1 00:00:01,679 --> 00:00:04,160 Every year, Becker's annual meeting brings health care 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,719 leaders together to unpack the most pressing issues 3 00:00:06,719 --> 00:00:07,700 facing the industry. 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,900 And every year, those conversations shift in profound 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:12,339 and unexpected ways. 6 00:00:12,719 --> 00:00:14,960 This April, more than 3,500 7 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,635 health care executives will return to Chicago for 8 00:00:17,635 --> 00:00:19,414 Becker's sixteenth annual meeting. 9 00:00:19,795 --> 00:00:21,154 795 10 00:00:21,154 --> 00:00:23,875 elite speakers will offer new lessons, new case 11 00:00:23,875 --> 00:00:27,074 studies, and predictions about what comes next. Join 12 00:00:27,074 --> 00:00:29,015 us April 13 through the sixteenth. 13 00:00:29,449 --> 00:00:33,850 For the agenda and event details, visit beckershospitalreview.com 14 00:00:33,850 --> 00:00:35,690 and click on the events tab in the 15 00:00:35,690 --> 00:00:36,510 upper right. 16 00:00:38,010 --> 00:00:40,490 Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. 17 00:00:40,490 --> 00:00:42,409 I'm Scott King, thrilled today to be joined 18 00:00:42,409 --> 00:00:44,510 by a very special guest, Tony Keck, 19 00:00:44,835 --> 00:00:47,875 chief transformation officer with Ballad Health. Tony, how 20 00:00:47,875 --> 00:00:49,495 are you? Thanks so much for joining us. 21 00:00:49,715 --> 00:00:52,195 I'm doing well. I really appreciate the the 22 00:00:52,195 --> 00:00:53,335 invitation to talk. 23 00:00:53,795 --> 00:00:55,234 Of course. You know, we're gonna need your 24 00:00:55,234 --> 00:00:56,995 expertise on on a lot of topics here. 25 00:00:56,995 --> 00:00:58,619 Always a lot going on in health care, 26 00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:00,299 but especially now. But before we do that, 27 00:01:00,299 --> 00:01:01,420 Tony, I was wondering if you could please 28 00:01:01,420 --> 00:01:03,020 just tell us a little bit about yourself 29 00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:04,619 and your, you know, your journey in in 30 00:01:04,619 --> 00:01:05,280 health care. 31 00:01:05,739 --> 00:01:06,640 Jerry, you mentioned, 32 00:01:06,939 --> 00:01:08,400 my my chief transformation 33 00:01:09,019 --> 00:01:11,340 officer title. That that's just a couple weeks 34 00:01:11,340 --> 00:01:14,354 old. I, I now have responsibility for strategy 35 00:01:14,354 --> 00:01:17,254 and analytics and IT and digital services and 36 00:01:17,795 --> 00:01:21,075 operational excellence and project management and our research 37 00:01:21,075 --> 00:01:23,015 department. That's a big change from, 38 00:01:23,634 --> 00:01:25,155 just a few weeks ago when I was 39 00:01:25,155 --> 00:01:26,935 our chief population health officer 40 00:01:27,549 --> 00:01:28,849 at our growth group, 41 00:01:29,629 --> 00:01:32,269 also had behavioral health. But, you know, every 42 00:01:32,269 --> 00:01:33,810 few years in Ballad Health, 43 00:01:34,829 --> 00:01:37,250 we switch around executive responsibilities. 