1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:02,899 At athenahealth, 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,480 we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, a 3 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,779 healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier patients. 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,480 But the complexities of modern health care tech 5 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:14,240 make it hard for you and your care 6 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:15,855 teams to focus on what matters 7 00:00:16,414 --> 00:00:19,295 most? That's where athenahealth can help. Our AI 8 00:00:19,295 --> 00:00:22,594 native all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, 9 00:00:22,894 --> 00:00:25,875 streamline billing and payments, and deliver critical insights 10 00:00:25,934 --> 00:00:28,734 when clinicians need it most. That means fewer 11 00:00:28,734 --> 00:00:31,614 clicks, more time for patients, and stronger bottom 12 00:00:31,614 --> 00:00:31,829 lines. 13 00:00:32,710 --> 00:00:35,989 Practicing medicine is complex, but running a practice 14 00:00:35,989 --> 00:00:37,850 can be that much simpler with athenahealth. 15 00:00:38,549 --> 00:00:42,170 See how simpler is healthier@athenahealth.com. 16 00:00:43,925 --> 00:00:46,164 Welcome to the Bector's Healthcare podcast. I'm Chris 17 00:00:46,164 --> 00:00:47,844 Sosa, your host, and I'm thrilled to be 18 00:00:47,844 --> 00:00:50,245 joined today by doctor Amy Thompson. She's a 19 00:00:50,245 --> 00:00:53,125 pediatric hospitalist and the CEO of Covenant Children's 20 00:00:53,125 --> 00:00:54,505 Hospital in Lubbock, Texas. 21 00:00:55,045 --> 00:00:56,745 Amy, thank you for joining us today. 22 00:00:57,125 --> 00:00:58,344 Thank you so much. 23 00:00:59,050 --> 00:01:00,730 Amy, for those in our audience who are 24 00:01:00,730 --> 00:01:02,969 maybe not familiar with you and your work, 25 00:01:02,969 --> 00:01:04,730 could you please just introduce yourself and give 26 00:01:04,730 --> 00:01:06,030 us a bit about your background? 27 00:01:06,650 --> 00:01:07,870 Absolutely. So, 28 00:01:08,250 --> 00:01:09,770 I always say I didn't wanna grow up 29 00:01:09,770 --> 00:01:10,569 to be a, 30 00:01:11,335 --> 00:01:13,335 hospital CEO, I wanted to be a doctor. 31 00:01:13,335 --> 00:01:14,454 So that's what I did, 32 00:01:14,935 --> 00:01:16,155 first. And so I 33 00:01:16,694 --> 00:01:19,094 went to Texas Tech University and then followed 34 00:01:19,094 --> 00:01:21,174 that with medical school and residency at the 35 00:01:21,174 --> 00:01:23,575 Health Sciences Center here in Lubbock, Texas. I'm 36 00:01:23,575 --> 00:01:25,094 a West Texas girl, so I grew up 37 00:01:25,094 --> 00:01:25,814 in this area. 38 00:01:26,439 --> 00:01:28,859 And I became a pediatric hospitalist and practiced, 39 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,340 in in that capacity for many years, 40 00:01:31,799 --> 00:01:34,619 in my career and loved the bedside. Was, 41 00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:37,079 not really looking to make a a change 42 00:01:37,079 --> 00:01:40,015 from the bedside, but, in about 2013, 43 00:01:40,015 --> 00:01:41,935 I actually was approached to become the chief 44 00:01:41,935 --> 00:01:42,834 medical officer, 45 00:01:43,135 --> 00:01:45,234 of the children's hospital here in Lubbock. 46 00:01:45,694 --> 00:01:48,995 Took that opportunity and, just an an unusual 47 00:01:49,295 --> 00:01:49,775 and, 48 00:01:50,334 --> 00:01:53,369 set of circumstances with a previous CEO whom 49 00:01:53,590 --> 00:01:54,250 I adored, 50 00:01:55,030 --> 00:01:56,649 got sick. And so I had the opportunity 51 00:01:56,709 --> 00:01:58,329 to stick it or stand in, 52 00:01:58,709 --> 00:02:00,310 as an interim CEO. And then about a 53 00:02:00,310 --> 00:02:02,549 year later became the CEO of the Covenant 54 00:02:02,549 --> 00:02:04,250 Children's Hospital. And so I've remained 55 00:02:04,775 --> 00:02:06,855 in that capacity until about two years ago. 56 00:02:06,855 --> 00:02:08,775 I still am the CEO at the Children's 57 00:02:08,775 --> 00:02:10,455 Hospital, but now also have, 58 00:02:10,854 --> 00:02:14,534 responsibility for our adult, tertiary quaternary hospital here 59 00:02:14,534 --> 00:02:15,115 in Luck. 60 00:02:15,655 --> 00:02:17,335 So you're wearing a lot of hats these 61 00:02:17,335 --> 00:02:17,835 days. 62 00:02:18,479 --> 00:02:20,019 A lot of hats. Keep it all straight. 63 00:02:21,759 --> 00:02:22,259 Yeah. 64 00:02:23,759 --> 00:02:26,159 Amy, you're here on the podcast to talk 65 00:02:26,159 --> 00:02:28,400 about several things. But one of them is 66 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,500 how I understand that Covenant Children's 67 00:02:31,105 --> 00:02:33,265 relational health center, it's a big important part 68 00:02:33,265 --> 00:02:35,425 of your efforts to treat patients' mental health. 69 00:02:35,425 --> 00:02:37,825 So how has Covenant Children's strategy evolved with 70 00:02:37,825 --> 00:02:38,965 respect to this area? 71 00:02:39,265 --> 00:02:41,265 Yeah. This is, this is a topic that's 72 00:02:41,265 --> 00:02:43,185 very, very near and dear to my heart. 