1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,060 Imagine this. You're at the Hyatt Regency Chicago 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:06,000 immersed in insightful discussions with the health care 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,459 industry's top leaders. 4 00:00:07,839 --> 00:00:10,580 Welcome to Becker's 12th annual CEO 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,740 and CFO roundtable from November 11th to 14th 6 00:00:15,134 --> 00:00:15,634 2024. 7 00:00:16,175 --> 00:00:19,315 Picture yourself networking with over a 1000 executive 8 00:00:19,454 --> 00:00:20,275 level attendees, 9 00:00:20,734 --> 00:00:23,795 collecting business cards, and forging valuable connections. 10 00:00:24,255 --> 00:00:26,654 Feel the excitement as you engage in 4 11 00:00:26,654 --> 00:00:28,675 days of sessions featuring 400 12 00:00:29,135 --> 00:00:30,870 elite health system speakers. 13 00:00:31,429 --> 00:00:35,049 Envision yourself diving deep into critical topics like 14 00:00:35,109 --> 00:00:37,450 rural health care, digital transformation, 15 00:00:38,070 --> 00:00:40,409 health equity, and c suite diversity. 16 00:00:41,190 --> 00:00:44,729 Now imagine being inspired by our celebrity keynotes, 17 00:00:45,195 --> 00:00:48,234 pro football hall of famers Troy Aikman and 18 00:00:48,234 --> 00:00:52,075 Emmett Smith, 43rd president George w Bush, and 19 00:00:52,075 --> 00:00:55,435 author and journalist Jenna Bush Hager. Their stories 20 00:00:55,435 --> 00:00:56,495 will leave you motivated 21 00:00:56,875 --> 00:00:57,695 and energized. 22 00:00:58,234 --> 00:00:59,535 Don't miss this unparalleled 23 00:00:59,995 --> 00:01:00,495 opportunity. 24 00:01:00,990 --> 00:01:03,329 Get registered today. Visit beckershospitalreview.com 25 00:01:05,230 --> 00:01:06,989 and click on the events page to find 26 00:01:06,989 --> 00:01:08,129 the conference website. 27 00:01:08,510 --> 00:01:09,489 That's the beckershospitalreview.com 28 00:01:11,709 --> 00:01:13,729 events page. See you in Chicago. 29 00:01:14,594 --> 00:01:17,075 Welcome everyone to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 30 00:01:17,075 --> 00:01:19,634 I'm Moriah Muhammad, writer and moderator with Becker's 31 00:01:19,634 --> 00:01:21,394 Healthcare. And I'm thrilled to have with me 32 00:01:21,394 --> 00:01:22,694 today Colleen Blackburn, 33 00:01:23,075 --> 00:01:25,634 director of the cardiovascular service line at OSF 34 00:01:25,634 --> 00:01:28,079 Health Care. Colleen, welcome to the podcast. We're 35 00:01:28,079 --> 00:01:29,760 very excited to have you join us today. 36 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,200 To get us started, would you mind please 37 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,880 introducing yourself and telling us a bit about 38 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:33,620 your background? 39 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:36,959 Sure. No problem. Like you said, I'm currently 40 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:38,340 serving as the cardiovascular 41 00:01:38,719 --> 00:01:41,540 service line director at OSF Saint Francis Medical 42 00:01:41,564 --> 00:01:42,984 Center in Peoria, Illinois. 43 00:01:43,564 --> 00:01:45,805 OSF Health Care is a large hospital system 44 00:01:45,805 --> 00:01:47,344 with our headquarters in Peoria, 45 00:01:47,725 --> 00:01:50,045 Illinois, and we really service throughout the Illinois 46 00:01:50,045 --> 00:01:50,704 and Michigan, 47 00:01:51,084 --> 00:01:51,584 states. 