44 00:01:37,869 --> 00:01:39,409 It's a succession planning 45 00:01:40,284 --> 00:01:42,844 exercise, which gets us exposed, you know, to 46 00:01:42,844 --> 00:01:45,564 the entire organization, but it also brings new 47 00:01:45,564 --> 00:01:47,024 blood, new ideas into 48 00:01:47,644 --> 00:01:50,064 different parts of the the system. So, 49 00:01:50,685 --> 00:01:53,170 been with Ballad Health since its inception, was 50 00:01:53,170 --> 00:01:55,509 with one of its predecessor groups, 51 00:01:55,890 --> 00:01:57,969 Mountain States Health Alliance, for three or four 52 00:01:57,969 --> 00:01:59,030 years before that. 53 00:01:59,409 --> 00:02:00,849 And prior to that, I was in government 54 00:02:00,849 --> 00:02:02,849 for about seven years working for Bobby Jindal 55 00:02:02,849 --> 00:02:04,129 and Nikki Haley. So, 56 00:02:05,174 --> 00:02:07,655 I I've been really honored to be able 57 00:02:07,655 --> 00:02:09,675 to work with communities for a long time. 58 00:02:10,215 --> 00:02:12,074 You don't really hear about a lot of 59 00:02:12,135 --> 00:02:14,055 providers or or health systems doing that. Is 60 00:02:14,055 --> 00:02:15,814 that right? They're just, like, switching up the, 61 00:02:16,135 --> 00:02:18,474 executive responsibilities every now and then? 62 00:02:19,139 --> 00:02:20,740 Yeah. We we put a lot of time 63 00:02:20,740 --> 00:02:22,199 into succession planning 64 00:02:22,900 --> 00:02:26,040 because we we know it's a tough business 65 00:02:26,180 --> 00:02:26,680 that, 66 00:02:28,020 --> 00:02:30,580 increasingly, you need to have a lot of 67 00:02:30,580 --> 00:02:32,419 specialization, but at the same time, you have 68 00:02:32,419 --> 00:02:34,120 to have a broad view of what's 69 00:02:34,444 --> 00:02:36,465 what's going on in the world. And so 70 00:02:36,525 --> 00:02:38,764 if if you're looking at the trends that 71 00:02:38,764 --> 00:02:39,264 affect, 72 00:02:40,044 --> 00:02:40,865 health systems, 73 00:02:41,405 --> 00:02:43,325 you gotta under be able to understand and 74 00:02:43,325 --> 00:02:45,585 work in the government space, the payer relations 75 00:02:45,645 --> 00:02:47,745 space. You have to understand strategy. 76 00:02:48,340 --> 00:02:50,819 Increasingly, you really have to, be able to 77 00:02:50,819 --> 00:02:53,159 operate in the IT space as a leader. 78 00:02:53,620 --> 00:02:55,239 So unless you're getting 79 00:02:55,539 --> 00:02:57,139 exposure to all of those, 80 00:02:57,539 --> 00:02:59,239 we we just don't think it's, 81 00:03:00,259 --> 00:03:02,995 it it it's possible to to develop a 82 00:03:02,995 --> 00:03:05,634 leadership team over time that's sustainable, not just 83 00:03:05,634 --> 00:03:07,955 for five or ten years, but for thirty, 84 00:03:07,955 --> 00:03:09,014 forty, fifty years. 85 00:03:09,395 --> 00:03:10,914 Yeah. I I think it's so interesting and 86 00:03:10,914 --> 00:03:12,354 so great that, you know, everyone, when they 87 00:03:12,354 --> 00:03:14,275 switch, kinda understands or gets a sense for 88 00:03:14,275 --> 00:03:15,955 what everyone else has been doing and what 89 00:03:15,955 --> 00:03:17,520 it takes to keep the system going. So 90 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:18,580 I think that's wonderful. 91 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:20,979 And now let let me ask you about 92 00:03:21,199 --> 00:03:22,959 trends in health care. Which ones are you 93 00:03:22,959 --> 00:03:24,580 paying attention to right now, Tony? 94 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,599 Well, I I hate to start out with 95 00:03:27,599 --> 00:03:29,860 probably the answer of the day, but certainly 96 00:03:30,159 --> 00:03:31,780 AI and and cybersecurity. 