73 00:02:43,185 --> 00:02:45,280 And I say this this was born out 74 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:47,539 of just many years, at the bedside. 75 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,560 And, you know, Lubbock is not unlike other 76 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,360 places in in the country where we just 77 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,199 don't have a ton of services kind of 78 00:02:55,199 --> 00:02:56,959 in that mental and behavioral health, 79 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:57,860 space. 80 00:02:58,205 --> 00:03:00,844 And as a pediatric hospitalist, because we don't 81 00:03:00,844 --> 00:03:03,644 have inpatient beds, here in Lubbock when I 82 00:03:03,644 --> 00:03:04,944 was when I was practicing, 83 00:03:05,324 --> 00:03:06,764 a lot of those patients would be would 84 00:03:06,764 --> 00:03:09,164 be admitted to our hospitalist service. So I 85 00:03:09,164 --> 00:03:11,659 kinda had this, you know, front row seat 86 00:03:11,659 --> 00:03:13,659 to these kids that were coming in in 87 00:03:13,659 --> 00:03:14,159 crisis. 88 00:03:15,259 --> 00:03:17,259 And we would, you know, send them our 89 00:03:17,259 --> 00:03:19,259 really our only options were to send them 90 00:03:19,259 --> 00:03:21,599 to adult centers that were, you know, nearby, 91 00:03:22,299 --> 00:03:24,239 not anything that was child and adolescent, 92 00:03:24,860 --> 00:03:25,360 specific. 93 00:03:26,245 --> 00:03:28,324 And then, you know, I certainly was having, 94 00:03:28,324 --> 00:03:29,844 you know, what we all call the frequent 95 00:03:29,844 --> 00:03:32,324 buyers and and that's because they they just 96 00:03:32,324 --> 00:03:34,965 kept coming back. And what that speaks to 97 00:03:34,965 --> 00:03:36,724 is that we just weren't able to provide 98 00:03:36,724 --> 00:03:39,205 services for them that were actually causing them 99 00:03:39,205 --> 00:03:41,340 to be stabilized. And so, you know, when 100 00:03:41,340 --> 00:03:43,580 folks are coming back, in and out of 101 00:03:43,580 --> 00:03:45,659 your hospital, the the same kid that you're 102 00:03:45,659 --> 00:03:47,740 seeing that's, you know, been on your service 103 00:03:47,740 --> 00:03:49,740 three times, from a, you know, from a 104 00:03:49,740 --> 00:03:50,719 suicide attempt. 105 00:03:51,419 --> 00:03:53,580 That's, I mean, that's just screaming to you. 106 00:03:53,580 --> 00:03:55,895 We've gotta have, you know, more services and 107 00:03:55,895 --> 00:03:57,575 we've gotta we've gotta have better, 108 00:03:58,294 --> 00:04:00,615 you know, care for these kids. So very 109 00:04:00,615 --> 00:04:01,014 much, 110 00:04:01,415 --> 00:04:03,415 you know, kinda what we wanted to do 111 00:04:03,415 --> 00:04:04,935 in this space was born out of that 112 00:04:04,935 --> 00:04:05,435 time, 113 00:04:06,055 --> 00:04:07,034 at the bedside. 114 00:04:07,629 --> 00:04:10,189 I also had, I was really affected by 115 00:04:10,189 --> 00:04:11,889 several people when I was a resident. 116 00:04:12,189 --> 00:04:14,750 And, there was a a physician who was 117 00:04:14,750 --> 00:04:17,490 a child and adolescent psychiatrist named Valerie Robinson, 118 00:04:18,430 --> 00:04:20,129 who has since passed away. 119 00:04:20,794 --> 00:04:22,954 But she was just very, very influential for 120 00:04:22,954 --> 00:04:25,214 me, when I was in residency. 121 00:04:26,074 --> 00:04:27,834 And her big thing I talked about, I'm 122 00:04:27,834 --> 00:04:29,514 a West Texas girl. And so, you know, 123 00:04:29,514 --> 00:04:30,735 I'm from this area. 124 00:04:31,115 --> 00:04:33,115 And before she died, one of the things 125 00:04:33,115 --> 00:04:35,180 that Valerie talked with me about was really 126 00:04:35,180 --> 00:04:37,180 her. She was like, I know you believe 127 00:04:37,180 --> 00:04:39,419 in this. I know you believe in making 128 00:04:39,419 --> 00:04:42,079 services for these kids, like promise me 129 00:04:42,620 --> 00:04:45,039 that you will do this. What's funny is, 130 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:47,180 she said this years before I would ever 131 00:04:47,180 --> 00:04:49,039 have the opportunity as an administrator 132 00:04:50,274 --> 00:04:52,514 to step into that space. And when I 133 00:04:52,514 --> 00:04:54,595 talk about, you know, why I've been able 134 00:04:54,595 --> 00:04:55,814 to embrace administration, 135 00:04:56,834 --> 00:04:59,415 it's because you actually then have the ability 136 00:04:59,555 --> 00:05:01,714 to bring to fruition, you know, some of 137 00:05:01,714 --> 00:05:03,555 these dreams and things like that, that you 138 00:05:03,555 --> 00:05:04,055 had, 139 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,160 at the bedside. And so really that journey 140 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:08,939 that for us, you know, started, 141 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,800 at the bedside for me was really able 142 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:13,800 to come to fruition, once I became the 143 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,819 chief executive at the children's hospital. 