Welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm Chris
Sosa, the copy chief here at Becker's, and
I'm thrilled to be joined by Linda Madzeguyt,
chief administrative officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Linda, thank you for joining us today.
Oh, my pleasure.
As we're off and running here, Linda, could
you please introduce yourself and tell our audience
a bit about your background?
Yeah. My name again is Linda Matzkite,
chief administrative officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
I've been at Children's,
nearly twenty three years
in,
mostly administrative roles, but spend most of my
time focused on thinking about strategy, people, culture,
and engaging with our community.
Got it. Of course,
a huge project that the health system has
put on, developed is the Arthur and Blanche
Hospital.
Yeah. It's just a massive undertaking certainly. And,
Linda, it would be great if you could
detail the development timeline of the hospital,
including what challenges have arisen.
And in line with that, what are some
of the most exciting aspects of the project?
Sure. Well, I'll start by saying that Children's
Healthcare of Atlanta is the only freestanding pediatric
health care system in the state of Georgia.
And as our state continues
to grow, so too does demand
for pediatric specialty care.
So just about ten years ago, we were
starting to see,
a lot of days where we were full.
And we have three hospitals.
At the time, we had Egleston Hospital, Scottish
Rite Hospital, and Hugh Spaulding.
And so if you're starting to see your
hospitals are full
on a daily basis, then, you know, you
need to do something.
So we really started down a path of
exploring
what do we need to do,
to be able to meet the demands
of the need for pediatric health care in
our state?
So the board really challenged us to think
big, and,
fortunately,
we had a piece of property
that, we were able to
piece together a lot of different parcels
and ended up coming up with 76
acres.
And so,
it it really all started in terms of
planning
in 2015.
We started to look at what are our
options.
Do we just build one big hospital? Do
we look at,
different locations?
And so, you know, do we keep the
three?
And,
ultimately, we decided that,
we should keep Scottish Rite and Hugh Spaulding,
our other two hospitals.
But our Egleston Hospital
was very landlocked.
It sat on seven and a half acres
and just was not going to be, there
was no ability to build on it. And
so we started looking for a new location
for that third hospital,
and we came upon our current location,
which is in Brookhaven,
Georgia. So it's just north of Downtown Atlanta.
And
we,
again, as I said, began to purchase up
parcels so that we could create a large
enough campus.
And so, really, in 2016,
our board,
late twenty sixteen,
our board approved our plans for this campus.
And it was really to have
a new hospital,
a
complex and chronic care
medical office building, and then a support center
for our support staff that support our entire
system.
In February
of twenty seventeen,
we announced
our plans
to the community,
and then that started three years of planning,
obtaining permits,
working through all the regulatory processes,
designing the space. And so,
there was a lot of planning and logistics
over the next three years.
In July of twenty eighteen,
the first,
major facility on the campus, our Center for
Advanced Pediatrics,
opened.
It is really for chronic and complex kids,
and
our offices for those clinics was all spread
out, so now parents can go to one
location.
So that was great.
Then in
December of twenty nineteen
into January of twenty twenty, our support center,
the first building of that was finalized.
So we had to move all of the
employees off our our the space
where we were planning to build the hospital.
In February
of twenty twenty, we broke ground
on the future Arthur and Blanck Hospital.
So,
during that time,
just before,
we broke ground,
we asked Arthur Blank to,
name the hospital.
He graciously
agreed,
gave us $200,000,000.
And so,
we were able to
announce
that he would be naming the hospital.
In May of twenty twenty, we celebrated the
topping out of Arthur and Blake Hospital.
And then on September twenty ninth of twenty
twenty four,
we successfully
transitioned
all of the patients from
Eggleston Hospital and some from our Scottish Rite
Hospital
to the new facility
in one day.
That must have been quite a day. Could
you take us through just that day of
of what it took to to make all
those changes?
Well, first of all, it took, years of
planning just for that one day, believe it
or not. The first thing was we had
to pick a date.
And so,
we started the construction
just before COVID hit.
But once COVID hit, you know, there was
so much uncertainty. But we said, one thing
we do know is that we have to
pick the date
and
created a team that was called the transition
team that
literally spent several years
planning this one day of move,
in addition to, you know, how are things
going to operate in the new facility.
So we had a team called ambassadors,
and they were really the representative for each
of our clinical departments.
And that proved to be an amazing
success because they were able to attend meetings,
bring back ideas,
and and how things were gonna work.
