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This is Laura Ddo with the
Becker's Healthcare Podcast.

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I'm thrilled today to be
joined by Dr. Cliff Neen,

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chief Executive Officer of University
Hospital's Health System in Cleveland. Dr.

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McAllen, it's a pleasure to
have you on the podcast today.

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It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

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Now, I know we have a lot to talk about.

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There's so much happening
in healthcare right now and,

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and really a space for a lot of
innovation and exciting things too.

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But before we dive into my questions,

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can you tell us a little bit more
about yourself and your background?

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Sure. It's a pleasure. You know,
uh, I trained as a physician, um,

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at the University of Michigan. Got my MD
there. And, uh, to be honest with you,

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never really, uh, had designs on,
uh, administrative role in my life.

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My whole goal was to be
a, a, a competent and, uh,

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maybe a meaningful surgeon who, uh,
is helpful to the field that I chose.

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I went into otolaryngology,
which is ear, nose and throat,

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and I did my residency actually
here at the hospital, uh, back in,

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started in 1988. Um, and,
um, after I finished,

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I was fortunate enough to get a fellowship
in Boston in what's called Neuro

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Otologic Surgery. And when I
was there, I was really, um,

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surrounded by a lot of
leaders in my field,

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and I really got the bug of
wanting to get involved in,

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in leadership and medicine. But, um, my,

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my vision was maybe one day
becoming a chairman of a department.

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And so I ultimately,
uh, started my career,

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but then returned back to Cleveland
about 21 years ago with the goal of

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building, um, the Cochlear Implant
Program, and then later became chair.

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And it was really during the time I was
chairman of the department here at, uh,

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in case Western Reserve,

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that I really found a
bug of realizing that,

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um, if you run your organization at
the time, it was simply our department,

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our small department, well, you
can better serve your patients.

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And to do so, I had to study lot
of business principles and, um,

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I did not plan for this. But in a
few years into my chairmanship, uh,

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the CEO at the time, uh,

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Tom Zny asked me to be the
president of the physician group.

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And that was very serendipitous
because to run that group,

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which eventually became
2,500 employed physicians,

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I was really overseeing a large e l
uh, a large business. In other words,

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I was fully responsible for the
profit loss, uh, of that business.

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And I was think, I think
through that experience,

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which really went from
2014 to 2019, I, um,

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started to see the bigger aspects of
the responsibility of leadership of

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a hospital system,

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which includes everything from
creating a culture or a strategic plan.

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And, um, ultimately, although I never
really planned on it happening, I,

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um, I was selected, uh, to
be CEO at the end of 2019.

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And so it's been a really a,

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a three year journey of taking
an unbelievably powerful brand in

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this region and a historically
important organization,

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nearly 160 years old that has had decades,

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really century or and a
half of success. And, um,

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having inherited the responsibilities
for the period of time that I'm here

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to, uh, take it, uh, to the next
level. And, um, I've been very,

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very fortunate in being able
to have a number of fantastic

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teammates, both in the clinical
leadership, senior leadership,

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and the board that came together
with me and helped me, frankly,

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create a strategic plan and
vision that was in line with

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the needs of the emerging
healthcare economy.

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So again, I think <laugh> that,

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that interesting is I never started my
career with the goal of becoming a ceo,

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uh, of a healthcare organization. Um,
I'm a surgeon by training, and, um,

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I fell into it by a series
of serendipitous events,
but I'm very happy I'm here.

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That's such a fascinating story,

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and definitely to see how far you've
come and then to take over as c e o in

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2019, right before the
pandemic and everything that's
happened over the last few

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years, what an amazing time to be
leading the organization and really, uh,

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being focused on, you know, uh,

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trying to treat patients
and lead through this time.

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And then now I know digital transformation
is a huge part of what you're doing

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as well.

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Right? Absolutely, absolutely. You know,

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if you think about digital transformation,

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obviously it's something that you don't
just choose to do, you have to do.

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And in the end of the day, to
me, and I think to our team,

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what digital transformation
really entails is

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the notion of using the most
advanced tools to make it easy

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as possible for your
patients to seek care,

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continue receiving care, and to get
care in the right place and time.