144 00:05:16,199 --> 00:05:18,360 And we have a great partnership still with 145 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,384 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, with that 146 00:05:21,384 --> 00:05:22,604 department of psychiatry. 147 00:05:23,544 --> 00:05:25,404 Got to be good friends with, 148 00:05:26,345 --> 00:05:29,224 a child and adolescent psychiatrist, doctor Sarah Wakefield, 149 00:05:29,224 --> 00:05:31,084 who is part of that program. 150 00:05:31,699 --> 00:05:34,100 And just as our careers both kind of, 151 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:35,080 you know, advanced, 152 00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:37,540 it you know, we would dream about what 153 00:05:37,540 --> 00:05:39,560 we wanted to do in this space. 154 00:05:40,660 --> 00:05:41,160 And 155 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:43,379 then as, you know, luck would have it, 156 00:05:43,379 --> 00:05:45,620 I become the CEO of the children's hospital. 157 00:05:45,620 --> 00:05:46,600 She actually becomes 158 00:05:46,925 --> 00:05:49,564 the chairwoman of the department of psychiatry at 159 00:05:49,564 --> 00:05:51,964 Texas Tech. And so really what that did 160 00:05:51,964 --> 00:05:53,425 is provide us an opportunity 161 00:05:54,045 --> 00:05:54,944 to work together, 162 00:05:55,404 --> 00:05:57,404 and and really bring this, you know, into 163 00:05:57,404 --> 00:05:57,904 fruition. 164 00:05:58,524 --> 00:06:00,125 Your next question should be why do you 165 00:06:00,125 --> 00:06:02,410 call it relational health? Why why is that 166 00:06:02,410 --> 00:06:04,250 the, you know, like why why is that 167 00:06:04,250 --> 00:06:06,170 the thing that we're gonna call it? I 168 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:07,449 will also tell you that, 169 00:06:08,009 --> 00:06:09,790 one of the other things I really learned 170 00:06:09,850 --> 00:06:10,750 at the bedside 171 00:06:11,370 --> 00:06:13,930 was I just didn't love that stigma that 172 00:06:13,930 --> 00:06:14,430 came 173 00:06:14,745 --> 00:06:16,745 with, you know, the terms mental health and 174 00:06:16,745 --> 00:06:18,745 behavioral health and especially the way that the 175 00:06:18,745 --> 00:06:21,384 kids just would interact with that. And one 176 00:06:21,384 --> 00:06:22,584 of the big things that we wanted to 177 00:06:22,584 --> 00:06:24,205 do, I did not coin that phrase. 178 00:06:24,985 --> 00:06:27,464 I always said doctor Wakefield coined this phrase, 179 00:06:27,464 --> 00:06:28,824 but she's told me, I think she read 180 00:06:28,824 --> 00:06:30,529 it somewhere. So we didn't we didn't come 181 00:06:30,529 --> 00:06:32,449 up with this name. But the reason that 182 00:06:32,449 --> 00:06:35,029 we really latched onto it and liked relational 183 00:06:35,089 --> 00:06:38,209 health center is, you know, mental and behavioral 184 00:06:38,209 --> 00:06:40,769 health is all about your relationships. It's about 185 00:06:40,769 --> 00:06:43,064 the relationship that you have with yourself. It's 186 00:06:43,064 --> 00:06:44,745 about the relationship you have with the people 187 00:06:44,745 --> 00:06:46,745 around you. It's also though the relationship that 188 00:06:46,745 --> 00:06:47,805 you have with your environment 189 00:06:48,345 --> 00:06:51,064 and, you know, specifically kids who can't control 190 00:06:51,064 --> 00:06:54,104 those environments. And, you know, just learning that, 191 00:06:54,425 --> 00:06:55,964 we wanna teach you skills, 192 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,220 that help you relate better both with yourself, 193 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:00,019 your environment, 194 00:07:00,319 --> 00:07:02,660 your world, you know, and and how to 195 00:07:02,959 --> 00:07:04,720 to do those things. And so I'll have 196 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,139 to I I can't remember the exact date, 197 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:08,560 that we opened, 198 00:07:08,879 --> 00:07:11,264 but what we wanted to do is we 199 00:07:11,264 --> 00:07:14,085 wanted to start in the outpatient area. 200 00:07:14,705 --> 00:07:16,305 And I and I'll talk about the reason 201 00:07:16,305 --> 00:07:18,384 we wanted to start in outpatient is for 202 00:07:18,384 --> 00:07:20,705 that the the way that I described this 203 00:07:20,705 --> 00:07:22,545 to you earlier. That when you have these 204 00:07:22,545 --> 00:07:25,089 kids that keep coming back, what that tells 205 00:07:25,089 --> 00:07:27,509 you is that they're not getting enough outpatient 206 00:07:27,650 --> 00:07:29,650 services. They're not getting enough services to help 207 00:07:29,650 --> 00:07:30,389 that stabilization, 208 00:07:31,089 --> 00:07:33,170 you know, when they go from your from 209 00:07:33,170 --> 00:07:35,170 your facility. And so we felt very, very 210 00:07:35,170 --> 00:07:35,670 strongly, 211 00:07:36,345 --> 00:07:39,165 about wanting to start with outpatient services. 