00:08:11,164 --> 00:08:13,189 past a little bit and then go forward. 226 00:08:14,529 --> 00:08:16,370 I left nursing. Can I tell you a 227 00:08:16,370 --> 00:08:18,849 little story if we have time? I left 228 00:08:18,849 --> 00:08:20,389 nursing for a short while. 229 00:08:20,689 --> 00:08:22,849 I didn't really leave it, but I took 230 00:08:22,849 --> 00:08:24,849 a different job for a short while working 231 00:08:24,849 --> 00:08:25,509 for strategy. 232 00:08:26,504 --> 00:08:28,504 And a while I before I came to 233 00:08:28,504 --> 00:08:31,564 CommonSpirit, I worked in a small smaller system 234 00:08:31,625 --> 00:08:34,184 in the strategy area. And one of my 235 00:08:34,184 --> 00:08:36,105 jobs was to go out and go to 236 00:08:36,105 --> 00:08:38,345 the Lions Club and the Rotary Club and 237 00:08:38,345 --> 00:08:41,279 all the local community clubs and ask people 238 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:43,139 what they wanted in health care. 239 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:45,840 And it was fascinating to me. I wouldn't 240 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,080 call it a true research study, but it 241 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,220 was fascinating to me how many people said 242 00:08:51,279 --> 00:08:53,220 what we are missing is coordination. 243 00:08:53,985 --> 00:08:56,384 We're looking for someone to coordinate our care. 244 00:08:56,384 --> 00:08:57,825 And I would say, well, do you your 245 00:08:57,825 --> 00:09:00,544 physician's office, your primary physician. They said, no. 246 00:09:00,544 --> 00:09:02,725 No. No. That's not what we're looking for. 247 00:09:02,865 --> 00:09:05,205 We're looking for someone who would coordinate 248 00:09:05,585 --> 00:09:07,889 all of the different places we could go 249 00:09:08,049 --> 00:09:09,910 and help us get there. 250 00:09:10,529 --> 00:09:12,370 So when we talk about growth for the 251 00:09:12,370 --> 00:09:14,149 future, I think that the 252 00:09:14,769 --> 00:09:16,690 work that we're working on is, 253 00:09:17,090 --> 00:09:19,009 all about that, about how we are going 254 00:09:19,009 --> 00:09:21,330 to coordinate. I talked about who CommonSpirit Health 255 00:09:21,330 --> 00:09:23,504 is. But we are also have we also 256 00:09:23,504 --> 00:09:24,245 have opportunities 257 00:09:24,785 --> 00:09:26,625 to figure out how we're going to coordinate 258 00:09:26,625 --> 00:09:29,285 that care and give people what they want. 259 00:09:29,825 --> 00:09:31,264 So one of the things we did a 260 00:09:31,264 --> 00:09:33,684 couple years ago also was my 261 00:09:34,065 --> 00:09:36,065 physician partner and I wrote a book on 262 00:09:36,065 --> 00:09:36,965 dyad leadership. 263 00:09:37,350 --> 00:09:39,909 And I'm excited about for growth going forward 264 00:09:39,909 --> 00:09:41,589 that I have a new dyad partner and 265 00:09:41,589 --> 00:09:45,370 common spirit has formally adopted that the clinical 266 00:09:45,429 --> 00:09:48,470 services across the country is Colette by an 267 00:09:48,470 --> 00:09:49,769 RN and an MD, 268 00:09:50,524 --> 00:09:54,365 equal partner, equal senior executive vice presidents at 269 00:09:54,365 --> 00:09:55,024 the organization 270 00:09:55,565 --> 00:09:57,644 to figure out how we are going to 271 00:09:57,644 --> 00:10:00,285 do this together and not just doctors and 272 00:10:00,285 --> 00:10:02,730 nurses, but the entire team. How are we 273 00:10:02,730 --> 00:10:05,210 going to bring all clinicians together and then 274 00:10:05,210 --> 00:10:07,370 our other partners as well? But we'll start 275 00:10:07,370 --> 00:10:08,909 with all clinicians together 276 00:10:09,450 --> 00:10:11,769 to be around the care of the patient 277 00:10:11,769 --> 00:10:13,769 and to coordinate our care. That's going to 278 00:10:13,769 --> 00:10:15,230 help us a lot with growth. 