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In other words,

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moving from the phone
call and having to touch

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a number of different people in different
departments to get an appointment,

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at least on the access side. And,
uh, we're doing that really with, um,

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our transition to Epic,
but the latest possible,

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most sophisticated version of Epic,
uh, that we're installing, uh,

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to help us with that.
But we're also using, um,

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AI technology bot technology with
the agile scheduling solutions

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that allow us to predict demand in, in,

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in staff accordingly, not
only in our clinics, uh,

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our ambulatory surgery centers and our,

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in our inpatient acute care
service sites. And, and we use, uh,

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partnerships with Agility, which
is a great company with Epic,

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but we also have a tremendous
amount of homegrown brilliant people

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in our innovations department helping us.

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Everything from workforce management,
digitizing HR functions, uh,

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we work with Axo Wall, uh,

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that helps us and is gonna help
us streamline credentialing.

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We have stepped up and optimized
our virtual telehealth,

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uh, capacities, not only with our
ambulatory visits, but even in our, uh,

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urgent care program.

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And now we're partnering with WellCare
to stand up 36 urgent care sites.

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And obviously we even use AI to optimize
patient experience wait times in the

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er.

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But really where the rubber
meets the road is in using, uh,

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digital mechanisms and, uh,
artificial intelligence technologies,

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for example, like temp, temp track, um,

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it's a continuous temper mon temp
temperature monitoring patches that

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enable us to predict up to
eight hours earlier than current

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standards of care to detect when someone
may be having an infection or worse,

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um, moving along the path to sepsis.

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And this has really important
implications and has shown great benefit,

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for example, in our bone marrow transplant
patients. So the notion of a digital,

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um, transformation is multifactorial.

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It should involve your patient
access, your throughput,

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your scheduling, your flow.

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It should also touch your workforce
management as it relates to understanding

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load balancing. You know,
we have 21 hospitals,

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50 major medical office buildings
in over 300 practice sites,

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and this allows us to load
balance throughout the system,

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whether it's intensive care, but
using these digital strategies.

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But finally,

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I think where the real value is gonna be
as it relates to digital strategies and

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artificial intelligence, which
obviously is a digital strategy,

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is being able to be
predictive in patient care,

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not only in the acute setting,
like I mentioned with temp track,

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but also in population health. You know,

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we touch about 1.6 million
individual patients a year,

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and we have one of the largest
primary care networks. And really the,

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the value is preventing disease

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and to be able to have digital
technologies that are warming their

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ways through our EMR in helping
our primary care doctors and

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our population health teams predict
where patients could potentially

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be vulnerable to a test that's not done,

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or a screening mammography that should
have been done and hasn't been done,

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and or technology that allow us to
see if we have a new patient with a

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particular set of conditions,

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what's the most beneficial
pathway for that patient,

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even using genomic background.

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So I think the notion of digital
transformation is really multifactorial.

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Absolutely. I,

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I love that kind of overview of all the
different initiatives that you're doing

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at university hospitals.
I think, you know,

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it's so fascinating to look at how the
digital technologies really have advanced

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so far in the last two years,

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especially from the virtual care to how
it's being used on the operational side

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of the health system and the
data that you can collect. And,

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and I love the idea of getting
more predictive with it,

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and that's certainly a jersey journey
as well. Um, when you think about the,

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the predictive nature in
moving in that direction,

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what have been some of the challenges
in doing that? And, and, uh, you know,

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how far are you, I guess, on your journal
of be becoming more predictive in, in,

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where are you headed in the future?

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Well, I think there's, there's, there's
always the big one, right? The big,

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if you will,

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obstacle of making any sort of
change is the normal human tendencies

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to at times resist change, uh,
because it's something new.

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And you know, there's this
old book that is that,

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that I think you probably remember,
it's called Who Moved My Cheese.

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And the human tendency of just
doing something different,

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even if it intellectually or
academically is improving to be better

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outcome, there is still
the training, the adoption,

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the buy-in of whatever constituency is

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going to do something different. So
that's number one, right? And that has to,

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that has to do with culture.

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And can your culture allow
for swift implementation

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of positive change and get through the
notion that someone has to do something

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different than they're used to
doing? So that's always number one.

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That's why a culture is
very, very important.

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I think the second is always cost,
but if your organization is picking,

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looking at the big picture
and looking at the notion

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that increased safety, improved outcomes,

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ultimately will provide value, and
you are a value provider and your

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contracts allow for
provisions for, uh, rewarding,

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if you will value attainment,

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then you could do the math to
justify some of these investments.

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Um, I think, you know,
those are the big things.

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And ultimately where you really want
to get to the point, in my opinion,

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is to the point which I
think we're getting there,

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where these ideas about
innovative digital strategy and

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sometimes not even digital,
just process change,

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is not coming from the top down.