48 00:01:51,885 --> 00:01:55,185 I graduated from Illinois State University in 2006 49 00:01:55,484 --> 00:01:56,385 with my bachelor's 50 00:01:56,844 --> 00:01:59,060 of science in nursing, and then I completed 51 00:01:59,060 --> 00:02:02,040 my nurse practitioner degree at New York University 52 00:02:02,099 --> 00:02:02,840 in 2011. 53 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:06,020 And since then, I have done nursing and 54 00:02:06,020 --> 00:02:08,680 nurse practitioner. My background has primarily been, 55 00:02:09,060 --> 00:02:11,655 within oncology, kidney and liver transplant, 56 00:02:12,194 --> 00:02:13,174 and ICU 57 00:02:13,555 --> 00:02:14,694 critical care management. 58 00:02:16,194 --> 00:02:18,194 Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you so much for giving 59 00:02:18,194 --> 00:02:20,834 us that, that background on you. So with 60 00:02:20,834 --> 00:02:22,530 all the things that you're currently doing in 61 00:02:22,530 --> 00:02:24,610 your in your role today, what are some 62 00:02:24,610 --> 00:02:27,730 of the 3 biggest issues in, cardiology today, 63 00:02:27,730 --> 00:02:28,550 would you say? 64 00:02:29,330 --> 00:02:32,069 Yeah. Being an operational manager in in cardiovascular 65 00:02:32,290 --> 00:02:33,430 and within the cardiology 66 00:02:33,730 --> 00:02:36,210 sector can be pretty challenging, I think, especially 67 00:02:36,210 --> 00:02:38,405 in the post COVID era. 68 00:02:38,865 --> 00:02:41,205 We saw, during COVID, volumes 69 00:02:41,504 --> 00:02:44,965 and staffing drastically decreased, and now we're slowly 70 00:02:45,025 --> 00:02:47,344 rebuilding up to that. And we know over 71 00:02:47,344 --> 00:02:49,844 the next 10 years, our volume and anticipated 72 00:02:49,985 --> 00:02:52,560 growth of patients is only gonna continue to 73 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,860 grow with the increase of, the elderly population. 74 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,560 So when I really look at what are 75 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,459 my 3 biggest concerns or 3 biggest issues, 76 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:03,775 you know, I'm looking at how do we 77 00:03:03,775 --> 00:03:04,914 integrate technology, 78 00:03:05,294 --> 00:03:08,834 specifically I AI. Obviously, that's on everyone's mind. 79 00:03:09,854 --> 00:03:12,254 I'm also really looking at that volume growth. 80 00:03:12,254 --> 00:03:13,694 How do we get in front of that? 81 00:03:13,694 --> 00:03:16,014 How do we serve our patients, making sure 82 00:03:16,014 --> 00:03:18,969 that they get timely access to care as 83 00:03:18,969 --> 00:03:21,530 well as good quality care. And then thirdly, 84 00:03:21,530 --> 00:03:23,870 and again, I think on most operational managers, 85 00:03:24,650 --> 00:03:26,750 you know, mind is staffing. 86 00:03:27,050 --> 00:03:28,730 And we're really doing a lot of work 87 00:03:28,730 --> 00:03:31,050 looking at how can we eliminate call within 88 00:03:31,050 --> 00:03:34,275 our procedural areas, create better work life balance, 89 00:03:34,974 --> 00:03:36,914 and really thinking outside of the box. 90 00:03:38,254 --> 00:03:40,254 Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much for 91 00:03:40,254 --> 00:03:42,354 giving us that that insight. I think, 92 00:03:43,614 --> 00:03:45,694 you know, we report here at Becker's a 93 00:03:45,694 --> 00:03:47,694 lot and, you know, COVID 19 is something 94 00:03:47,694 --> 00:03:50,090 that I, you know, take very seriously. 95 00:03:51,110 --> 00:03:53,349 And I I've been seeing kinda the states 96 00:03:53,349 --> 00:03:55,050 where it's rising and falling. 