279 00:10:16,134 --> 00:10:17,975 We also know that we're going to be 280 00:10:17,975 --> 00:10:20,875 having more and more technology to work with, 281 00:10:21,095 --> 00:10:23,595 and, we think that some of that technology 282 00:10:23,735 --> 00:10:24,794 will help us grow 283 00:10:25,254 --> 00:10:27,654 and that we need to be very careful 284 00:10:27,654 --> 00:10:29,355 because we don't want to 285 00:10:30,009 --> 00:10:32,169 get excited about new technology. Right now, you 286 00:10:32,169 --> 00:10:34,329 know, AI is the big thing. Right? Everybody 287 00:10:34,329 --> 00:10:37,129 wants AI, AI, AI, and I get vendors 288 00:10:37,129 --> 00:10:39,129 sending me notes all the time saying, we 289 00:10:39,129 --> 00:10:41,610 got this great new AI thing. And so 290 00:10:41,610 --> 00:10:42,110 I, 291 00:10:43,129 --> 00:10:45,455 I think that for growth, we need to 292 00:10:45,455 --> 00:10:47,934 understand that you shouldn't lose track of what 293 00:10:47,934 --> 00:10:50,495 your goals are. The goals are what are 294 00:10:50,495 --> 00:10:52,115 important, not the toys. 295 00:10:52,894 --> 00:10:53,394 And, 296 00:10:53,855 --> 00:10:55,315 my IT people might 297 00:10:55,934 --> 00:10:56,340 be 298 00:10:56,740 --> 00:10:59,139 concerned that I call them toys, but sometimes 299 00:10:59,139 --> 00:11:01,379 I think that we think new technology is 300 00:11:01,379 --> 00:11:04,100 the greatest, the best, or this new AI 301 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:06,100 thing. What we need to do is know 302 00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:08,200 what our goals are and then 303 00:11:08,725 --> 00:11:11,205 figure out what technology and AI will help 304 00:11:11,205 --> 00:11:13,445 us get there. So that's a big area 305 00:11:13,445 --> 00:11:15,684 of growth, I think, as long as we 306 00:11:15,684 --> 00:11:17,764 remember to do that, to keep our eye 307 00:11:17,764 --> 00:11:19,384 on what our goals are. 308 00:11:19,845 --> 00:11:22,345 And then we, are going to be doing, 309 00:11:22,884 --> 00:11:24,570 more with our virtual nursing. 310 00:11:25,429 --> 00:11:27,909 We have some areas of growth where all 311 00:11:27,909 --> 00:11:29,769 kinds of virtual clinical 312 00:11:30,309 --> 00:11:31,610 activities can happen, 313 00:11:32,309 --> 00:11:34,709 both to make care better for the patients 314 00:11:34,709 --> 00:11:38,149 and make the work that the clinicians do 315 00:11:38,149 --> 00:11:39,209 better as well. 316 00:11:40,054 --> 00:11:41,495 So that's where we think we're gonna be 317 00:11:41,495 --> 00:11:42,875 growing in the clinical area. 318 00:11:43,735 --> 00:11:45,654 That's amazing to hear. You know, big goals, 319 00:11:45,654 --> 00:11:47,654 but I I think very important reminders too, 320 00:11:47,654 --> 00:11:49,654 as you said, to make sure that you've 321 00:11:49,654 --> 00:11:51,335 got the right goal in mind, that you're 322 00:11:51,335 --> 00:11:53,710 looking, to make improvements in the right areas. 