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It's bubbling up from the
individual constituencies.

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So we have so many different
teams that are creating

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their own solutions because we've
adopted a culture of welcoming

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change in a speak up culture where
people are allowed to give ideas.

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So I think that's really where you
want to get to because if you want

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senior leadership to be the only driver

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of change as it relates
to whatever strategy,

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but let's talk about digital
transformation and, and innovative, uh,

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artificial intelligence,
uh, transformations,

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you're never gonna get as far as you can.

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You need a group of people
running with you to get far.

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And that's what I'm so
proud of is, is our teams,

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we get ideation and positive
momentum out of all of our

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service lines now because we
encourage them to think differently.

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That's amazing.

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I love that philosophy and certainly
seems to be working really well at, uh,

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so that, thank you for
laying that out for us. Now,

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I know we've talked a little bit about
the workforce shortages and challenges

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which are significant for health
systems across the country, um, and,

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and really industries, uh,
beyond healthcare as well.

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So what are you doing at, um, university
hospitals to boost your workforce?

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How do you think about that, uh, for
what you're able to do now and then,

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you know, growth in the future?

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You know, this is a question that I've
thought a lot about, of, a lot about,

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and, um, and we've thought a lot
about and, and, and I'll give you,

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uh, three answers and
then I could elaborate.

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What are we doing about
workforce shortage? The three
answers are, number one,

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keeping the workers. We have,

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that's the most important part
of anybody's workforce strategy

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today based on the
escalation of turnover rates.

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And I'll get into how we're doing that.

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Number two is to increase your pipeline.

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In other words, realize that this is
not going away. For example, in nursing,

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we have 1.5 million nurses
short in the United States,

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and that's predicted to grow.

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So you have to figure out how
to increase your pipeline.

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We're fortunate enough in Cleveland and
northeast Ohio to have nearly 30 nursing

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schools.

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00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:31,260
So we are working with each of 'em
with a separate strategy to help

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them grow their classes,

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00:14:34,020 --> 00:14:38,520
but also help them by providing clerkship
training opportunities that we hope

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if they have a good experience at, uh,

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will increase the movement of people here.

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The third major strategy of dealing
with the workforce shortages

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00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:53,570
is ideating about what is
the workforce of tomorrow?

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Does it have to mirror today's
workforce? In other words,

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if you have a particular unit,

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let's say that today in the
last 30 years has been made up

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of one phenotype of a
clinical professional,

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00:15:09,550 --> 00:15:12,320
does that have to go on that way?

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00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:17,200
Or could it be made up of a team
of professionals with people with

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different levels of certification
who could work together as a team?

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00:15:20,100 --> 00:15:24,850
So you may not need as many
of one particular phenotype,

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00:15:25,230 --> 00:15:29,650
but you could grow a diverse
workforce store modeling that as well.

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00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:35,420
But let's get back, I think
to the first strategy,

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which I mentioned as a, as
it relates to workforce,

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which is keeping the poise that you
have. In other words, reducing turnover.

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What we're doing here is trying to,

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and I think we're being successful
cause the numbers are showing,

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00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,260
it is leveraging our university
hospitals as a unique culture

250
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,220
and that culture as a
differentiator to keep people here.

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00:15:58,220 --> 00:15:59,900
And also for option two,

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00:15:59,950 --> 00:16:04,780
drive more people to work here and
really done this through, if you will,

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00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,250
six different ways. Number one,

254
00:16:09,590 --> 00:16:13,840
very clear transparency during
good times as well as bad times,

255
00:16:14,780 --> 00:16:19,440
not hiding facts, being completely
transparent through town hall's.

256
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:23,840
Constant communication by myself and
other leaders about what's going on during

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00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:28,320
covid and they gained trust during
the financial challenges of 22.

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00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,430
And now number two,

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it involves engaging and connecting with
caregivers in ways that are even unique

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00:16:35,090 --> 00:16:38,870
and clever. So obviously
I mentioned town halls,

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00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,830
we've started executive rounding.
We have constant entity visits.

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We've even started things
like book clubs where we,

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00:16:47,090 --> 00:16:49,000
where I lead a book club every month.

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00:16:49,740 --> 00:16:52,080
And it's grown people
from all walks of life,

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00:16:52,590 --> 00:16:57,280
from pharmacy to environmental
services to the physician staff,

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to the nursing staff,

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00:16:58,420 --> 00:17:02,850
to the accounting staff
gather to discuss books,

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00:17:03,830 --> 00:17:05,700
oftentimes very powerful books.