97 00:03:55,990 --> 00:03:57,990 And AI has definitely been a big hit 98 00:03:57,990 --> 00:03:59,509 in health care and in the health care 99 00:03:59,509 --> 00:04:01,474 sector for sure. As she does publish an 100 00:04:01,474 --> 00:04:04,375 article asking executives what's the biggest, disruptor 101 00:04:04,675 --> 00:04:06,514 in health care, and most people did say 102 00:04:06,514 --> 00:04:07,014 AI. 103 00:04:07,794 --> 00:04:10,375 So how do you see heart care evolving 104 00:04:10,435 --> 00:04:12,534 over the next 18 months or so? 105 00:04:13,430 --> 00:04:15,110 Yeah. I think with that and and on 106 00:04:15,110 --> 00:04:16,410 the topic of AI, 107 00:04:17,029 --> 00:04:17,529 obviously, 108 00:04:17,830 --> 00:04:20,149 many companies are knocking on our door. There's 109 00:04:20,149 --> 00:04:22,310 lots of new products, newer products out there 110 00:04:22,310 --> 00:04:24,790 with AI and just new technology, especially within 111 00:04:24,790 --> 00:04:27,290 our procedural EP cath lab sectors. 112 00:04:28,504 --> 00:04:30,185 People are knocking on the door, and and 113 00:04:30,185 --> 00:04:30,845 the hospitals 114 00:04:31,384 --> 00:04:33,464 are, you know, for the first time really 115 00:04:33,464 --> 00:04:36,104 looking at how can we integrate those into 116 00:04:36,104 --> 00:04:38,204 our system, into our hospitals. 117 00:04:38,985 --> 00:04:41,224 But one thing, as you as you mentioned, 118 00:04:41,224 --> 00:04:42,985 it is also a disruptor. How are we 119 00:04:42,985 --> 00:04:44,520 going to do that? And I think we 120 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,060 need to do that really mindfully, 121 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,759 looking at when we look at these products, 122 00:04:48,759 --> 00:04:50,920 what's the goal? And are we looking at 123 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,819 it as a workforce or or workflow efficiency? 124 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:56,520 Or is it more patient centered, and we're 125 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,634 looking at reducing readmissions or mortality risk? Or 126 00:04:59,634 --> 00:05:01,875 is it more diagnostic in nature and, you 127 00:05:01,875 --> 00:05:05,254 know, heart failure prediction or MI prediction tool? 128 00:05:05,875 --> 00:05:08,594 We really need to understand what our goal 129 00:05:08,594 --> 00:05:11,235 is for the products we're bringing in, and 130 00:05:11,235 --> 00:05:13,235 then look at different vendors and select the 131 00:05:13,235 --> 00:05:15,449 best one to fit that need. I think 132 00:05:15,449 --> 00:05:17,129 we could get really wrapped up over the 133 00:05:17,129 --> 00:05:18,750 next 2 to 5 years, 134 00:05:19,370 --> 00:05:21,769 with just so much attention with AI and 135 00:05:21,769 --> 00:05:24,729 so many new products, just picking a project 136 00:05:24,729 --> 00:05:26,729 and trying to make it work because it's 137 00:05:26,729 --> 00:05:28,889 cool and neat and new and, you know, 138 00:05:28,889 --> 00:05:29,389 exciting. 139 00:05:29,764 --> 00:05:30,964 But we really need to do our due 140 00:05:30,964 --> 00:05:33,044 diligence and be mindful about the products we're 141 00:05:33,044 --> 00:05:34,564 bringing in and make sure that they're still 142 00:05:34,564 --> 00:05:36,745 high quality and going to meet our operational 143 00:05:37,204 --> 00:05:38,185 and patient needs. 144 00:05:39,044 --> 00:05:41,285 Oh, yeah. Absolutely. That definitely makes a lot 145 00:05:41,285 --> 00:05:42,884 of sense. And you know what? We talked 146 00:05:42,884 --> 00:05:45,305 a lot about technology and and AI. 147 00:05:46,069 --> 00:05:48,730 Is there anything else that's making you excited 148 00:05:48,790 --> 00:05:51,110 about today or anything that's making you nervous, 149 00:05:51,110 --> 00:05:52,870 whether you're seeing it in the news or 150 00:05:52,870 --> 00:05:54,970 anything that you're currently seeing in your organization? 