323 00:11:53,710 --> 00:11:56,110 And then the technology to support that, is 324 00:11:56,110 --> 00:11:58,190 so critical. And it's been fascinating to see 325 00:11:58,190 --> 00:11:58,929 how quickly 326 00:11:59,309 --> 00:12:01,730 technology has evolved in the space both clinically 327 00:12:01,870 --> 00:12:04,529 as well as, operations for the health system, 328 00:12:04,909 --> 00:12:06,835 and in health care in general. I can 329 00:12:06,835 --> 00:12:08,615 imagine, you know, it's both 330 00:12:08,995 --> 00:12:11,315 exciting, but also a little bit nerve wracking 331 00:12:11,315 --> 00:12:12,995 to to make sure that, you know, you're 332 00:12:12,995 --> 00:12:15,794 you're doing everything right, and moving quickly than 333 00:12:15,875 --> 00:12:17,394 more quickly than you ever have in the 334 00:12:17,394 --> 00:12:17,894 past. 335 00:12:18,850 --> 00:12:21,350 That's true. I I I think it's exciting, 336 00:12:21,410 --> 00:12:24,210 but anything that's worth doing also is going 337 00:12:24,210 --> 00:12:26,210 to have its challenges, and it's also going 338 00:12:26,210 --> 00:12:26,790 to have, 339 00:12:27,410 --> 00:12:28,850 things that you need to be thinking about 340 00:12:28,850 --> 00:12:31,190 all the time. But we believe, I believe, 341 00:12:31,445 --> 00:12:32,884 that as long as you keep your eye 342 00:12:32,884 --> 00:12:34,884 on what's right and what's good for the 343 00:12:34,884 --> 00:12:37,044 people we serve, the communities we serve, and 344 00:12:37,044 --> 00:12:39,044 the people who do the serving, you're going 345 00:12:39,044 --> 00:12:40,325 to come up with the plans that are 346 00:12:40,325 --> 00:12:41,625 gonna help you get there. 347 00:12:42,164 --> 00:12:44,164 Well, that makes a lot of sense and 348 00:12:44,164 --> 00:12:47,049 is very reassuring, of course. And you mentioned 349 00:12:47,049 --> 00:12:49,450 challenges. I'm wondering, you know, what are some 350 00:12:49,450 --> 00:12:51,049 of those challenges that you're seeing ahead? I 351 00:12:51,049 --> 00:12:53,049 know a lot of opportunities, which is great, 352 00:12:53,049 --> 00:12:55,769 but, leaders also have to be thinking about 353 00:12:55,769 --> 00:12:57,870 those headwinds and things that could be roadblocks 354 00:12:57,929 --> 00:12:59,529 potentially. So what do you have your eye 355 00:12:59,529 --> 00:13:00,014 on? 356 00:13:00,894 --> 00:13:03,134 Well, first of all, thank you for recognizing 357 00:13:03,134 --> 00:13:04,254 that. And I know that you do it, 358 00:13:04,254 --> 00:13:06,975 Becker, that health care is constantly changing, and 359 00:13:06,975 --> 00:13:09,955 we are experiencing headwinds. And we will always 360 00:13:10,014 --> 00:13:12,894 experience headwinds across health care and not unique 361 00:13:12,894 --> 00:13:14,835 to us. There's always gonna be challenges. 362 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:18,039 The one that I, fear that we might 363 00:13:18,039 --> 00:13:20,360 forget because we're so busy with so many 364 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,860 of the technology or financial challenges 365 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,120 is that we've got to continue to pay 366 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:27,259 attention to staffing. 