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00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,580
And they're available online for free
through our partnership with, um,

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00:17:11,050 --> 00:17:16,020
overdrive and Libby, which is a, um,
fantastic Cleveland based company that,

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00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:20,700
uh, digitizes library books. And this
has grown into almost a form of a,

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00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:21,810
uh,

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00:17:21,810 --> 00:17:26,460
safe space for us to get
together with me to discuss very

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00:17:26,780 --> 00:17:29,500
challenging topics, uh,
both in life and healthcare.

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These sort of cultural things I
think are helpful. Number three,

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00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:39,740
we encourage a speak up culture. We reward
people for coming up with new ideas.

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00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:44,660
We encourage people to
constructively criticize

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00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,620
the organization or what we're doing
to see if there's a better way.

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00:17:49,740 --> 00:17:53,600
Number four, we solicit ideas
from everyone. For example,

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00:17:53,670 --> 00:17:57,680
when we were going through a
cost reduction strategy last year

281
00:17:58,500 --> 00:18:03,400
and we took out nearly 350 million
out of our 5.6 billion budget,

282
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,240
which we had to, to
lower our cost structure,

283
00:18:06,220 --> 00:18:10,430
we solicited ideas from the
entire 32,000 employees.

284
00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:14,430
We called it the Value
ideas prize competition.

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00:18:15,290 --> 00:18:20,150
And we elicited nearly 600 ideas from
people in all walks of life in the

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00:18:20,150 --> 00:18:24,910
organization and gave
prizes, uh, cash prizes, um,

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00:18:24,930 --> 00:18:28,790
if they would lead to a meaningful

288
00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:34,110
improvement in process cost savings
and or safety improvement. Number five,

289
00:18:34,210 --> 00:18:38,470
we have a very vigorous
program of recognition.

290
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:44,020
We have what's called the cliff
appreciates where I have coffee, uh,

291
00:18:44,020 --> 00:18:47,940
and it's videotaped of
a hero, we'll call them,

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00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,260
who does something very special,

293
00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:54,980
whether it be delivers kind
care and is recognized for that

294
00:18:56,360 --> 00:19:01,260
or has come up with a new solution or has
been recognized repeatedly by patients

295
00:19:01,260 --> 00:19:02,100
for their excellence.

296
00:19:04,140 --> 00:19:08,760
We have a dinner with the doc where I
take doctors out who've been nominated by

297
00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:13,440
their peers for excellence in
professionalism or kindness or

298
00:19:13,550 --> 00:19:17,320
service or many other things.

299
00:19:18,250 --> 00:19:20,950
And these are broadcast and reported.

300
00:19:20,970 --> 00:19:25,750
We do a frontline heroes blog
almost every month where we

301
00:19:25,750 --> 00:19:27,510
highlight people who
have done special things.

302
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,460
We have a blog from me and many other
leaders that comes out every month that

303
00:19:32,460 --> 00:19:37,260
really talks about excellence within
our midst at every level, right?

304
00:19:37,260 --> 00:19:41,300
It has to be every level. It
cannot be just doctors and nurses.

305
00:19:41,450 --> 00:19:43,180
This goes to valets,

306
00:19:43,690 --> 00:19:47,910
this goes to people who
work in, interestingly,

307
00:19:48,010 --> 00:19:49,190
the Leech facility.

308
00:19:50,130 --> 00:19:53,790
We have a bunch of people
who do free flaps surgeries,

309
00:19:53,790 --> 00:19:58,230
which is a procedure where you move
the body part to another body part to

310
00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:01,430
fill in a defect, a wound
defect. Interestingly,

311
00:20:01,430 --> 00:20:06,270
from time to time those free flaps
can engorged with blood and we have

312
00:20:07,010 --> 00:20:11,150
to buy leeches. Can you
imagine? It's a medieval thing,

313
00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:12,790
but it's standard practice.

314
00:20:13,290 --> 00:20:18,030
We had someone figured out how to make
our own leach colony that are sterile

315
00:20:18,850 --> 00:20:21,790
in the pharmacy department,
so we have a ready supply.

316
00:20:21,810 --> 00:20:23,590
And that person was one of those heroes

317
00:20:25,150 --> 00:20:29,220
and we're constantly trying to
create a sense of belonging.

318
00:20:30,510 --> 00:20:31,940
Going back to recognition,

319
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,060
we have rolling out a new
program called Kindness Matters.