212 00:07:39,785 --> 00:07:41,625 And really the, you know, I I say 213 00:07:41,625 --> 00:07:44,105 that the vast majority of the brain, you 214 00:07:44,105 --> 00:07:46,605 know, child part of this was doctor Wakefield's. 215 00:07:46,745 --> 00:07:47,245 And 216 00:07:47,625 --> 00:07:49,545 one of the other things that we realized 217 00:07:49,545 --> 00:07:50,045 is 218 00:07:50,579 --> 00:07:52,500 the time that it took kids to get 219 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:54,660 in to see a provider was very, very 220 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:56,819 long. And so when we were trying to 221 00:07:56,819 --> 00:07:58,199 solve for some of the problems 222 00:07:58,979 --> 00:08:01,060 with this relational health center, we wanted to, 223 00:08:01,060 --> 00:08:03,060 a, start with outpatient so that we could 224 00:08:03,060 --> 00:08:05,545 provide services for kids, you know, once they 225 00:08:05,545 --> 00:08:07,785 were not in that inpatient setting. And then 226 00:08:07,785 --> 00:08:10,045 secondarily, we really wanted to create an atmosphere 227 00:08:10,585 --> 00:08:12,845 where we could get somebody in very quickly. 228 00:08:13,384 --> 00:08:15,064 And so that was kind of the the 229 00:08:15,064 --> 00:08:16,745 two things that we put forward, 230 00:08:18,139 --> 00:08:20,139 to want to start with that. I have 231 00:08:20,139 --> 00:08:20,959 some statistics 232 00:08:21,500 --> 00:08:23,259 if you're, and I'll just talk about these 233 00:08:23,259 --> 00:08:24,180 are actually from 234 00:08:24,599 --> 00:08:26,860 Yeah, from '24 and '25 just to give 235 00:08:26,860 --> 00:08:27,680 you an idea, 236 00:08:28,779 --> 00:08:30,000 what we've done. So 237 00:08:30,634 --> 00:08:32,634 the first is when I look at just 238 00:08:32,634 --> 00:08:33,134 outpatient, 239 00:08:33,674 --> 00:08:35,915 completed visits for 2024, 240 00:08:35,915 --> 00:08:37,455 we did almost 3,000, 241 00:08:37,915 --> 00:08:39,835 patients that we saw in that in that 242 00:08:39,835 --> 00:08:43,115 outpatient center. Now the crazy part about that 243 00:08:43,115 --> 00:08:43,615 is, 244 00:08:44,860 --> 00:08:47,339 that what we also have in the center, 245 00:08:47,339 --> 00:08:48,779 West Texas, I don't know if you've ever 246 00:08:48,779 --> 00:08:51,740 been to Lubbock, Texas, but where Lubbock, Texas 247 00:08:51,740 --> 00:08:53,579 is, is we'll call it the hub city. 248 00:08:53,579 --> 00:08:55,339 And it's because we live in a rural 249 00:08:55,339 --> 00:08:56,399 part of our state. 250 00:08:56,924 --> 00:08:58,524 They call it the hub city, like the 251 00:08:58,524 --> 00:08:59,024 hub 252 00:08:59,404 --> 00:09:01,325 of a wheel because a lot of things 253 00:09:01,325 --> 00:09:03,644 will happen in Lubbock, Texas, but we have 254 00:09:03,644 --> 00:09:05,024 a lot of rural areas, 255 00:09:05,644 --> 00:09:07,725 that we serve. And so we are part 256 00:09:07,725 --> 00:09:11,024 of some programs, that are actually out of 257 00:09:11,085 --> 00:09:12,144 the state of Texas. 258 00:09:12,789 --> 00:09:16,070 T chat, is one of those. And what 259 00:09:16,070 --> 00:09:18,309 that allows us to do is that allows 260 00:09:18,309 --> 00:09:19,289 us to connect 261 00:09:19,590 --> 00:09:21,529 with both school systems. 262 00:09:22,389 --> 00:09:23,990 And so when I say this, we are 263 00:09:23,990 --> 00:09:26,294 in about a 178 264 00:09:26,534 --> 00:09:27,274 school districts, 265 00:09:28,054 --> 00:09:31,014 across West Texas through T CHAT. And so 266 00:09:31,014 --> 00:09:32,475 in our behavioral health, 267 00:09:33,095 --> 00:09:35,575 relational health, I'm sorry, center, what we have 268 00:09:35,575 --> 00:09:38,375 is we have a, a space where we 269 00:09:38,375 --> 00:09:40,879 do tele, in there. So we have telebase 270 00:09:41,419 --> 00:09:43,259 and so we're able to do telehealth and 271 00:09:43,259 --> 00:09:45,740 connect with those school districts. And when you 272 00:09:45,740 --> 00:09:46,639 look at that, 273 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:49,580 our completed visits that we did with as 274 00:09:49,580 --> 00:09:51,179 part of T CHAT and as part of 275 00:09:51,179 --> 00:09:53,200 the school districts was over 10,000. 276 00:09:53,419 --> 00:09:55,039 And that just kinda gives you 277 00:09:55,555 --> 00:09:57,175 the the numbers that 278 00:09:57,555 --> 00:09:59,955 in our, you know, rural area, we saw 279 00:09:59,955 --> 00:10:02,774 about 3,000 of those in person in clinic, 280 00:10:03,154 --> 00:10:05,555 but actually almost, you know, more than triple 281 00:10:05,555 --> 00:10:07,795 that number that we were able to help, 282 00:10:08,500 --> 00:10:10,980 treat and triage and or, you know, get 283 00:10:10,980 --> 00:10:11,960 into our services 284 00:10:12,340 --> 00:10:14,680 by that connection, with the school district. 