367 00:13:27,705 --> 00:13:30,024 We've got to pay attention to what's gonna 368 00:13:30,024 --> 00:13:32,425 happen and what's gonna happen as, 369 00:13:33,545 --> 00:13:33,945 as, 370 00:13:34,585 --> 00:13:37,144 our our society ages. It's not just the 371 00:13:37,144 --> 00:13:39,625 society that's aging is gonna need more care. 372 00:13:39,625 --> 00:13:42,605 The caregivers are aging. And we cannot 373 00:13:43,289 --> 00:13:43,789 cannot 374 00:13:44,409 --> 00:13:44,909 lose 375 00:13:45,289 --> 00:13:47,450 sight of that challenge and make sure that 376 00:13:47,450 --> 00:13:49,049 we're taking care of our teams so that 377 00:13:49,049 --> 00:13:50,970 we have people to take care of everybody 378 00:13:50,970 --> 00:13:51,470 else. 379 00:13:51,850 --> 00:13:53,769 We found and I'm I'm back to virtual 380 00:13:53,769 --> 00:13:56,490 nursing again. We found that that virtual nursing 381 00:13:56,490 --> 00:13:58,509 models help us with staffing shortages. 382 00:13:59,065 --> 00:14:01,225 Nurses tell us that they don't want to 383 00:14:01,225 --> 00:14:03,644 go anywhere else that doesn't have virtual nursing. 384 00:14:04,024 --> 00:14:06,264 So once people get used to those types 385 00:14:06,264 --> 00:14:06,764 of 386 00:14:07,384 --> 00:14:09,304 new ways of taking care of patients, it's 387 00:14:09,304 --> 00:14:10,664 hard for them to go back, and it's 388 00:14:10,664 --> 00:14:12,200 going to be hard for people 389 00:14:12,580 --> 00:14:14,340 to get, we believe, it'll be hard, a 390 00:14:14,340 --> 00:14:16,360 challenge to get people to work for us 391 00:14:16,580 --> 00:14:18,980 if we don't have those tools and those 392 00:14:18,980 --> 00:14:21,559 new models in the future. And we also, 393 00:14:21,860 --> 00:14:25,434 believe that it's important that we help, provide 394 00:14:25,434 --> 00:14:28,014 a career path for our own employees. 395 00:14:28,954 --> 00:14:31,595 I I read somewhere that the and I 396 00:14:31,595 --> 00:14:33,194 can't tell you where, so I'm not gonna 397 00:14:33,194 --> 00:14:35,595 quote it correctly. But I read somewhere that 398 00:14:35,595 --> 00:14:38,200 the new generation is going to change professions, 399 00:14:38,340 --> 00:14:41,639 totally change professions multiple times in their life. 400 00:14:42,019 --> 00:14:44,660 And if we don't have career paths and 401 00:14:44,660 --> 00:14:45,480 help people 402 00:14:46,259 --> 00:14:49,059 figure out how to change professions and still 403 00:14:49,059 --> 00:14:51,860 stay engaged with care, we're gonna lose them 404 00:14:51,860 --> 00:14:53,875 from health care. I think it's okay if 405 00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:55,715 they move around in health care or to 406 00:14:55,715 --> 00:14:57,095 help us with health care, 407 00:14:57,794 --> 00:14:58,615 as supportive 408 00:14:59,715 --> 00:15:00,375 in support, 409 00:15:01,554 --> 00:15:02,054 agencies. 410 00:15:02,914 --> 00:15:03,414 But 411 00:15:03,875 --> 00:15:06,279 if we don't come up with career paths, 412 00:15:06,279 --> 00:15:08,679 I think we're gonna be constantly challenged and 413 00:15:08,679 --> 00:15:09,579 not be able 414 00:15:09,879 --> 00:15:11,399 to take care of people. And that would 415 00:15:11,399 --> 00:15:13,980 be a very sad thing if we didn't 416 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:15,559 keep our eye on that and take care 417 00:15:15,559 --> 00:15:16,379 of that issue. 