- The strategic agenda facing hospital and health system
- leaders right now is not a short list.
- Growth in a consolidating market, sustainable margins in
- a reimbursement environment that rarely moves in your
- favor,
- a tech investment cycle that demands both urgency
- and discipline,
- and a workforce story that is still being
- written.
- Eker's fourteenth annual CEO CFO roundtable brings together
- more than 1,500 executive level attendees and nearly
- 400 speakers across four days of sessions that
- are designed to help c suite leaders benchmark,
- pressure test, and sharpen their priorities.
- Not in the abstract, but against the real
- decisions they'll face heading into the next year.
- It's the kind of event you leave with
- a clear sense of where you stand and
- what comes next.
- So join us November second through the fifth
- at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, and come
- ready to do the hard thinking.
- Register on our events page at beckershospitalreview.com
- by clicking on the events tab in the
- upper right.
- This is Laura Dierdahl with the Becker's Healthcare
- podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
- Timothy Lehman, president and chief administrative officer at
- Saint Mary's Hospital, part of Hospital Sisters Health
- System. Timothy, it's a pleasure to have you
- on the podcast today.
- Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
- Absolutely. Now I'm excited for our conversation. I
- know we're gonna talk a lot about, some
- of the great things you're doing at Saint
- Mary's Hospital and,
- dig into some of the things you're you're
- looking forward to in the future as well.
- But before we dive into that conversation, can
- you tell us a little bit more about
- yourself and your background?
- Sure. So I've been a nurse now for
- coming up on twenty years.
- So, nursing is a second career for me.
- I became a nurse and realized very quickly
- that, there's a lot of work to do,
- not only in nursing and it but in
- health care as well. So I decided to
- go back to school, a bunch of different
- times and had the privilege of working for
- several different types of hospital based systems,
- for profit, not for profit, university based medicine,
- and private health care.
- I have the privilege of working,
- my way through clinical positions and leadership roles,
- and and, ultimately, I have landed where I
- am right now,
- working in a a an amazing role that
- offers a glimpse into
- what what the future of health care looks
- like.
- That's fantastic to hear. And, you know, really
- cool to have that opportunity,
- to to, you know, explore the field and,
- like you said, have the nursing background as
- well as the leadership and lots of health
- care administration too. So that's great to hear.
- And could you give us a quick state
- of the union for,
- Saint Mary's Hospital?
- What has gone well this year and what
- do you really focus on for the rest
- of 2026?
- Absolutely.
- So 2026
- has been
- a transformational
- year for HSHS Saint Mary's Hospital.
- We're halfway through one of the most significant
- modernization
- projects in our history,
- including the opening of our new center for
- advanced surgery.
- Our expanded procedural capacity and renovated patient, inpatient
- units,
- and upgraded infrastructure
- really positions us
- to serve the community,
- for decades to come. So while the facility
- aspect is exciting,
- I'm most proud of what our teams have
- accomplished operationally.
- We have continued to improve quality outcomes,
- the reduction of hospital acquired conditions,
- strengthened patient experience,
- and improved our emergency
- department throughput. And those results are just a
- reflection
- of the incredible team that is committed to
- our mission here at Saint Mary's.
- I think as we move
- through the remainder of 2026,
- our focus though is gonna shift from the
- building aspect as we continue there,
- to maximizing
- our potential.
- And
- and for us, that means growing surgical services,
- strengthening
- our physician partnerships,
- expanding
- access to care,
- improving our workforce stability, and ensuring
- every investment
- translates
- not only into better patient outcomes,
- but a stronger financial performance
- and position as well. So that goal is
- to
- guide and deliver exceptional care,
- while building a sustainable organization for the future.
- That makes a ton of sense. You know?
- And it's really important. I I love the
- focus not only on the,
- quality and outcomes
- as well as the efficiency of moving patients
- to the hospital, but then too just being
- able to have modern facilities and, pour into
- the workforce as well. And so when you
- think of all of those things that are
- top of mind for for you,
- what really
- sticks out as being the the area where
- the the investment really is gonna make the
- biggest difference for those patient outcomes? How do
- you see,
- being able to navigate, I guess, so many
- different factors and changes happening at once?
- Yes. So that navigation,
- being nimble
- and being someone that is routinely flexible in
- areas of uncertainty is
- absolutely
- necessary.
- I think that the health care workforce is
- singularly the largest focus
- for health care organizations
- and being able to sustain and create an
- environment
- where there is a focus on the human
- aspect and human potential
- around
- building the employee from an organizational standpoint and
- caring for patients,
- from that altruistic standpoint
- are extremely important.
- Got it. That that makes a lot of
- sense, you know, and it truly truly is
- part of, such an important mission for health
- care today. So I I know a lot
- happening, but I am curious too. What are
- some of the big headwinds that you have
- your eye on and that you've been preparing
- for?
- What are you doing right now and what's
- top of mind in in that space?
- So I think the biggest headwind,
- is the health care workforce.
- That is our single greatest challenge
- for facing hospitals nationwide.
- So while staffing has stabilized
- across the country,
- compared to several years ago, there was major
- disruption.
- We're entering a period where
- demographic trends and an aging workforce
- and fewer graduates
- are are creating
- pressure,
- for organizations across the country. At the same
- time, reimbursement
- continues
- to tighten,
- while the expectations placed on hospitals continues to
- grow.
- So health systems are being asked to do
- more with fewer resources,
- making operational excellence,
- not only more important, but a central focus
- for most executives.