285 00:10:15,460 --> 00:10:17,379 And then I'll I'll kinda talk about where 286 00:10:17,379 --> 00:10:18,740 we're headed and I'll let you ask me, 287 00:10:18,740 --> 00:10:20,660 you know, any other questions that you have, 288 00:10:20,980 --> 00:10:21,720 about that. 289 00:10:22,454 --> 00:10:23,975 We now that we have been up for 290 00:10:23,975 --> 00:10:25,754 a couple of years and we feel, 291 00:10:26,454 --> 00:10:28,375 we feel like that that we have kinda 292 00:10:28,375 --> 00:10:30,794 stabilized some some of those outpatient services, 293 00:10:31,495 --> 00:10:33,414 the second thing that we really wanted to 294 00:10:33,414 --> 00:10:34,470 do was to start, 295 00:10:34,870 --> 00:10:37,129 intensive outpatient and partial day hospitalization, 296 00:10:38,069 --> 00:10:39,589 programs that we had. And that's kind of 297 00:10:39,589 --> 00:10:41,669 that that step that, you know, you need 298 00:10:41,669 --> 00:10:43,829 something more than just a a weekly visit 299 00:10:43,829 --> 00:10:45,350 or, you know, something you need some more 300 00:10:45,350 --> 00:10:47,269 intensive therapy than that, but it's still not 301 00:10:47,269 --> 00:10:48,495 that inpatient stay. 302 00:10:48,975 --> 00:10:51,134 And so we have started both that in 303 00:10:51,294 --> 00:10:53,875 intensive outpatient, and partial day hospitalization, 304 00:10:54,414 --> 00:10:56,034 and it's been very, very successful, 305 00:10:56,414 --> 00:10:57,714 for us kind of providing, 306 00:10:58,414 --> 00:10:59,154 those services. 307 00:10:59,695 --> 00:11:01,774 We recently were actually able to get some 308 00:11:01,774 --> 00:11:04,174 funds, that we made application for from the 309 00:11:04,174 --> 00:11:06,490 state of Texas. I'm so, so grateful that 310 00:11:06,629 --> 00:11:08,230 we were able to receive those funds. And 311 00:11:08,230 --> 00:11:09,589 so I'm happy to tell you, in fact, 312 00:11:09,589 --> 00:11:11,029 this morning in a meeting that I was 313 00:11:11,029 --> 00:11:12,709 in, I was able to look at our 314 00:11:12,709 --> 00:11:13,209 plans. 315 00:11:13,669 --> 00:11:15,589 And so we now have the money that 316 00:11:15,589 --> 00:11:17,189 we are going to be able to do 317 00:11:17,189 --> 00:11:19,605 the second half of that unit and are 318 00:11:19,605 --> 00:11:21,284 actually gonna be able to open some inpatient 319 00:11:21,284 --> 00:11:23,065 beds, probably within a year, 320 00:11:23,445 --> 00:11:24,424 as part of that. 321 00:11:24,884 --> 00:11:27,044 So really, really excited about where this is 322 00:11:27,044 --> 00:11:28,024 going and mostly 323 00:11:28,325 --> 00:11:30,644 excited about the, the services that we've been 324 00:11:30,644 --> 00:11:32,105 able to provide in West Texas. 325 00:11:33,300 --> 00:11:34,820 Amy, thank you for sharing all of that. 326 00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:37,000 I mean, it's just incredible how far 327 00:11:37,300 --> 00:11:39,379 this program has come in just a couple 328 00:11:39,379 --> 00:11:41,300 of years and the fact that you and 329 00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:42,279 your your colleague 330 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:43,720 are able to 331 00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:46,245 put all this together. And and as you 332 00:11:46,245 --> 00:11:48,085 said, it's it's gotta be just a more 333 00:11:48,085 --> 00:11:50,085 feeling to be able to say, okay. Here's 334 00:11:50,085 --> 00:11:52,404 where we were in terms of services for 335 00:11:52,404 --> 00:11:54,644 children in West Texas, and now here's where 336 00:11:54,644 --> 00:11:55,304 we are. 337 00:11:55,764 --> 00:11:57,605 What are some of the early returns that 338 00:11:57,605 --> 00:11:58,345 you've had, 339 00:11:58,870 --> 00:12:01,269 from patients in terms of how you've been 340 00:12:01,269 --> 00:12:02,709 able to affect them and bring these, 341 00:12:03,269 --> 00:12:06,329 mental health and relational services to them? Yep. 342 00:12:06,389 --> 00:12:07,990 I think that, I one of the most 343 00:12:07,990 --> 00:12:10,629 overwhelming, things that happened for me really actually 344 00:12:10,629 --> 00:12:12,789 very early on. I wanted to be there 345 00:12:12,789 --> 00:12:14,634 on the day that we opened the relational 346 00:12:14,634 --> 00:12:15,455 health center. 347 00:12:15,914 --> 00:12:17,674 And I wanted to meet the first patient 348 00:12:17,674 --> 00:12:19,855 that got to come into the, you know, 349 00:12:20,075 --> 00:12:20,815 to the area. 350 00:12:21,274 --> 00:12:23,034 Just because it was so exciting for us, 351 00:12:23,355 --> 00:12:24,794 you know, to kinda see some of this 352 00:12:24,794 --> 00:12:25,615 come to fruition. 353 00:12:26,154 --> 00:12:28,575 We've had a ton of feedback from kids. 354 00:12:29,279 --> 00:12:30,500 The kids love, 355 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,759 the programs, they love the space, the space 356 00:12:33,759 --> 00:12:36,159 we just lucked out with, you know, the 357 00:12:36,159 --> 00:12:38,799 brilliance of architects who can go in and 358 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:41,120 just create a space that feels safe. You 359 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:42,799 know, stuff that I never think about. I'm 360 00:12:42,799 --> 00:12:44,975 a doctor, I don't think about, you know, 361 00:12:45,115 --> 00:12:46,554 is this actually a space where a kid 362 00:12:46,554 --> 00:12:48,315 who's coming in in crisis is gonna feel 363 00:12:48,315 --> 00:12:49,995 safe. And so even just a ton of 364 00:12:49,995 --> 00:12:52,235 feedback that we've had just on even the 365 00:12:52,235 --> 00:12:52,735 architecture, 366 00:12:53,274 --> 00:12:55,195 and stuff of that space. But one of 367 00:12:55,195 --> 00:12:57,274 the most influential things that happened for me, 368 00:12:57,274 --> 00:12:59,220 I actually have a very good friend who 369 00:12:59,220 --> 00:13:00,679 is the school superintendent, 370 00:13:01,860 --> 00:13:04,019 and she has served on our boards. Actually, 371 00:13:04,019 --> 00:13:05,540 right now, she's on my adult, 372 00:13:05,860 --> 00:13:08,019 hospital board. And very early on in the 373 00:13:08,019 --> 00:13:08,519 process, 374 00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:11,320 we received a letter from a mom 375 00:13:11,804 --> 00:13:14,544 who was like, I have struggled for years. 