151 00:05:56,470 --> 00:05:57,990 Yeah. I think what else what we're really 152 00:05:57,990 --> 00:05:59,990 seeing that's exciting, like I mentioned, is that 153 00:05:59,990 --> 00:06:03,024 volume growth. And we're at an opportunity here 154 00:06:03,024 --> 00:06:05,664 at Saint Francis Medical Center where we need 155 00:06:05,664 --> 00:06:08,144 to start expanding some of our procedural cap 156 00:06:08,144 --> 00:06:09,604 lab and EP suites. 157 00:06:09,904 --> 00:06:11,504 And how do we do that? It's really 158 00:06:11,504 --> 00:06:12,004 challenging. 159 00:06:12,384 --> 00:06:13,444 Like most facilities, 160 00:06:14,144 --> 00:06:16,485 we can either build up or add new 161 00:06:16,819 --> 00:06:18,360 suites to our existing 162 00:06:19,139 --> 00:06:22,279 hospital system, or we're also looking at ambulatory 163 00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:24,899 surgical centers. So, really, are we gonna put 164 00:06:24,899 --> 00:06:26,660 that here at the main center, or do 165 00:06:26,660 --> 00:06:28,439 we need to start looking at alternatives 166 00:06:28,975 --> 00:06:30,194 like the ambulatory 167 00:06:30,654 --> 00:06:33,634 surgical centers to offset some of that volume? 168 00:06:34,014 --> 00:06:36,175 And those are difficult decisions to make as 169 00:06:36,175 --> 00:06:39,555 operational leaders. There's positives and negatives to both. 170 00:06:39,615 --> 00:06:42,574 Having everything at one central location from a 171 00:06:42,574 --> 00:06:45,579 works and a workflow and staffing perspective is 172 00:06:45,579 --> 00:06:46,399 really efficient. 173 00:06:46,779 --> 00:06:48,459 But we also know we don't always have 174 00:06:48,459 --> 00:06:51,599 just the geographical footprint to build out new 175 00:06:51,659 --> 00:06:52,800 surgical suites. 176 00:06:53,740 --> 00:06:55,419 So how are we going to tackle that 177 00:06:55,419 --> 00:06:57,805 over maybe the next 2 to 3 years? 178 00:06:57,805 --> 00:06:58,925 I think it's gonna be one of the 179 00:06:58,925 --> 00:07:00,865 major challenges we have here, 180 00:07:01,485 --> 00:07:02,464 at our organization. 181 00:07:03,324 --> 00:07:05,404 And I think that's probably true across the 182 00:07:05,404 --> 00:07:07,504 nation. A lot of a lot of different 183 00:07:07,644 --> 00:07:09,564 ideas about how do we grow. Do we 184 00:07:09,564 --> 00:07:10,544 offset that, 185 00:07:11,180 --> 00:07:13,579 to an ambulatory surgical center, or do we 186 00:07:13,579 --> 00:07:14,639 really grow here? 187 00:07:15,019 --> 00:07:16,860 And at the bottom line, it's where is 188 00:07:16,860 --> 00:07:19,500 the best benefit for the patient and maintaining 189 00:07:19,500 --> 00:07:21,979 that high quality of care. That's our top 190 00:07:21,979 --> 00:07:23,740 priority, and I think we really have to 191 00:07:23,740 --> 00:07:25,500 focus on that as we make these bigger 192 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:26,000 plans. 193 00:07:27,084 --> 00:07:28,685 Absolutely. Thank you so much for those final 194 00:07:28,685 --> 00:07:30,925 thoughts, Coleen. This has definitely been a very 195 00:07:30,925 --> 00:07:33,084 informative discussion. So, again, I wanna thank you 196 00:07:33,084 --> 00:07:34,524 so much for coming on, Becker's, and I 197 00:07:34,524 --> 00:07:36,544 look forward to connecting with you again soon. 198 00:07:37,245 --> 00:07:39,024 Thanks so much. I appreciate it.