- The organizations that will thrive are those that
- are able to embrace innovation and disruption,
- not by simply reducing costs, but redesigning the
- way that we deliver care. So things like
- artificial intelligence, automation,
- predictive analytics, virtual care, all of those things
- are extremely important, and they're gonna play an
- important role in the future.
- And although technology itself won't replace caregivers ever,
- it can absolutely help remove or at least
- limit administrative burden so that clinicians
- spend more time doing what they do best
- and that is at the bedside
- caring for patients in a compassionate way.
- Absolutely. I I love that. And, you know,
- to to have some of those challenges that
- you mentioned, I think, are are very,
- you know, a lot of a lot of
- hospital leaders across the country are experiencing those
- same same things with reimbursement in the workforce
- and more. So I I love your thoughts
- on being innovative, being able to stay nimble,
- and,
- incorporating technology into the organization.
- Is there
- something that you've done, to,
- I guess, promote that type of innovation within
- Saint Mary's or an example you can share
- with us of,
- innovation that's truly been able to shine?
- So I think it comes back to people
- closest to the work
- know best what they need and querying and
- talking with,
- not only our leaders, but talking with our
- staff who are closest to patient care,
- is probably
- the the singular best focus you can have
- for designing or redesigning
- a health system around
- how people visualize the future to be. When
- asking staff, hey. How could we do this
- better? You would be surprised how many innovative
- ideas and thoughts come to mind.
- As a hospital system, HSHS,
- just underwent,
- a year of stewardship where our top champions
- were asked to provide ideas to the hospital
- system in ways to be excellent stewards
- of,
- of our craft. And a a lot of
- amazing ideas came from that, ideas where, there
- were sharing resources, where,
- resources were able to be
- duplicated in other areas. So, certainly,
- in the area of focus was getting information
- from the staff members in a way that
- makes sense and that we can translate that
- into something that works best. Oftentimes,
- that innovative thought process comes from those closest
- to the work.
- I love that. What a great philosophy and
- especially important,
- for those clinicians and leaders who are on
- the front lines, how to be able to
- make a difference and and and see changes
- and then be able to do that. And
- to that point, you know, where do you
- see some of the best opportunities to grow
- in the next two to three years?
- So I think the greatest opportunity,
- is to become, for us, a destination
- hospital
- for advanced specialty care
- regionally.
- So we've invested heavily in the infrastructure,
- which many health systems aren't investing in now.
- We've already done that. So now it's about
- growing the programs that matter most to the
- community,
- expanding our surgical service line, strengthening our cardiovascular
- care, enhancing,
- neuroscience and orthopedic services, and continuing to recruit
- amazing outstanding physicians
- and advanced practice providers.
- So I'm equally excited about leveraging technology to
- improving that access, whether it's through telehealth,
- a a AI enabled clinical support, or even
- more personalized patient engagement.
- We've got a unique opportunity
- to make health care more convenient while improving
- quality outcomes.
- The growth for us isn't simply just about
- adding volume. It's about creating a health system
- that delivers a high value,
- better clinical outcome, exceptional patient experience
- every single time and that we can do
- it with long term financial sustainability.
- That's the type of growth that benefits everyone.
- Absolutely. I I love it. And, you know,
- investing more in that clinical team, makes a
- lot of sense and extremely
- exciting that you're bringing on more physicians, more
- specialists, and members of the of the clinical
- team to serve the patients. I know,
- a lot happening within that space. So being
- able to be in a position where you're
- bringing in more physicians,
- I I can imagine is is a great
- place to be.
- Very exciting.
- Absolutely. Now before we wrap up, I'm curious,
- who do you admire as a leader from
- really any industry and why?
- That was a tough question. I I think
- one leader I admire is Sucha Nadella,
- the CEO of Microsoft.
- When he became CEO,
- Microsoft was already a successful company.
- But he fundamentally
- changed
- its culture. He shifted
- the organization
- from one that is centered on competition
- and knowing all the answers to one that
- is focused on learning,
- collaboration,
- the innovation arm,
- and empathy.
- So under his leadership alone, Microsoft
- has experienced remarkable growth while maintaining
- a strong commitment to its purpose
- and its people.
- There's several lessons health care leaders, I think,
- can take from that approach, and it's that
- culture is a strategic advantage.
- Innovation only succeeds when people feel empowered to
- contribute.
- And humility
- and the willingness to learn, listen, and continuously
- improve
- is one of the most important leadership qualities
- that somebody can have. So in health care,
- our mission is slightly different, but the principles
- remain the same. The best leaders create environments
- where people feel valued, where innovation is
- encouraged, and where decisions begin with the question,
- how does this improve
- the lives of the people we serve? And
- so I think he
- he really
- he shows that,
- in his very humanistic approach and his very
- leader profile, which is what makes him incredibly
- successful.
- I love it. Timothy, thank you so much
- for joining us on the podcast today. This
- has been such a fun conversation.
- Really learned a lot about Saint Mary's and,
- you know, excellent to to have your perspective
- on how to move forward. And,
- you know, it was very, very exciting and
- disruptive times in health care. So I appreciate
- your perspective, and we look forward to seeing
- you at our CEO CFO roundtable. I know
- you'll be here in Chicago in November, speaking
- on one of our panels. And so we'll
- dig deeper into many of these themes, and
- it'll just be great to see you in
- person.
- Alright. Look forward to meeting you as well,
- and thanks for having me.