376 00:13:14,684 --> 00:13:16,225 I haven't known where to go. 377 00:13:16,764 --> 00:13:19,004 We haven't had any programs. Every time that 378 00:13:19,004 --> 00:13:21,004 we would talk about, you know, some of 379 00:13:21,004 --> 00:13:22,764 the care that we had single providers in 380 00:13:22,764 --> 00:13:25,085 Lubbock who were doing a fantastic job, but 381 00:13:25,085 --> 00:13:27,059 just, you know, didn't have all of the 382 00:13:27,059 --> 00:13:29,940 services. The wait times were super long. And 383 00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:31,299 she said, all, you know, all the time 384 00:13:31,299 --> 00:13:32,019 really my, 385 00:13:32,980 --> 00:13:34,500 you know, my hope was to to have 386 00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:35,860 to go out of town and, you know, 387 00:13:35,860 --> 00:13:37,220 to do these things. And it was one 388 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:39,139 of the most heartfelt letters that really affected 389 00:13:39,139 --> 00:13:41,654 that superintendent because it was, it came from 390 00:13:41,654 --> 00:13:43,654 a mom that said, I don't know who 391 00:13:43,654 --> 00:13:45,414 these people are at Covenant, but I wanna 392 00:13:45,414 --> 00:13:47,014 give this letter to them because I've been 393 00:13:47,014 --> 00:13:49,414 struggling for years with my daughter and just 394 00:13:49,414 --> 00:13:51,654 haven't known what to do. And she actually, 395 00:13:51,815 --> 00:13:53,335 that the daughter that she was talking about 396 00:13:53,335 --> 00:13:55,514 was part of one of our, intensive outpatient 397 00:13:55,575 --> 00:13:56,075 and 398 00:13:56,620 --> 00:13:58,159 programs and, like, 399 00:13:58,779 --> 00:14:00,459 and I remember her talking about the day 400 00:14:00,459 --> 00:14:03,019 that her daughter kinda graduated from that program 401 00:14:03,019 --> 00:14:05,439 and just how their entire life had changed, 402 00:14:05,579 --> 00:14:07,419 not just her daughter's life but their but 403 00:14:07,419 --> 00:14:09,500 their home life. And when you hear those 404 00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:10,399 kind of stories, 405 00:14:11,044 --> 00:14:13,284 you know, we need more services, but those 406 00:14:13,284 --> 00:14:14,504 are the kind of stories, 407 00:14:15,845 --> 00:14:17,684 that that help you understand, you know, the 408 00:14:17,684 --> 00:14:19,144 kind of impact that you're having. 409 00:14:19,605 --> 00:14:22,264 Well, here's hoping that's that is one of 410 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,399 thousands and millions of three. 411 00:14:25,879 --> 00:14:26,379 That 412 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,059 that come your way 413 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:29,500 before long. 414 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:31,339 I also wanted to ask, 415 00:14:32,519 --> 00:14:34,839 you mentioned, stigma. Now this is something that 416 00:14:34,839 --> 00:14:35,659 every single, 417 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,294 medical provider deals with in in in some 418 00:14:38,294 --> 00:14:40,394 way, shape, or form. So as a hospitalist 419 00:14:41,014 --> 00:14:43,495 and now a CEO, do you do you 420 00:14:43,495 --> 00:14:45,975 feel that's evaporating at some point in in 421 00:14:45,975 --> 00:14:47,815 some way, shape, or form? I do. And, 422 00:14:47,815 --> 00:14:49,414 you know, the reason is because I think 423 00:14:49,414 --> 00:14:51,014 more people are talking about it, and I 424 00:14:51,014 --> 00:14:53,095 think more people are willing, you know, to 425 00:14:53,095 --> 00:14:55,040 talk about it. And and I have some, 426 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,360 you know, everybody doesn't have to do it 427 00:14:57,360 --> 00:14:59,200 this way, but I I felt very, very 428 00:14:59,200 --> 00:14:59,700 strongly 429 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:01,919 that we wanted to have the relational health 430 00:15:01,919 --> 00:15:03,779 center inside of the children's hospital. 431 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:05,985 And part of the reason that I was, 432 00:15:06,065 --> 00:15:07,664 you know, kind of a stickler for that 433 00:15:07,664 --> 00:15:08,485 piece of it, 434 00:15:09,024 --> 00:15:11,024 is because I didn't want it to feel 435 00:15:11,024 --> 00:15:11,524 like 436 00:15:11,985 --> 00:15:13,664 this is where, you know, the sick kids 437 00:15:13,664 --> 00:15:15,264 go. So when you have pneumonia, you come 438 00:15:15,264 --> 00:15:16,945 to the children's hospital, but when you have, 439 00:15:16,945 --> 00:15:19,345 you know, you know, behavioral or mental health, 440 00:15:19,345 --> 00:15:21,039 we send you to this other building. And 441 00:15:21,039 --> 00:15:22,720 it was just really important for me to 442 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:23,220 say, 443 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:25,840 we believe that relational health is part of 444 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,080 the health of kids. And it's the same 445 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,000 as when you have pneumonia, you need to 446 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,700 go to the hospital and get antibiotics. 