418 00:15:17,445 --> 00:15:19,365 Well, it's fascinating to hear and think about, 419 00:15:19,365 --> 00:15:21,305 especially given, how many, 420 00:15:21,845 --> 00:15:24,245 you know, nurses are coming into the space 421 00:15:24,245 --> 00:15:26,805 and people are coming into health care wanting 422 00:15:26,805 --> 00:15:27,524 to have that, 423 00:15:28,245 --> 00:15:30,245 that laid out for them or have options 424 00:15:30,245 --> 00:15:33,000 too within the system, to really, you know, 425 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,220 vary their responsibilities 426 00:15:34,759 --> 00:15:36,920 and grow in a meaningful way. Before we 427 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:38,679 wrap up here, I'm wondering, could you talk 428 00:15:38,679 --> 00:15:40,279 a little bit about the number one thing 429 00:15:40,279 --> 00:15:41,559 that you're doing right now to, 430 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,620 prep for long term success in the future? 431 00:15:45,014 --> 00:15:47,495 Well, I'm gonna sound repetitive because we did 432 00:15:47,495 --> 00:15:49,815 a five year strategic plan, and we are 433 00:15:49,815 --> 00:15:51,115 at the end of that plan. 434 00:15:51,575 --> 00:15:53,735 And so what we're doing right now is 435 00:15:53,735 --> 00:15:54,235 starting 436 00:15:54,855 --> 00:15:57,095 our next five year plan, and we're going 437 00:15:57,095 --> 00:15:58,695 to do it very similarly to the way 438 00:15:58,695 --> 00:16:00,879 we did it before, which means we're going 439 00:16:00,879 --> 00:16:01,700 to invite 440 00:16:02,399 --> 00:16:03,379 frontline nurses 441 00:16:03,919 --> 00:16:05,919 to take part in helping us figure out 442 00:16:05,919 --> 00:16:07,059 what we need to do 443 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:08,080 to get, 444 00:16:08,559 --> 00:16:10,399 things done in the next five years. We 445 00:16:10,399 --> 00:16:12,399 need to figure out what our assumptions are. 446 00:16:12,399 --> 00:16:13,700 We need to figure out 447 00:16:14,075 --> 00:16:15,914 how we're going to continue to meet our 448 00:16:15,914 --> 00:16:17,595 mission, and we need to figure out which 449 00:16:17,595 --> 00:16:19,674 things we should continue, which things we should 450 00:16:19,674 --> 00:16:20,174 change. 451 00:16:20,955 --> 00:16:23,754 We, are pretty excited about that because we 452 00:16:23,754 --> 00:16:25,674 did well with the first five years. So 453 00:16:25,674 --> 00:16:26,174 we 454 00:16:26,919 --> 00:16:28,759 fully expect that we're gonna do well with 455 00:16:28,759 --> 00:16:29,980 the next five years. 456 00:16:30,519 --> 00:16:33,320 And we're spending a little extra time helping 457 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,580 our nurse managers and others 458 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:37,980 learn about how you think strategically. 459 00:16:39,315 --> 00:16:42,274 Because if we don't learn that, all of 460 00:16:42,274 --> 00:16:44,615 us, then we miss the opportunity 461 00:16:45,315 --> 00:16:47,654 to do the things that we could do 462 00:16:47,794 --> 00:16:50,035 to change health care in this country and 463 00:16:50,035 --> 00:16:51,415 to help our own 464 00:16:51,955 --> 00:16:52,455 organizations 465 00:16:52,915 --> 00:16:54,535 succeed and do well, of course. 466 00:16:55,629 --> 00:16:57,470 That's such a great point. Kathy, thank you 467 00:16:57,470 --> 00:16:58,909 so much for joining us on the podcast 468 00:16:58,909 --> 00:17:01,169 today. This has been a very inspiring conversation, 469 00:17:01,230 --> 00:17:02,669 and I look forward to connecting with you 470 00:17:02,669 --> 00:17:05,230 again soon. Thank you. Thank you for inviting 471 00:17:05,230 --> 00:17:05,730 me.