Speaker 0: This is Scott Becker with the Beckers HealthCare podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by a leader from the University of Virginia Medical Center. We've got the brilliant hospital leader at the at the UVA Medical Center, Novella Thompson. Novella's gonna talk about trends she's watching, things she's excited about, and and a lot more. Novella, you've been at UVA now for, I think, fifteen plus years or so.

Tell us a little bit about your career in in UVA Health, and and yourself.

Speaker 1: Well, thank you. First, thank you for having me today. I I'm looking forward to the conversation. So, yeah, I've been with UVA for over fifteen years, and UVA Health is a a four hospital system anchored by our academic medical center. We have a level one trauma, our first Virginia's first NCI designated comprehensive cancer center, the only comprehensive transplant center for adults and peds in the state, and the number one pediatric hospital in the state, as well as two provider groups in the School of Medicine and School of Nursing.

I lead the Department of Population Health, which has been in place since, January 2016, and it encompasses adult and pediatric population health programming, post acute, and transitions of care, adult and pediatric palliative and hospice care, home health, community based care integration. And, the focus for us has has been extending beyond hospital walls, to deliver coordinated patient centered care across the continuum throughout the Commonwealth. It's been an extraordinary ten years, and, we have had many opportunities to really encompass the work that enables patients beyond hospital ED clinic walls to receive the care they need, tap into resources, ensure continuity, and close gaps, across the care continuum.

Speaker 0: Thank you. And and talk for a second about you talked about sort of, I I think, at least, remote hospital or hospital at home and so forth. Long term, I know right now with the government shutdown, there's been some challenges on that. What do you see there longer term in terms of hospital at home?

Speaker 1: Yeah. So so remote patient monitoring for us has been around since, October 2017. And so we, find ourselves in a position where we continue to provide that care, those services, and, manage what's happening at the federal level through systemic impetuses, and and working with rev cycle for our patients so that there's been no pause in the care that we're providing while we manage or mitigate what's happening on the federal level.

Speaker 0: Thank you. When you look at population health, how is that changing currently? What are people thinking about in terms of population health? It it it seems like it's a it's an area that is undergoing lots of change, particularly with lots of shortages of physicians and nurses and so forth. What what are you seeing in population health?

What are the big trends you're watching?

Speaker 1: Yeah. I I I am currently very focused on on four different areas. And and and, yes, there there there are shortages and and access has been an issue for years, not just the last several years post, COVID pandemic. But I'm looking at behavioral health integration, care beyond hospital walls, digital transformation, and advanced data and predictive analytics. All of those areas are integral to not only what's happening at the federal and state level, but what is best for the communities we serve to address the needs that we are continuously learning about that in some ways stay the same and in other ways through resolution are constantly changing.

Speaker 0: Thank you. And when you look at the rest of this year moving into next year, Novella, what are you most excited about? What are you most focused on?

Speaker 1: Yeah. What I'm most excited about is that nearly after nearly a decade, founding this department, I'm so excited to see the vision of integrated, accessible population health care fully realized at UVA Health. You know, today, care beyond hospital walls isn't an aspiration at UVA Health. It's operational. And from street medicine to home based monitoring to behavioral health integration, we're transforming how care is delivered and how healthy outcomes are achieved.

During the pandemic, our infrastructure allowed us to prevent more than eighteen hundred hospital admissions when beds were scarce and, needs were changing, hour to hour. We were able to demonstrate the true value of innovation and readiness. And and so today, I'm I'm excited that screening for SDOH, recognizing that you've gotta understand the why to behavioral utilization of services, And then the services that we provide are operational, not aspirational. What I'm most proud of, I have the most incredible team that does this work with me, and none of it would, you know, be possible without them. There's a 154 members of the department.

And over the past eighteen months, my team of seven directors and several other team members collaborated with our our EMR colleagues to streamline referrals across the health system. And so now it's easy for providers across pediatrics and adult care to refer patients seamlessly within their own workflows, removing barriers for our providers and the clinical teams who are, ensuring that the continuity of care and access is available, which it it improves, timely access to care. It's been very exciting to see this come to fruition.

Speaker 0: Thank you. I'm gonna ask you about leadership in a second and advice for emerging leaders. Before I do that, I'm gonna ask you the most challenging question of the day, Novella, and and and I wanna know if you're ready for a seriously tough question.

Speaker 1: Okay. Yes. So

Speaker 0: so so here's the question. With your background, do you cheer more for the mountaineers or the cavaliers? Where's your head at on West versus Virginia.

Speaker 1: I love my cavaliers. And in good times and in in challenging times, I I I love them and, I'm so excited to see their constants, constant work per paying off in ways that I I don't think any of us could have imagined this year.

Speaker 0: No. We we love that. Thank you so much. And let me ask you the the the the next real question, which is about leadership. You've had this fantastic leadership career.

You're incredibly centered, incredibly bright. You deal with people really well. What advice do you have for people that are emerging leaders?

Speaker 1: I I love that question. I think it's so important to, build people, make them a part of your strategy, and and I I wanna share that. If you believe deeply in your work, as I have over the last, I've been in health care for thirty two years and at UVA Health for fifteen plus. If you believe deeply in your work, hold steady to it. Lead strategically through the challenges, the skepticism, which I've experienced, and the resistance, but stay creative, stay innovative, and focus on solutions that remove pain points and are as comprehensive as possible to address the right care at the right time, in the right place, with the patient at the center of everything that you do.

Recognizing the the second half of that is that recognizing that it takes a village to do this work and to always be open to collaboration, learning, partnering, and surround yourself with people who share your passions, know them as people first, empower them, invest in their growth, and celebrate their strengths. And when you build partnerships, and I believe this wholeheartedly, trust. When you build partnerships, you trust people and you elevate others. The collective set of success, will succeed what you could have ever imagined possible.

Speaker 0: Novella, I think that's a I think that's a fantastic perspective. Again, I I wanna thank Novella Thompson, hospital administrator administrator University of Virginia Medical Center, also in charge of population health. Just an absolutely brilliant career and and and great to visit with Novella. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 1: Oh, Scott, thank you so much. It's my pleasure. It's really exciting to be here. Appreciate all you do to keep us in the know.

Speaker 0: We are trying, but we need people like you do it. So thank you so much. Thank you.

Speaker 1: Thank you so much.