97 00:03:32,665 --> 00:03:33,805 I think they probably 98 00:03:34,185 --> 00:03:35,485 go hand in hand. 99 00:03:35,865 --> 00:03:37,784 You know, we wanna be able to focus 100 00:03:37,784 --> 00:03:40,205 on AI as a tool to improve our 101 00:03:40,264 --> 00:03:43,224 clinical outcomes and patient experience, but I think 102 00:03:43,224 --> 00:03:44,844 we will be just as busy 103 00:03:45,409 --> 00:03:48,370 fending off the bad actor threats that AI 104 00:03:48,370 --> 00:03:48,870 is, 105 00:03:49,409 --> 00:03:51,430 increasingly make making possible. 106 00:03:53,169 --> 00:03:55,090 You know, separately from that, we have to 107 00:03:55,090 --> 00:03:56,530 be able to keep up with the payers' 108 00:03:56,530 --> 00:03:58,949 use of AI that goes beyond 109 00:03:59,665 --> 00:04:01,844 what we think is reasonable to control 110 00:04:02,385 --> 00:04:03,764 fraud, waste, and abuse. 111 00:04:04,385 --> 00:04:06,564 In that sense, we're really, in many cases, 112 00:04:07,665 --> 00:04:09,205 also the patient's advocate 113 00:04:09,585 --> 00:04:10,085 because, 114 00:04:11,105 --> 00:04:13,525 you know, many of these payer decisions increasingly 115 00:04:13,585 --> 00:04:14,325 being made 116 00:04:14,705 --> 00:04:18,120 with with AI impact patient health and and 117 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:19,580 what they ultimately pay. 118 00:04:20,199 --> 00:04:20,779 I think, 119 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,660 more more broadly, affordability. 120 00:04:24,759 --> 00:04:27,560 You know, I've been around long enough to 121 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:28,300 have seen 122 00:04:29,004 --> 00:04:32,285 several major shifts in payment and practice starting 123 00:04:32,285 --> 00:04:34,605 with DRGs. That's how I got my start 124 00:04:34,605 --> 00:04:35,504 in health care. 125 00:04:36,525 --> 00:04:38,764 And we're in the middle of, I think, 126 00:04:38,764 --> 00:04:41,025 one of these big shifts right now. 127 00:04:41,964 --> 00:04:43,345 But no matter how much 128 00:04:44,110 --> 00:04:47,229 technology and and how many payment incentives and 129 00:04:47,229 --> 00:04:48,209 how many legislative 130 00:04:48,990 --> 00:04:51,149 programs we seem to throw at health care, 131 00:04:51,149 --> 00:04:53,329 it's still outgrowing the ability 132 00:04:53,629 --> 00:04:56,029 of many families to to pay for it. 133 00:04:56,029 --> 00:04:58,289 And it sort of feels like a 134 00:04:58,824 --> 00:05:01,464 big Jenga tower right now. And it's a 135 00:05:01,785 --> 00:05:03,145 you you know, and the problem is it's 136 00:05:03,145 --> 00:05:04,745 a zero sum game. We try to save 137 00:05:04,745 --> 00:05:05,884 money in one sector 138 00:05:06,665 --> 00:05:08,985 by shifting it to another sector, and and 139 00:05:08,985 --> 00:05:10,045 that just doesn't 140 00:05:10,585 --> 00:05:11,025 work, 141 00:05:11,464 --> 00:05:12,605 or it hasn't worked. 142 00:05:13,545 --> 00:05:16,870 It doesn't reduce cost to consumer ultimately, and 143 00:05:17,329 --> 00:05:18,469 maybe we just need 144 00:05:18,769 --> 00:05:20,469 to to start start over. 145 00:05:21,329 --> 00:05:23,729 What are you most focused on and excited 146 00:05:23,729 --> 00:05:25,349 about right now in health care? 147 00:05:26,449 --> 00:05:26,949 Well, 148 00:05:28,705 --> 00:05:31,985 you know, going forward, I'm really am excited 149 00:05:31,985 --> 00:05:34,545 about what what AI is gonna be able 150 00:05:34,545 --> 00:05:35,125 to bring 151 00:05:35,425 --> 00:05:37,845 bring to the to the table. And so, 152 00:05:38,305 --> 00:05:40,884 you know, in my previous population health 153 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,319 role, we were focused on one of our 154 00:05:43,319 --> 00:05:44,460 North Star goals, 155 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,300 which is to reduce the years of potential 156 00:05:48,439 --> 00:05:49,900 life lost in our community. 