447 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:33,539 And when you have 448 00:15:34,715 --> 00:15:37,375 suicidal ideation and depression and those things, 449 00:15:37,754 --> 00:15:39,995 we want you to feel the same about 450 00:15:39,995 --> 00:15:42,075 that and not to feel the stigma, to 451 00:15:42,075 --> 00:15:42,575 understand 452 00:15:43,115 --> 00:15:44,715 it's just something that we can help you 453 00:15:44,715 --> 00:15:46,795 with. And we do have not just medicines, 454 00:15:46,795 --> 00:15:48,759 but we have therapies and we have you 455 00:15:48,759 --> 00:15:50,199 know, these different kind of things. And so 456 00:15:50,199 --> 00:15:52,360 I think that that is is starting to 457 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,279 disappear because I think more and more people 458 00:15:54,279 --> 00:15:55,959 are talking about it. And look, I'll be 459 00:15:55,959 --> 00:15:58,059 honest enough to tell you, I am a, 460 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,360 53, just turned 53, 461 00:16:00,679 --> 00:16:01,559 this week. So, 462 00:16:02,199 --> 00:16:03,879 and look, I'm a person who has dealt 463 00:16:03,879 --> 00:16:04,304 with, 464 00:16:05,264 --> 00:16:06,784 with these issues in my life. I've had 465 00:16:06,784 --> 00:16:07,284 depression, 466 00:16:07,904 --> 00:16:10,225 in my life. My husband and I, were 467 00:16:10,225 --> 00:16:10,725 fortunate, 468 00:16:11,504 --> 00:16:13,825 and and were able to raise his brother. 469 00:16:13,825 --> 00:16:15,424 His brother came to live with us when 470 00:16:15,424 --> 00:16:16,644 when he was 14, 471 00:16:17,184 --> 00:16:18,544 and he came to live with us because 472 00:16:18,544 --> 00:16:19,284 of a suicide, 473 00:16:19,889 --> 00:16:21,490 in their family. And so what I always 474 00:16:21,490 --> 00:16:22,230 say is, 475 00:16:22,769 --> 00:16:24,449 part of the reason that you want to 476 00:16:24,449 --> 00:16:26,529 destroy the stigma is I always say these 477 00:16:26,529 --> 00:16:28,610 are not the people out there that are 478 00:16:28,610 --> 00:16:30,949 dealing with the issues. Like this is us, 479 00:16:31,009 --> 00:16:33,575 this is our kids, this is our brothers, 480 00:16:33,575 --> 00:16:35,274 this is and this is me. 481 00:16:35,654 --> 00:16:38,134 It's not just, you know, these people out 482 00:16:38,134 --> 00:16:40,475 there that are dealing with these issues, it's 483 00:16:40,615 --> 00:16:41,595 us. And, 484 00:16:42,134 --> 00:16:43,914 I've just become very, very comfortable 485 00:16:44,294 --> 00:16:46,075 sitting in the space of, 486 00:16:46,659 --> 00:16:48,659 you know, this this is our family and 487 00:16:48,659 --> 00:16:50,259 these are the issues that we have had, 488 00:16:50,259 --> 00:16:52,019 and these are all the things that we've 489 00:16:52,019 --> 00:16:53,940 done to to try to, you know, work 490 00:16:53,940 --> 00:16:55,700 through those. And so I think the more 491 00:16:55,700 --> 00:16:58,340 that we have conversations like this where we 492 00:16:58,340 --> 00:17:00,035 just call those things out and we're willing 493 00:17:00,035 --> 00:17:01,475 to talk about that it's not just out 494 00:17:01,475 --> 00:17:02,855 there, it's in our families. 495 00:17:03,315 --> 00:17:04,994 I think that that's the stuff that continues 496 00:17:04,994 --> 00:17:06,454 to just tear those walls down. 497 00:17:06,755 --> 00:17:08,674 That makes a ton of sense, Amy. Thank 498 00:17:08,674 --> 00:17:11,394 you so much for sharing, your personal insights 499 00:17:11,394 --> 00:17:11,819 and 500 00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:14,880 experiences with that with mental health. 501 00:17:15,819 --> 00:17:17,500 Next, I wanna give you a chance to 502 00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:18,720 discuss some of the other 503 00:17:19,259 --> 00:17:21,119 programs and innovations that are happening. 504 00:17:21,819 --> 00:17:22,559 Yeah. Absolutely. 505 00:17:23,099 --> 00:17:25,039 So I know you you have a transportation 506 00:17:26,315 --> 00:17:28,474 program, kite flight. That's a big deal there. 507 00:17:28,474 --> 00:17:30,875 So between that and and other projects, what 508 00:17:30,875 --> 00:17:32,894 would you like to put on our audiences 509 00:17:32,954 --> 00:17:34,954 like that? Yeah. Let's talk kite flight. This 510 00:17:34,954 --> 00:17:36,795 is also one of my one of my 511 00:17:36,795 --> 00:17:38,015 favorite, you know, things. 