And it was really an engagement opportunity for
our staff
to really be intimately
involved in
the design of the hospital, but also the
transition of of this day. So,
one of the things as we thought about
move day, we had to think about was
the route of movement.
So what was going to be the safest,
route? We did pick a Sunday
because traffic was going to be less, but
we all had also had to work with
law enforcement
to make sure we could shut down roads.
We had to work with churches because there
were six churches
on our move route, and so
they all agreed to go virtual for the
day.
We had to secure enough ambulances.
We had 56 ambulances
that we secured
along with our fleet of ambulance
so that we could move each patient one
by one.
We had a thousand volunteers
on move day,
and everything was planned literally down to the
minute.
So,
we began very early in the morning. We
had about 4,000 employees that staffed the hospital
that day,
a thousand of which, were volunteers.
And
we did not have any safety issues, I'm
pleased to report.
In, less than ten hours, we moved 202
patients one by one.
That's terrific to hear mostly in the the
safety aspect that there are no issues. That's
very, very good news, certainly. And, also, the
dedication detail is just astounding really that
you had it down to the minute, but
I guess that's just simply what is required
when you're working on a project of of
this magnitude.
Linda, could you tell us what are some
of the most exciting aspects of the new
hospital? What makes it stand out to you?
Well, we designed the hospital
with our patients and families
in mind.
And one of the things that we did
was a lot of listening to the kids
in particular. And we asked the kids
what, you know, what would the best hospital,
look like? And they had things like a
roller coaster in the lobby, a swimming pool,
but they also wanted light. And
their parents wanted washers and dryers on every
floor.
And so we really listened to what the
parents
and the kids said. We also went with
a nature theme for the hospital. So,
we know that nature heals, and
we wanted to make sure that it was
very open and lots of light, and we
wanted nature inside and outside. So we have
beautiful gardens.
We have floor to ceiling,
windows in every patient room,
and the views of the city of Atlanta
are extraordinary.
I think we have one of the best
views,
of Downtown Atlanta, anywhere in north of the
city.
But it really was this,
connection to nature,
which, studies show
is, healing.
The
interesting thing is, we had a rare snow
day this past winter, and many of our
young patients has had obviously never seen seen
snow.
But through the windows and through our gardens,
our patients were able to to see snow
for the first
time. And, we even had one nurse that,
brought in a cooler with some of the
snow and had a little snowball fight with
her patient.
We obviously have a lot of amenities
for our,
patients' families and their siblings because a lot
of our, you know, particularly our cancer patients
that are there for a long time, they
bring their siblings.
So we have a Seacrest studio,
radio station,
and we have
different,
musicians come in, actors. We've had the Atlanta
Ballet.
We've had, the Atlanta Falcons, the Atlanta Braves,
the Atlanta Hawks.
So we have this radio station,
Seacrest Studios, where talent can come and they
can broadcast to the rooms,
and the kids can also come there. We
also have an area called The Zone, which
is an indoor outdoor
play area.
It has a lot of STEM activities.
It has places for arts and crafts. You
can cook.
It really is a great place for patients
if they're able to come down and interact
with our child life specialists. It's a great
place for the siblings.
And so we've just tried to create a
lot of
of fun distraction areas for the kids. We
have a beautiful chapel.
We have beautiful gardens, and we have walking
paths
that are the equivalent about three miles throughout
the campus.
We have 20 acres total of green space.
So it's a very lush and beautiful and
healing campus.
I think another thing that stands out is
research is an important,
part of
of our system.
And so through ongoing collaboration
with Emory University
and Georgia Tech and many other,
research organizations,
we are able
to have wonderful breakthroughs, cures, innovations.
And just last year, we got a grant
from the late Bernie Marcus
and the Marcus Foundation,
and we're getting ready to open the Marcus
Center for Cellular Therapy
that will offer a full range of cellular
therapy treatments
for not just cancer, but a broad range
of diseases.
So,
we are very fortunate
to have this cellular therapy lab inside the
hospital
that our researchers
have access to. And so that is something
we have never had, and we're excited about
that. I think the the other thing I
would point out is that
we are the most technology
enhanced health care system right now. It's like
a stadium, I suppose, though. The next one
they build, it will, outdo us. But we
have a fleet of 90
autonomous mobile robots.
So we have robots
all throughout the organization. Can you imagine 90
robots
to help us with transporting equipment, medication,
trash,
linens?