157 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:51,180 And, 158 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:52,939 you know, 159 00:05:54,074 --> 00:05:56,555 that's a statistic that's tracked worldwide and in 160 00:05:56,555 --> 00:05:58,414 The United States county by county. 161 00:05:58,714 --> 00:06:00,794 And it it basically is a a measure 162 00:06:00,794 --> 00:06:03,595 of early death. And not surprisingly in the 163 00:06:03,595 --> 00:06:04,814 Appalachian Highlands, 164 00:06:05,754 --> 00:06:07,834 we have more early death than in most 165 00:06:07,834 --> 00:06:09,389 of the rest of the rest of the 166 00:06:09,389 --> 00:06:10,610 country. And and 167 00:06:11,069 --> 00:06:11,569 so, 168 00:06:12,269 --> 00:06:14,850 so we got a goal to to reduce 169 00:06:15,310 --> 00:06:16,129 a 100,000 170 00:06:16,430 --> 00:06:16,930 years 171 00:06:17,470 --> 00:06:19,569 of early life lost over the, 172 00:06:20,189 --> 00:06:22,449 the next next decade. So, 173 00:06:23,694 --> 00:06:24,514 to do that, 174 00:06:25,774 --> 00:06:27,694 we we've been really doubling down on the 175 00:06:27,694 --> 00:06:30,514 things that we do well and then trying 176 00:06:30,894 --> 00:06:33,535 to do do more of that. And so 177 00:06:33,535 --> 00:06:35,475 a good example is screenings. 178 00:06:35,935 --> 00:06:37,535 We do a pretty good job of screenings 179 00:06:37,535 --> 00:06:38,274 right now. 180 00:06:39,180 --> 00:06:41,759 But if we can go the extra mile 181 00:06:42,379 --> 00:06:45,019 and, you know, increase our screening rates by 182 00:06:45,019 --> 00:06:47,339 five, ten, fifteen percent, we know that we're 183 00:06:47,339 --> 00:06:47,839 gonna 184 00:06:48,139 --> 00:06:50,620 save lives. We've made a heavy investment in 185 00:06:50,620 --> 00:06:51,519 smoking cessation, 186 00:06:53,115 --> 00:06:53,855 You know, 187 00:06:55,194 --> 00:06:57,134 COPD, pulmonary disease, 188 00:06:57,754 --> 00:06:59,915 lung disease is it's a it's a big 189 00:06:59,915 --> 00:07:01,595 deal in this region. One, because we have 190 00:07:01,595 --> 00:07:03,535 really high smoking rates, two, because, 191 00:07:04,555 --> 00:07:07,115 of black lung from from the coal mining 192 00:07:07,115 --> 00:07:07,615 industry. 193 00:07:08,209 --> 00:07:08,870 And so 194 00:07:09,170 --> 00:07:11,990 we've been putting a lot of investment into 195 00:07:12,209 --> 00:07:14,550 catching lung disease early, helping, 196 00:07:15,009 --> 00:07:17,250 prevent it, and we're really seeing that gain 197 00:07:17,250 --> 00:07:18,790 a lot of traction. So, 198 00:07:19,649 --> 00:07:22,230 you know, I'm I'm excited about what, 199 00:07:23,154 --> 00:07:25,154 AI is gonna continue to bring to the 200 00:07:25,154 --> 00:07:27,495 table to be able to to better 201 00:07:27,875 --> 00:07:30,935 do all that. And it's not just AI. 202 00:07:30,995 --> 00:07:34,134 It's it's really some of the new biotechnologies 203 00:07:34,754 --> 00:07:36,300 that are coming out and so on. I 204 00:07:36,300 --> 00:07:38,220 mean, we're really at a, I think, a 205 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:38,720 pivotal 206 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:40,000 point 207 00:07:40,540 --> 00:07:41,040 where, 208 00:07:42,060 --> 00:07:43,920 we we finally have the technology 209 