320
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,620
One of our major differentiators is an
organization and we're noted for is the

321
00:20:39,620 --> 00:20:41,300
brand of care that they deliver,

322
00:20:41,310 --> 00:20:43,900
which is characterized by
kindness and compassion,

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00:20:44,150 --> 00:20:47,420
where the patient feels they're treated
as an individual and not as a number.

324
00:20:47,980 --> 00:20:50,680
And that actually has been
validated through focus groups.

325
00:20:51,180 --> 00:20:54,400
And now we are rewarding in having
leaders in kindness matters.

326
00:20:54,820 --> 00:20:58,560
And we constantly are creating a
sense of belonging through a number of

327
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:03,520
initiatives including diversity, equity,
and belonging, and, um, employee, uh,

328
00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,680
resource groups around different
groups of employees who have different

329
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,840
interests and shared interests.
And this takes a lot of work,

330
00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:15,510
but it is paying off cuz
as you may or may not know,

331
00:21:15,970 --> 00:21:20,830
Forbes Magazine just recognized us as
the top workplace for a hospital our

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00:21:20,830 --> 00:21:25,710
second year in a row in Ohio. And I
don't think those are coincidences.

333
00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:31,760
We also have workforce development
programs where we have a step up to, uh,

334
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:36,680
program where recruit in parts of
our city and our communities that are

335
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,580
chronically underemployed
and unemployed for workforce

336
00:21:41,810 --> 00:21:44,900
readiness coaching. And we've
gotten grants for this as well.

337
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,340
We do job specific training,
they get entry level jobs at, uh,

338
00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,980
and then we create tuition reimbursement
to help 'em create their careers.

339
00:21:53,980 --> 00:21:54,813
Here at, uh,

340
00:21:56,930 --> 00:22:00,830
we have earned and learned apprenticeship
programs for in-demand positions.

341
00:22:00,830 --> 00:22:03,150
We have pathway programs for, uh,

342
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:08,270
non-degree to non-credentialed employees
work who are being paid less than a

343
00:22:08,270 --> 00:22:09,110
certain amount an hour.

344
00:22:09,170 --> 00:22:12,550
And we provide coaching and career
management to get them into the next level

345
00:22:12,810 --> 00:22:17,690
job. We have a program called Bridge
Your Future and College Readiness,

346
00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:22,290
where we help try to encourage
people to take our tuition

347
00:22:22,690 --> 00:22:27,050
reimbursement and go on to a college
and higher level degree so they can come

348
00:22:27,050 --> 00:22:31,400
back as long as they stay
at, uh, for our physicians.

349
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,480
We've created the, uh,
health Scholars program,

350
00:22:34,690 --> 00:22:37,640
which is where we go into the high
schools and we've created a five year

351
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,080
educational opportunity for
underrepresented minority
Cleveland area high school

352
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:45,560
students and get them into STEM
programs where we actually help

353
00:22:46,090 --> 00:22:49,480
coach them and mentor them with a goal of

354
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,280
allowing them to be
competitive for great colleges,

355
00:22:53,660 --> 00:22:57,880
but also with an emphasis on creating the
future doctors and nurses of tomorrow.

356
00:22:57,980 --> 00:22:59,480
And this has been highly successful.

357
00:23:00,620 --> 00:23:04,980
We just graduated our first
class last year of the,

358
00:23:05,170 --> 00:23:09,300
from high school and of
the 18 students graduating,

359
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,660
all 17 of them were accepted to
college and have gone to college.

360
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:18,140
The one took a year off to do a gap year
because that person wanted to go do a,

361
00:23:18,140 --> 00:23:21,340
uh, a particular college
which required a gap year.

362
00:23:23,210 --> 00:23:26,790
So through these programs,
through these programs,

363
00:23:26,790 --> 00:23:28,230
step up lake programs,

364
00:23:28,230 --> 00:23:33,190
we've hired or promoted nearly
300 new caregivers in 2022 with an

365
00:23:33,190 --> 00:23:37,830
88% retention rate in the first year.
Which as you know, around the country,

366
00:23:37,980 --> 00:23:42,790
retention rates in the first year
in some cases are less than 50%.

367
00:23:43,410 --> 00:23:45,070
So we think this is very successful.

368
00:23:45,930 --> 00:23:50,270
That's amazing. Wow. What a, what a great
program and certainly something that,

369
00:23:50,690 --> 00:23:52,750
um, you know, I can imagine
is really motivating.