And so these robots are just, a part
of our staff.
And so it helps with our clinical staff
having to spend
as much time,
chasing down things like linens and
medications and even food service.
So those are just a few of the
things I would highlight in the new hospital.
It is 19 stories
high, so it's a high rise, and, and
that's new for us.
But, really, it stands as a beacon of
hope
for our community.
If you drive down the highway system, you
can't help to see it from far away.
And a lot of our patients and families
said that as it was being built
during COVID,
it was a beacon of hope for them,
hope for our community. And I think it's
turned out to be just an unbelievable asset
for Atlanta and for the state of Georgia.
Linda, you're certainly a terrific ambassador for this
complex.
And to me, as just a a layperson,
it sounds like you've built a bit of
a this is almost science fiction health care
utopia
with all the that
the hospital
can provide for all these patients. It's just
wonderful.
And I'm certainly with the kids in that
as a lifelong midwesterner,
watching snow from the inside is great. It
all looks very pretty.
So I'm glad. On some level, I got
to see that. And, you know, if you
build a roller coaster in a swimming pool,
I mean, I don't know what you're really
missing at that point.
That's right. That's right.
Shifting, you mentioned how
important the staff has been in this whole
process.
What have you heard from them in terms
of their feedback, not only related to the
move to the new hospital, but,
their current
work situation,
for lack of a better term. And and,
you know,
how how are you working to maintain and
engage your workforce?
Yeah. Well, one of the first things was
we wanted to make sure that our staff
was engaged in the process
to design and
really, you know, lay out the hospital in
in a way that would work for them.
So,
early on
in 2019,
we rented a warehouse,
and we created what we call Cardboard City.
And it was
a hundred thousand square foot warehouse,
and
we mocked it up in cardboard
into 20 different departments.
And then we allowed,
more than a thousand clinical staff to come
through. And so we had the rooms mocked
up where the equipment was, where the sinks
were,
and allowed our staff to give us
feedback to say, well, don't put the light
switch there, and don't put the sink there,
and make sure we have,
you know, a cabinet here. And so
a lot of ideas came out of that.
And so we kept reinforcing,
we're hearing you. We're listening you. We are
designing this hospital
based on your feedback. And so I think
that was a really
positive first step because then it was
was theirs.
The other thing is, you know, we were
moving from a hospital that was a mid
rise to a high rise, and a lot
of people had never
worked I mean, that that then requires
a lot of elevators.
It was a bigger space. And so there
was a lot of training
that occurred up to
the opening of the hospital. So the summer
before,
we trained nearly 2,000 physicians and 7,000 staff
that were actually going to be either moving
into the hospital permanently
or would, in some ways, work there or
or come there. And so the training
was
literally months and months and months.
The great thing is,
we were finished with the hospital in March,
and so we were able to start training
months ahead of the opening.
And I credit that to the fact that
all of our employees
had at least three touch points in the
hospital
before the first day they came for their
shift.
So they had an orientation,
to the building, an orientation
to their area,
and then really some simulations
in their area to see how is this
really work. And so I think all the
preparation
really helped
as
move day came, opening day came for the
staff to feel comfortable.
And I think that was really critical to
the success, not only of move day, but
how smooth of a transition
it has been
in the last six months since we've been
in.
I think one of the other things
that,
we have continued to do is, you know,
monthly updates. You know, anytime you move into
a new house or a new facility, there's
a punch list. And so, certainly, there were
punch list items. And so, you know, some
of them were small. Some of them were
bigger.
But doing a monthly newsletter to say, alright.
Here's what we have fixed. Here's what's still
on deck to be fixed so that
everyone
at Arthur and Blake Hospital
knew, okay. They're working on that thing that's,
problematic for me.
The other thing,
we have a group here at Children's called
Culture Champions,
and,
it's a group of frontline employees
that,
represent all of our different clinical areas. And,
basically, we come together, and it's the safe
space for them to say what's going well
and what's not going well. And let me
tell you, they do not hold back. It's
a safe space.
They can say whatever they, you know, whatever's
on their minds,
and it's something that I facilitate, but then
I share that with our executive team.
And I think that's also helped foster trust
and to get some of those things
that, you know, aren't working just right,
you know, to surface and so that I
can escalate them to our entire executive team.