00:07:44,300 --> 00:07:46,639 to do a better job, a more personalized 210 00:07:46,779 --> 00:07:47,279 job, 211 00:07:47,660 --> 00:07:49,600 getting down to the genetic level, 212 00:07:50,545 --> 00:07:52,785 in improving people's health. And so that's a, 213 00:07:52,785 --> 00:07:55,204 you know, that's a huge sea change. And, 214 00:07:55,745 --> 00:07:57,185 I think you're starting to see some of 215 00:07:57,185 --> 00:07:57,904 it with, 216 00:07:58,544 --> 00:07:59,524 GLP ones. 217 00:07:59,985 --> 00:08:02,384 That's you know, most of our admissions are 218 00:08:02,384 --> 00:08:03,365 due to heart disease, 219 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:06,460 or some aspect of it. And, you know, 220 00:08:06,460 --> 00:08:08,960 you trace that back to obesity and diabetes 221 00:08:09,180 --> 00:08:10,160 and so on. And, 222 00:08:11,180 --> 00:08:13,840 by fundamentally changing that through GOP ones, 223 00:08:14,220 --> 00:08:15,920 from a population health perspective, 224 00:08:17,495 --> 00:08:19,254 it it it it could be as as 225 00:08:19,254 --> 00:08:21,415 big of an intervention as we've ever made 226 00:08:21,415 --> 00:08:23,735 in public health. So that's, I think, I 227 00:08:23,735 --> 00:08:24,955 think pretty exciting. 228 00:08:25,895 --> 00:08:26,475 You know, 229 00:08:27,175 --> 00:08:29,415 something I'm proud of that we've done in 230 00:08:29,415 --> 00:08:31,035 in this organization is 231 00:08:31,810 --> 00:08:34,129 we we've really improved our balance sheet over 232 00:08:34,129 --> 00:08:36,149 the years and our operational efficiency. 233 00:08:36,850 --> 00:08:38,450 But at the same time, we've been making 234 00:08:38,450 --> 00:08:40,629 these really heavy investments 235 00:08:41,009 --> 00:08:43,110 in in not only access, 236 00:08:43,809 --> 00:08:45,570 which lots of people are doing. You see, 237 00:08:45,570 --> 00:08:47,675 you know, cranes in the sky in almost 238 00:08:47,675 --> 00:08:50,075 every major city around the country. We don't 239 00:08:50,075 --> 00:08:52,075 have major cities. We have small cities, but 240 00:08:52,075 --> 00:08:52,815 we're still, 241 00:08:53,514 --> 00:08:54,735 investing in access. 242 00:08:55,435 --> 00:08:57,215 We just built a brand new, 243 00:08:58,235 --> 00:09:01,274 addition onto our children's hospital. Our our NICU 244 00:09:01,274 --> 00:09:01,774 programs 245 00:09:03,410 --> 00:09:04,629 expanded and modernized. 246 00:09:05,730 --> 00:09:08,129 We're expanding our ED at our level one 247 00:09:08,129 --> 00:09:10,450 trauma center where we just added new beds 248 00:09:10,450 --> 00:09:12,850 to one of our hospitals that was, you 249 00:09:12,850 --> 00:09:15,090 know, full to the top. That's all great, 250 00:09:15,090 --> 00:09:18,185 but we're also investing in sort of going 251 00:09:18,185 --> 00:09:20,665 beyond beds and thinking about being a true 252 00:09:20,665 --> 00:09:22,365 community health improvement organization. 253 00:09:22,985 --> 00:09:24,985 And so the major investments we've made in 254 00:09:24,985 --> 00:09:27,945 behavioral health moving from a hospital based program 255 00:09:27,945 --> 00:09:29,725 to a community based program, 256 00:09:30,740 --> 00:09:32,919 has has been, I think, really impactful. 