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This is Scott King with the Becker's Health

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Care podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined

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by Pamela Landis, senior vice president digital engagement

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at Hackensack Meridian Health.

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Pamela, thanks so much for joining us. It's

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a pleasure to have you on a podcast

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today.

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Thanks for having me. I'm a avid listener

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that's wonderful to hear. We like that. Thank

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you so much.

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Yeah. I think it's gonna be a an

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awesome conversation with you today, Pamela. I think

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we're gonna kinda dive into a lot of

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the big opportunities and challenges

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facing health care today. But before we jump

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in, could you please just kinda tell us

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a little bit more about yourself and your

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background?

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Sure. So I'm Pam Landis. I'm the senior

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vice president of digital engagement

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here at Hackensack Meridian Health, which is New

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Jersey's largest health care provider.

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We have 18 hospitals. We really hug the

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Shore Of New Jersey from Northern New Jersey

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to just short of Atlantic City.

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So all the best parts of New Jersey

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are served by us.

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Excellent. Thank you for that information.

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And getting

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more

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to Meridian Health and your work there, what

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accomplishment are you most proud of from the

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past year?

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Oh, wow. What a really good and unexpected

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question. I would say,

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the fact that the team,

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continues to work together

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collaboratively

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with our clinicians

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and our operational folks

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in developing some tools that make access to

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care easier.

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And it's some of it's just small stuff,

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but it's important things like making sure that

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when a person goes to our chatbot on

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our,

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website

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you know, sometimes how you get in I

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call it chatbot jail when you're just like,

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I just need to talk to a person.

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So we we have that now. And so

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if you just type in, I need to

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talk to somebody, you'll be connected to our

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patient access center and we'll be able to

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help you with your needs.

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That's outstanding. I wish that, other companies and

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industries would follow releasing people from chatbot jail.

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I know I don't like to be in

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it, so that's wonderful to hear.

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What are the big organizational goals you're setting

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for 2025

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or that you set?

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We're gonna continue to do a couple of

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things. We're gonna really focus on continuing to

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smooth out access.

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So for instance, right now,

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our team schedules

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for all of our hospitals

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and schedules for just about two thirds of

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our employed medical group. We hope to have

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that all complete by the end of the

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year. And we do it because,

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it gives us this opportunity to

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really look at schedules,

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making sure that they're optimized well, that

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it's easy for patients to get in, but

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it also gives the clinicians time to take

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a break, read read some journal articles,

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document some things, make phone calls. And so

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we really look at no matter what you

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need from us, when you call us, you're

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going to get

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the HMH experience.

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And that's really important to us. The other

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thing that we're really focusing on is really

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strengthening

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what a lot of people call the digital

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front door, and I really

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don't like that term,

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but I don't have a better one for

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it.

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Right now, people can interact with us through

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online appointment scheduling or a bill pay site

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or

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a MyChart

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site or a this site or a that

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site, and it's confusing.

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You have to be like, no. And so

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we're really working on bringing together all of

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those elements into one HMH experience.

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That you'll have one account with us for

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everything that you need.

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Working in a bigger health system, biggest in

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your area

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Mhmm. As you mentioned, how much tougher is

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it for you and your team to kinda

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streamline everything and and make everything,

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run efficiently?

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I wouldn't say it's tougher. What it requires

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is an investment

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in

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listening and understanding

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and respect

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for the work that's being done by the

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clinicians.

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And, you know, a lot of people will

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be dismissive

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of, oh, well, you know, every department says

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they're special.

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Well, actually, I actually think that's a good

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thing when a department says, we don't understand.

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Our patients are different and we're special.

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And I actually think that's a good thing

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because that shows to me that they care

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deeply

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about their patients and the experience that they

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have with the care that they receive.

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So,

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I actually try to turn that around and

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make it useful for us. Let's work together.

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Let me take off your hands the administrative

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stuff so that you can take care of

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the patient in front of you today.

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That's what our approach is. We're not here

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to take over. We're here to be your

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partner and supplement and take off the burdensome

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stuff so you can focus on the care

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because that's what our clinicians really care about.

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What headwinds or challenges do you anticipate

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with your work for the next year or

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two?

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Yeah. I think a couple of things.

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The one is going to be the continuing,

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challenges in the payer landscape

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and understanding

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and, you know, as payer contracts come up,

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that's gonna be one challenge. The other one

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is no matter where you stand,

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you know, in your own personal political views,

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the uncertainty

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about what Congress

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is doing

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in healthcare

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is a challenge for us. And I hate

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uncertainty

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and it for me, I like look at

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that and say

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where is the puck gonna go? And, honestly,

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I can't tell you what where the puck's

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gonna go in in some of these cases.

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So that uncertainty

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is very challenging.

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For instance, you know, until we got the

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budget

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the continuing resolution passed, what, a week ago

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or two weeks ago,

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you know, the extensions for telehealth payment parity

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were at risk.

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And every six months, we go through this.

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We really need to

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take a bigger approach and more thoughtful approach

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around some of this work that we're doing

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in telehealth

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and talking to our government agencies and partners

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and representatives

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to explain to them the value of it

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and this every six months being on pins

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and needles if we can continue, it's tough.

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The last question I have for you, Pam,

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how are you evolving as a leader?

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I what I hope is

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that I am

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becoming a better listener

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and a better supporter.

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I really feel

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that my job for my team, and I've

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I've got a large team,

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is to protect and provide.

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And so that's really where I focus on,

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you know, really, full stop. If I'm not

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protecting them and providing for them to be

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successful,

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then we can't be successful in our work.

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So that's really where I kinda try to

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focus my efforts. I spend a lot of

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time,

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and sometimes it's, you know, managing a lot

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of people, it's hard.

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But it can be rewarding if you focus

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on the right stuff, hire the right people

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whose own value system aligns with the health

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systems.

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Pam, thanks so much for joining us on

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the podcast today. I I think it was

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a great conversation. I look forward to working

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with you again soon. And and maybe maybe

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because you listened so much, you'll listen to

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this one. Go listen to yourself.

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Alright.