You know, again, I think part of
the change management
was, you know, we we trained everybody on
the facilities and the space, but the virtual
size of it
is so much bigger than our previous facilitator,
facility that it is it's just
it's hard. You know? Our our staff certainly
are getting their steps every day, I would
say.
And so it's just those kind of things
that are a little bit of some growing
pains.
The last thing I would mention is we
just launched a new program called walk and
talk with leaders.
So a member of our executive team
takes a group of employees basically on a
walk around the campus, and they can ask
that executive team member
anything.
And it's really been a great way to
utilize this campus, which as I said has
20 acres of green space, three mile trails
to hear, you know, what's going well and
what are some things that we need to
continue to improve on.
So, those are just some of the things
that I would highlight.
I absolutely love the level of detail that
you're sharing with us, Linda. If we can
track back to the warehouse
mock up for a second, that's it's not
something I've heard before. Is that something adapted
from another system, or was that a a
brainchild of Children's Healthcare Atlanta?
You know, I think that there had been
other organizations
that did,
did mock ups, but I think we put
our own twist on it of, you know,
this hundred thousand square foot, warehouse
and,
how we did it. I think we we
built on ideas from other systems
and kinda, you know, put our own twist
on it of, you know, the number of
simulations that we did. I think we kinda
took simulation
to a whole new level
on our cardboard city.
Shifting a little bit, Linda. So you mentioned
that you've been with the health system for
twenty three years. Congratulations
on that.
Can I ask you, though, how how this
community's needs changed in that time in addition
to the level of the number of patients,
serial number of patients that have been added
over that time period, and how has the
health system adapted to that?
Yeah. Well,
it's
Atlanta has had exponential growth, you know, as
with many areas in the Southeast. But,
when I started,
we had approximately 5,000 employees. We're now at
15,000.
Don't quote me on this, but,
I believe we had around 400,000
to 500,000
patient visits. We now have well over a
million.
So,
I mean, our patient population
has doubled and our employee population has tripled.
And
Atlanta continues to see growth
even though the pediatric population
is pretty stable.
We saw, you know, a little bit of
a dip during COVID and after.
Hopefully, people will start having children again. But
just being in the South and sunny warm
weather, lots of people wanna move here.
So we definitely
have seen a need for increased capacity,
hence,
building this hospital.
Our current so Arthur and Blake Hospital has
446
beds with lots of room for
for additional capacity.
At, our previous Eddleston Hospital, we had 330
beds.
There was no opportunity to expand. It was
just landlocked, nowhere to go.
I think that the
probably one of the most pronounced changes
is the,
the behavioral mental health crisis that we're seeing
in our country today, and it is impacting
kids,
equally.
And so,
twenty three years ago, we did not we
may have had one psychiatrist,
consult
psychiatrist
on staff, and now
we have 400
staff members in our behavioral mental health
division alone.
And,
we've hired a 33
providers in the last
couple of years to help support
that need. We've also seen, you know, obviously,
advances in cancer,
in
cardiac surgery,
and neurosciences.
So there have been a lot of advancements.
Interesting. One of the one of the things,
on one of my first days in 02/2003,
we selected Epic.
We implemented Epic, you know, twenty three years
ago. So,
pretty amazing to see the evolution
of both our community
and our health care system.
Linda, you mentioned
all the different things, and it's a long
list. I'm sure you only scratched the surface
of what it takes to build
a hospital from scratch. And thank you again
for all of that. Looking forward,
now this hospital is built and seeing patients
and has since September, how do you see
your role and the role of your team
evolving over the next five years or so?
Well, you know what? We are not ones
to, to stand still. So we are currently
developing
our next
system strategic plan.
So we are going to be looking at
what's
next five years,
and the next ten years look like.
So we're already thinking about,
what does our community need? Again, Atlanta continues
to grow.
So I think that looks like how can
we take care of all of the children
that need our services in the state of
Georgia,
and,
how can we continue our prevention work, and
then what new research and cures
are on the horizon that are gonna be
game changers
for the kids
that we care for.
So I'm excited.
Maybe we'll have a follow-up podcast once our
strategy is done.
I would certainly look forward to that, Linda,
and I think our audience would definitely agree.
Linda, then we can wrap things up there.
Thank you be for being so generous with
all your time and, again, all the delightful
details that you shared about the new hospital
and everything going on at Children's Healthcare of
Atlanta.
We can't wait to share them, and we
hope to hear from you again soon. Great.
Thank you so much.