257 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:36,419 We've invested lots of money in in our 258 00:09:36,419 --> 00:09:38,659 nurses, and and, you know, our turnover is 259 00:09:38,659 --> 00:09:40,519 now the lowest that it's ever been. 260 00:09:41,460 --> 00:09:43,379 We're reaching out to people who are most 261 00:09:43,379 --> 00:09:45,240 vulnerable and enrolling them in, 262 00:09:46,014 --> 00:09:48,195 care programs that have shown, 263 00:09:48,815 --> 00:09:52,274 three to four return times return on investment, 264 00:09:53,375 --> 00:09:56,014 in terms of, the the money that we 265 00:09:56,014 --> 00:09:58,495 spend on on uninsured folks who, 266 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:01,100 frequently visit the ED, 267 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:03,959 and we've gotten ninety 1% of them connected 268 00:10:03,959 --> 00:10:05,799 with primary care on a regular basis. So 269 00:10:05,799 --> 00:10:07,659 it's a win win for everybody. So 270 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:09,819 those are some of the things that we've 271 00:10:09,879 --> 00:10:11,559 really been working on, and we're just gonna 272 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:13,500 build on them in the future going forward. 273 00:10:14,554 --> 00:10:16,154 What are some of the things that that 274 00:10:16,154 --> 00:10:18,154 helped yield that kind of growth, Tony, where 275 00:10:18,154 --> 00:10:20,235 you can help there's so much expansion and 276 00:10:20,235 --> 00:10:21,995 and so many more patients can be helped 277 00:10:21,995 --> 00:10:22,495 now. 278 00:10:23,595 --> 00:10:26,095 Well, I think the the the merger between, 279 00:10:26,789 --> 00:10:28,950 Wellmont and Mountain States was a big contributor 280 00:10:28,950 --> 00:10:31,210 to that. We had a lot of unnecessary 281 00:10:31,350 --> 00:10:31,850 duplication 282 00:10:32,710 --> 00:10:35,450 in the region. We had hospitals that were 283 00:10:35,669 --> 00:10:37,990 two to three miles apart that were 20 284 00:10:37,990 --> 00:10:39,370 to 30% full, 285 00:10:39,764 --> 00:10:40,264 losing, 286 00:10:41,125 --> 00:10:43,065 tens of millions of dollars a year, 287 00:10:43,845 --> 00:10:45,524 that just went out the door and didn't 288 00:10:45,524 --> 00:10:47,305 benefit patients at all. 289 00:10:48,085 --> 00:10:50,965 And and by eliminating that wasteful duplication, we 290 00:10:50,965 --> 00:10:53,125 were able to take those dollars and reinvest 291 00:10:53,125 --> 00:10:55,769 them in these programs. By the time we 292 00:10:55,769 --> 00:10:57,850 get through the first ten years of our 293 00:10:57,850 --> 00:10:58,350 merger, 294 00:10:59,049 --> 00:11:01,610 we'll have invested well over 300,000,000 295 00:11:01,610 --> 00:11:03,470 of incremental dollars in, 296 00:11:04,490 --> 00:11:06,970 in these new new programs that, again, go 297 00:11:06,970 --> 00:11:07,949 beyond putting 298 00:11:08,495 --> 00:11:10,914 heads in heads in beds. I think, 299 00:11:11,375 --> 00:11:12,914 we've also done a lot of, 300 00:11:13,294 --> 00:11:13,794 work 301 00:11:14,174 --> 00:11:15,475 just generally becoming 302 00:11:16,174 --> 00:11:20,434 more efficient. We are a Medicare breakeven organization. 303 00:11:21,210 --> 00:11:23,850 A lot of organizations around the country set 304 00:11:23,850 --> 00:11:24,429 that as 305 00:11:24,730 --> 00:11:26,970 a goal many years ago, but very, very 306 00:11:26,970 --> 00:11:29,370 few have actually been able to attain it, 307 00:11:29,370 --> 00:11:31,050 and and we have. We have to be 308 00:11:31,050 --> 00:11:32,190 because we we're 309 00:11:32,649 --> 00:11:33,149 reimbursed 310 00:11:34,455 --> 00:11:37,095 less than almost every region in the in 311 00:11:37,095 --> 00:11:39,335 the country from Medicare and other payers, and 312 00:11:39,335 --> 00:11:41,575 so we have to be incredibly efficient. And 313 00:11:41,575 --> 00:11:42,475 and we are, 314 00:11:43,095 --> 00:11:44,455 and so, again, when, 315 00:11:45,175 --> 00:11:47,274 when you're able to to build on, 316 00:11:47,735 --> 00:11:48,475 that efficiency, 317 00:11:51,230 --> 00:11:53,870 you're able to potentially invest some of it 318 00:11:53,870 --> 00:11:54,610 in in, 319 00:11:55,309 --> 00:11:57,309 some of these these new ideas and new 320 00:11:57,309 --> 00:11:58,049 new services. 