370
00:23:52,910 --> 00:23:56,430
I I know you went through
several different action
items here in terms of what

371
00:23:56,430 --> 00:24:00,190
really makes, uh, a great workplace
and something that, um, you know,

372
00:24:00,770 --> 00:24:05,230
is is is just a place where they can,
like you said, feel like they belong and,

373
00:24:05,410 --> 00:24:08,550
um, share their ideas and are recognized
for the great ideas that they have.

374
00:24:08,610 --> 00:24:09,710
And so, you know,

375
00:24:10,140 --> 00:24:13,310
it's very inspiring to hear everything
that you're doing and you know,

376
00:24:13,310 --> 00:24:14,750
from your perspective. Um,

377
00:24:14,990 --> 00:24:18,710
I know you talked just your last example
in particular about the education kind

378
00:24:18,710 --> 00:24:22,550
of growing and measuring how successful
people are. You know, when you look at,

379
00:24:22,730 --> 00:24:26,930
uh, some of the different initiatives
that you have in ways that you're really

380
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,410
improving the culture and, um,

381
00:24:29,790 --> 00:24:34,370
making u a a a better place and better
experience for patients as well.

382
00:24:34,750 --> 00:24:36,250
How do you really look at that? You know,

383
00:24:36,250 --> 00:24:38,650
is there a way that
you measure success of,

384
00:24:38,650 --> 00:24:40,810
of those initiative tips more broadly or,

385
00:24:40,810 --> 00:24:43,970
or really just look at the feedback that
you're getting and the engagement that

386
00:24:43,970 --> 00:24:47,370
you get with from your team, um, you
know, to, to really move the needle?

387
00:24:48,270 --> 00:24:51,170
You know, that's a great question. I
think you have to look at both. Uh,

388
00:24:51,250 --> 00:24:52,410
I don't think you would,

389
00:24:52,510 --> 00:24:57,290
we would be honest with ourselves
if we just felt the love and the

390
00:24:57,290 --> 00:25:02,250
happiness and the accolades
of the success of the program,

391
00:25:02,430 --> 00:25:06,290
you have to measure it.
And I, so for example, we,

392
00:25:06,870 --> 00:25:10,450
we look at our, obviously if
we're doing all these things,

393
00:25:10,550 --> 00:25:13,850
we better see that our job
fill rate is trending positive.

394
00:25:14,350 --> 00:25:19,290
And the good news in Q 1 20
23, it's very, very positive.

395
00:25:19,290 --> 00:25:23,090
Our total external fills
are up 10% over last year.

396
00:25:24,030 --> 00:25:28,370
Our RN nursing job fills are up 37% over

397
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:33,570
last year. Our turnover rate
has dropped significantly,

398
00:25:34,590 --> 00:25:38,970
uh, both in overall turnover rate
in first year to turnover rate.

399
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:43,650
And I think the thing that the
audience would be interested in,

400
00:25:44,500 --> 00:25:48,770
which was a challenge that
beel beel all of us last year,

401
00:25:50,390 --> 00:25:52,050
is our agency count.

402
00:25:53,210 --> 00:25:58,070
An estimated spend has
dropped close to 50% in

403
00:25:58,070 --> 00:26:01,630
terms of spend from last
year, month to month.

404
00:26:02,910 --> 00:26:06,170
So that I think is very, very
important. You have to measure it.

405
00:26:06,190 --> 00:26:07,170
And the good news is,

406
00:26:07,170 --> 00:26:09,010
if you were doing all those
things and nothing was changing,

407
00:26:09,170 --> 00:26:12,050
I think that you'd have to
question the validity of it.

408
00:26:12,050 --> 00:26:13,290
But the good news is it's working,

409
00:26:14,190 --> 00:26:18,850
but I don't think we should measure
as a large academic health system

410
00:26:20,050 --> 00:26:21,460
only, um,

411
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,160
in only staffing physicians positions.

412
00:26:25,180 --> 00:26:29,960
We also have to look
at really the, the, um,

413
00:26:30,850 --> 00:26:35,140
the clinicians as well, the
department chairs, scientists,

414
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:40,730
and we've been able to recruit and
retain absolute clinical and research

415
00:26:40,980 --> 00:26:44,480
superstars, uh, including MDs and PhDs

416
00:26:46,050 --> 00:26:50,100
when we have openings or when
we have a retirement, um,

417
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,380
in pathology, urology, surgery, medicine,

418
00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:59,390
radiology, pediatrics, radiation
oncology, psychiatry, biochemistry,

419
00:26:59,390 --> 00:27:03,310
cancer immunology. We've
recently, you know, had, uh,

420
00:27:03,430 --> 00:27:08,230
a need based on a movement of one of
our leaders in, uh, hematology oncology.

421
00:27:08,250 --> 00:27:11,830
We were able to recruit one of the nation
superstars from Columbia University.

422
00:27:12,530 --> 00:27:16,870
We were searching for a new chief of, uh,

423
00:27:16,870 --> 00:27:21,520
transplant surgery and we were able
to recruit an incredible leader.

424
00:27:21,660 --> 00:27:22,840
Zoe Stewart, uh,

425
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:27,400
from NYU is one of the leading leaders
in the solid organ transplantation.

426
00:27:27,460 --> 00:27:32,410
So I feel very good that in
all levels we're able to, uh,

427
00:27:32,410 --> 00:27:37,250
recruit, uh, really rock stars and we
really have an eye toward diversity in,

428
00:27:37,350 --> 00:27:41,690
uh, as well and making
sure that we are, uh,

429
00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:46,170
attracting, uh, diverse
candidates of, uh, both gender,

430
00:27:46,630 --> 00:27:50,370
uh, race. And, uh, we are, uh,

431
00:27:50,370 --> 00:27:54,310
tracking very well in that regard.
There's a couple of accolades. You know,

432
00:27:54,310 --> 00:27:58,350
I mentioned one of them, certainly,
uh, the Forbes best large employer, uh,

433
00:27:58,350 --> 00:28:02,550
for hospital, uh, one of the top in the
country, uh, but certainly best in Ohio.

434
00:28:03,290 --> 00:28:08,270
Uh, we won, uh, this year, uh,
fortunes, uh, one of the, uh,

435
00:28:08,270 --> 00:28:09,230
innovation awards.

436
00:28:09,330 --> 00:28:13,390
We were ranked number one
for innovation culture

437
00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,550
among health systems in Ohio.

438
00:28:18,170 --> 00:28:21,310
We recently won, um,

439
00:28:21,490 --> 00:28:25,990
the award for the best online
reputation, uh, in the state.

440
00:28:25,990 --> 00:28:29,730
And I think number 17
in the nation and, um,

441
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,070
atmosphere, which I think
goes to the culture.

442
00:28:33,700 --> 00:28:37,870
It's our 11th year in a row as being
one of America's most ethical companies.

443
00:28:38,850 --> 00:28:43,190
And I think you have to play that game
because you could feel really good about

444
00:28:43,190 --> 00:28:43,850
what you're doing,

445
00:28:43,850 --> 00:28:48,750
but if you don't have external validation
that you really are distinguishing

446
00:28:48,950 --> 00:28:52,230
yourself, um, then you may
not be as good as you think.

447
00:28:52,230 --> 00:28:55,830
And I'm not saying we're where we need
to be, we need to be better every day.

448
00:28:57,250 --> 00:28:59,840
Absolutely. That's such a
great point. And you know, I,

449
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,280
I really just appreciate you talking
through the things that you're doing to

450
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,120
become a great workplace and of innovative
workplace that's so impressive. Um,

451
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,720
but then too, you know,
ethical and, you know,

452
00:29:09,790 --> 00:29:13,680
workplace with the culture of diversity,
equity, and inclusion as well, um,

453
00:29:13,700 --> 00:29:18,320
is just, is really, really
amazing to see how that could, um,

454
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,720
be effective and, and, uh, know that
your culture is so ingrained, um,

455
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,920
or that's so ingrained in your culture
because like you said, you know,

456
00:29:25,010 --> 00:29:29,720
internally you can look and move
in any way that you feel, but, um,

457
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,080
to have that external validation
is really, really, um, impressive.

458
00:29:33,380 --> 00:29:37,400
And I think though I have to add,
you know, modern healthcare, uh,

459
00:29:37,740 --> 00:29:41,960
the last two years has selected
us as one of the top 10

460
00:29:43,590 --> 00:29:48,310
hospital systems in the US as
it relates to diversity, equity,

461
00:29:48,330 --> 00:29:52,670
and inclusion as it relates to the
diversity in our, uh, our staff,

462
00:29:53,210 --> 00:29:57,500
our senior leadership in our board.
So last two years, you can look it up,

463
00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,140
we were, uh, in the top 10.