321 00:11:59,389 --> 00:12:01,629 Absolutely. And, Tony, the last question I have 322 00:12:01,629 --> 00:12:02,205 for you, 323 00:12:02,684 --> 00:12:04,524 how have you evolved as a leader, and 324 00:12:04,524 --> 00:12:07,085 what advice would you give to to leaders 325 00:12:07,085 --> 00:12:08,465 that are evolving now? 326 00:12:09,404 --> 00:12:11,404 Well, I always look at myself, you know, 327 00:12:11,404 --> 00:12:13,424 ten years in the past and think, man, 328 00:12:13,565 --> 00:12:15,404 you just did not know what you thought, 329 00:12:15,404 --> 00:12:17,500 you know, back then. Right? So it it 330 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:18,000 never 331 00:12:18,539 --> 00:12:22,240 it never it never stops. And, I, 332 00:12:23,259 --> 00:12:25,579 I just took an AI course with my 333 00:12:25,579 --> 00:12:28,059 my son at the University of Michigan. Both 334 00:12:28,059 --> 00:12:29,579 of us took it together because he's at 335 00:12:29,579 --> 00:12:31,495 the beginning of his career. And I said, 336 00:12:31,495 --> 00:12:33,334 you know what? AI might be threatening your 337 00:12:33,334 --> 00:12:33,834 career, 338 00:12:34,694 --> 00:12:36,534 path as a, you know, a a sort 339 00:12:36,534 --> 00:12:38,934 of a young professional. And and me as 340 00:12:38,934 --> 00:12:41,254 a, you know, an older professional, I need 341 00:12:41,254 --> 00:12:42,934 to keep up with what's going on. So 342 00:12:42,934 --> 00:12:45,160 we both took that course. And I think 343 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:45,899 being lifelong 344 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:47,899 learner and making it fun, 345 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:50,059 is is really critical. 346 00:12:50,519 --> 00:12:52,360 I, you know, I work with a lot 347 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:53,820 of students from 348 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:55,820 the University of Michigan, 349 00:12:57,335 --> 00:12:59,815 and and the East Tennessee State University School 350 00:12:59,815 --> 00:13:00,875 of Public Health 351 00:13:01,414 --> 00:13:01,914 and, 352 00:13:02,774 --> 00:13:03,274 mentor 353 00:13:03,735 --> 00:13:05,355 quite a quite a few of them. 354 00:13:05,815 --> 00:13:07,754 And one of the things that I, 355 00:13:08,934 --> 00:13:09,674 am always, 356 00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:13,120 I'm full of all sorts of advice, but, 357 00:13:13,419 --> 00:13:14,799 one of the things that I'm 358 00:13:15,899 --> 00:13:17,360 always strongly suggesting 359 00:13:17,740 --> 00:13:19,679 is is that they get experience 360 00:13:20,059 --> 00:13:20,559 actually 361 00:13:21,419 --> 00:13:23,039 laying hands on people. 362 00:13:25,095 --> 00:13:27,254 You know, there's there's plenty of times as 363 00:13:27,254 --> 00:13:27,914 a as 364 00:13:28,934 --> 00:13:32,615 a management student or administrative student in health 365 00:13:32,615 --> 00:13:33,914 management, public health 366 00:13:34,294 --> 00:13:36,294 to get experience going to meetings and doing 367 00:13:36,294 --> 00:13:38,074 spreadsheets and all that stuff. But 368 00:13:38,660 --> 00:13:41,300 but working as a CNA, a transporter, community 369 00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:42,440 health worker, EMT, 370 00:13:42,899 --> 00:13:45,779 even even in volunteer roles is really an 371 00:13:45,779 --> 00:13:46,279 incredible 372 00:13:46,899 --> 00:13:48,600 is incredibly important to 373 00:13:49,540 --> 00:13:52,200 understanding the constant stress and uncertainty 374 00:13:52,820 --> 00:13:55,504 that's present, not only in our patients' lives, 375 00:13:55,504 --> 00:13:57,365 but but our our team members' 376 00:13:57,985 --> 00:13:58,964 lives. And 377 00:13:59,504 --> 00:14:01,445 so I I say that, 378 00:14:02,464 --> 00:14:04,404 you know, for that group, but it extends 379 00:14:05,264 --> 00:14:07,365 it extends to all of us as as 380 00:14:07,424 --> 00:14:07,924 professionals 381 00:14:08,850 --> 00:14:10,789 regardless of when we're in our career. 382 00:14:11,409 --> 00:14:13,589 We're putting a lot of effort internally 383 00:14:14,450 --> 00:14:17,589 into management rounding, into starting, 384 00:14:18,610 --> 00:14:20,309 every meeting with a mission moment, 385 00:14:21,175 --> 00:14:22,555 and system wide tiered 386 00:14:23,014 --> 00:14:24,955 system wide tiered safety huddles, 387 00:14:25,735 --> 00:14:26,235 where 388 00:14:26,615 --> 00:14:28,535 they start on the units, you know, early 389 00:14:28,535 --> 00:14:30,875 in the morning. And by 09:00, 390 00:14:31,575 --> 00:14:33,754 in in the morning, it reaches the executive 391 00:14:33,815 --> 00:14:36,134 level about what's going on in every single 392 00:14:36,134 --> 00:14:36,509 unit, 393 00:14:37,470 --> 00:14:39,950 in in the system that potentially is a 394 00:14:39,950 --> 00:14:42,830 safety issue. So those are all things that 395 00:14:42,830 --> 00:14:44,610 keep us really close 396 00:14:45,230 --> 00:14:46,049 to the work. 397 00:14:46,750 --> 00:14:47,970 And I think, 398 00:14:48,669 --> 00:14:49,490 it's easy 399 00:14:49,975 --> 00:14:52,534 as a manager with everything that's going on 400 00:14:52,534 --> 00:14:54,075 being constantly attacked, 401 00:14:54,615 --> 00:14:55,274 you know, 402 00:14:56,054 --> 00:14:58,455 under payment changes from the federal government, from 403 00:14:58,455 --> 00:14:59,034 the payers, 404 00:15:00,054 --> 00:15:02,075 cyber threats. I mean, all the things. 405 00:15:02,455 --> 00:15:03,779 It easy to get distracted 406 00:15:04,399 --> 00:15:06,720 from what's really happening on the ground with 407 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,600 the people that are are basically generating all 408 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,120 the outcomes for you. And, so that's probably 409 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,519 one of the most important pieces of advice 410 00:15:15,519 --> 00:15:17,540 I can give is just to be consistent 411 00:15:17,759 --> 00:15:18,500 about that. 412 00:15:19,165 --> 00:15:22,125 Absolutely. And, look, that's fantastic advice. Really appreciate 413 00:15:22,125 --> 00:15:24,285 you sharing that with Evolving Leaders, and thanks 414 00:15:24,285 --> 00:15:25,805 for sharing all your insight with us on 415 00:15:25,805 --> 00:15:27,644 the podcast. It was a great conversation. I 416 00:15:27,644 --> 00:15:29,345 look forward to working with you again soon. 417 00:15:29,565 --> 00:15:30,705 Thanks for the time.