464
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,260
Wow, that's amazing. Um,
so, such a, so impressive.

465
00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:07,300
And to really have that as an
intentional goal of yours, um, you know,

466
00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:11,220
is awesome to see and something that I
know a lot of other organizations aspire

467
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,620
to. So, um, that, that's really great.
Now, you know, before we wrap up here,

468
00:30:15,620 --> 00:30:18,940
and I know we've, uh, had you here for
a while, so I appreciate your time,

469
00:30:18,940 --> 00:30:21,540
right. What are, what are your big, uh,

470
00:30:21,540 --> 00:30:23,900
opportunities for growth over
the next two to three years here?

471
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,250
Well, you know, I, I think that it, it,

472
00:30:28,310 --> 00:30:33,210
it really falls around the notion of
combining our four major differentiators,

473
00:30:33,810 --> 00:30:37,170
specifically being an organization
whose brand of care is kindness and

474
00:30:37,170 --> 00:30:41,690
compassion, coupled with
being a value maximizer, uh,

475
00:30:41,690 --> 00:30:46,690
coupled with the third being a
leader in scientific discovery and

476
00:30:46,730 --> 00:30:48,210
a beacon of hope for patients.

477
00:30:48,710 --> 00:30:51,570
But the fourth being a partner with
all of our communities and being the

478
00:30:51,730 --> 00:30:54,930
hometown team. But I,
I think the growth, uh,

479
00:30:54,930 --> 00:30:58,890
that we expect to see are, uh,
that are already beginning,

480
00:30:59,190 --> 00:31:00,850
are in our centers of excellence,

481
00:31:00,980 --> 00:31:05,210
where we have really developed bundles
and carve outs for excellent care in a

482
00:31:05,210 --> 00:31:09,690
variety of different, uh, venues and
sometimes direct to employer, um,

483
00:31:09,750 --> 00:31:14,370
be being perceived by insurance
companies as a value maximizer and

484
00:31:15,090 --> 00:31:17,170
creating more and more narrow network, uh,

485
00:31:17,330 --> 00:31:21,010
programs and preventive
care is very important.

486
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,690
Growing the excellence
of our cancer center,

487
00:31:23,690 --> 00:31:26,330
which is one of the top in the nation, uh,

488
00:31:26,330 --> 00:31:30,730
with particular attention to
immunotherapy and, um, CAR T-cell therapy,

489
00:31:30,730 --> 00:31:35,410
which has, has grown, uh,
significantly are, um,

490
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,890
very innovative high-end
surgical programs,

491
00:31:39,130 --> 00:31:43,130
particularly around heart
and vascular neurosciences,

492
00:31:43,780 --> 00:31:45,610
transplant, cancer, surgery,

493
00:31:46,630 --> 00:31:49,370
and specifically in our relationship, uh,

494
00:31:49,370 --> 00:31:54,090
with the NFL and the Cleveland
Browns as becoming, um,

495
00:31:54,110 --> 00:31:58,650
really the market leader in sports
medicine. Um, and we're seeing,

496
00:31:59,070 --> 00:32:01,570
uh, all those things,
uh, come to fruition.

497
00:32:02,330 --> 00:32:05,670
Got it. Yeah. Yeah, I think a lot
of exciting things on the board and,

498
00:32:05,670 --> 00:32:06,990
and definitely, um, you know,

499
00:32:06,990 --> 00:32:11,750
looking forward to seeing them grow and
pan out and, um, hopefully, you know,

500
00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,790
everything will just fall into place.
So I'm looking forward to that.

501
00:32:14,790 --> 00:32:17,670
And definitely seems like you're
making a huge impact on so many people,

502
00:32:17,670 --> 00:32:20,870
whether it's the internal teams and
the communities you serve, and then,

503
00:32:21,090 --> 00:32:24,950
you know, through other partnerships,
uh, expanding just well beyond the, uh,

504
00:32:24,950 --> 00:32:27,350
Cleveland and Ohio area.
So thank you so much Dr.

505
00:32:27,580 --> 00:32:29,150
Mcon for being here on the podcast today.

506
00:32:29,150 --> 00:32:32,070
And thank you as well for speaking at
our annual meeting in April. It was just,

507
00:32:32,130 --> 00:32:35,230
you know, so much fun to have you
there and, uh, really learn from you.

508
00:32:36,110 --> 00:32:39,540
Thank you. It's always a pleasure to
work with you and, and, and with Beckers,

509
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:41,660
and I look forward to more opportunities.