512 00:17:38,315 --> 00:17:40,474 This is not necessarily innovative. You know? There's 513 00:17:40,474 --> 00:17:41,849 a lot of of folks. I will say 514 00:17:41,849 --> 00:17:44,130 it was innovative for West Texas because you 515 00:17:44,130 --> 00:17:45,809 know, of where we're at. And I always 516 00:17:45,809 --> 00:17:47,750 talk about one story that I share, 517 00:17:48,529 --> 00:17:50,210 when I was at the bedside is, you 518 00:17:50,210 --> 00:17:52,369 know, there was a rural community, it's a 519 00:17:52,369 --> 00:17:54,690 couple hours from us. They had called me 520 00:17:54,690 --> 00:17:56,609 about a kid that had a simple, we 521 00:17:56,609 --> 00:17:59,085 call it a cellulitis, It's a skin infection. 522 00:17:59,625 --> 00:18:00,765 And appropriately, 523 00:18:02,025 --> 00:18:04,025 you know, unfortunately, right after they called me 524 00:18:04,025 --> 00:18:05,005 to to transport, 525 00:18:05,384 --> 00:18:06,744 this kid, there was a woman who came 526 00:18:06,744 --> 00:18:08,265 in that was having a heart attack in 527 00:18:08,265 --> 00:18:10,845 the same community. Well, they've got one ambulance, 528 00:18:10,904 --> 00:18:12,924 and so they made the appropriate decision, 529 00:18:13,269 --> 00:18:15,609 sent the woman, you know, in the ambulance 530 00:18:15,670 --> 00:18:18,150 having, a heart attack. But then by the 531 00:18:18,150 --> 00:18:19,509 time the kid got to me, it had 532 00:18:19,509 --> 00:18:21,509 been about nine and a half hours. And 533 00:18:21,509 --> 00:18:23,109 so from the time, you know, that they 534 00:18:23,109 --> 00:18:25,109 originally called to when we were able to 535 00:18:25,109 --> 00:18:27,289 free up EMS and get that kid here, 536 00:18:27,765 --> 00:18:30,244 the kid was, something that we call Sears, 537 00:18:30,244 --> 00:18:32,884 which is a systemic inflammatory response. And I 538 00:18:32,884 --> 00:18:34,505 say he was on his way to sepsis 539 00:18:34,565 --> 00:18:37,545 because, you know, it just took so long 540 00:18:37,605 --> 00:18:38,424 in transport. 541 00:18:38,964 --> 00:18:39,945 And I have numerous, 542 00:18:40,724 --> 00:18:42,849 you know, cases like that over my career. 543 00:18:42,849 --> 00:18:43,970 And so one of the things that we 544 00:18:43,970 --> 00:18:45,750 knew that we had to do was, 545 00:18:46,210 --> 00:18:47,750 to step into that transport 546 00:18:48,210 --> 00:18:50,390 space. So in in 2018, 547 00:18:51,089 --> 00:18:54,230 we started, we started just with, an ambulance 548 00:18:54,784 --> 00:18:57,204 and we we've always done, neonatal 549 00:18:57,585 --> 00:19:00,884 transport. We've always used, local, you know, services, 550 00:19:01,664 --> 00:19:02,144 here. 551 00:19:02,464 --> 00:19:04,464 But again, you're kind of in this queue 552 00:19:04,464 --> 00:19:06,784 of having to wait, you know, for when 553 00:19:06,784 --> 00:19:09,025 when those helicopters and and those things are 554 00:19:09,025 --> 00:19:09,525 free. 555 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:10,559 So in 2018, 556 00:19:11,740 --> 00:19:13,200 we started a more comprehensive, 557 00:19:13,820 --> 00:19:16,880 transport program that include both neonatal and pediatric, 558 00:19:17,420 --> 00:19:20,240 transport. We started training that transport team. 559 00:19:20,940 --> 00:19:21,840 About a year 560 00:19:22,204 --> 00:19:23,984 later, we were able to get a helicopter 561 00:19:24,045 --> 00:19:26,285 and so we actually have, a helicopter. We 562 00:19:26,285 --> 00:19:27,644 lease it. People are always like, how did 563 00:19:27,644 --> 00:19:29,164 you have enough money to buy a helicopter 564 00:19:29,164 --> 00:19:30,285 in, you know, in, 565 00:19:30,924 --> 00:19:33,085 in healthcare these days? And the answer is 566 00:19:33,085 --> 00:19:34,684 we lease it from somebody who knows how 567 00:19:34,684 --> 00:19:36,179 to take care of it. It's but it 568 00:19:36,179 --> 00:19:37,380 is a Covenant Children's, 569 00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:38,200 helicopter. 570 00:19:39,059 --> 00:19:41,460 I've just had great, great, response from the 571 00:19:41,460 --> 00:19:43,460 community. We had some folks that helped us 572 00:19:43,460 --> 00:19:44,440 build a hangar. 573 00:19:44,899 --> 00:19:46,819 So now what I have now is I 574 00:19:46,819 --> 00:19:47,220 have, 575 00:19:48,015 --> 00:19:50,414 I have both a a neonatal team, that 576 00:19:50,414 --> 00:19:53,234 I have both nurses and, you know, respiratory 577 00:19:53,295 --> 00:19:55,634 therapists, EMTs that are part of that team. 578 00:19:55,695 --> 00:19:58,095 I have a pediatric team, who does, you 579 00:19:58,095 --> 00:20:00,195 know, kids that are outside of that neonatal 580 00:20:00,829 --> 00:20:02,509 period. But then what we have started, 581 00:20:02,910 --> 00:20:04,910 most recently is what we call high Rob, 582 00:20:04,910 --> 00:20:06,529 which is a high risk OB 583 00:20:06,990 --> 00:20:08,750 transport service. And so I use some of 584 00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:11,070 our women's personnel. So we also now have 585 00:20:11,070 --> 00:20:13,009 the ability to transport moms. 586 00:20:13,845 --> 00:20:16,005 And we, when you look at the growth 587 00:20:16,005 --> 00:20:17,845 that we have had, as part of that 588 00:20:17,845 --> 00:20:18,345 program, 589 00:20:19,045 --> 00:20:21,125 it went from a few 100, the very 590 00:20:21,125 --> 00:20:22,664 first year that we did this, 591 00:20:23,444 --> 00:20:24,664 to over 900, 592 00:20:25,125 --> 00:20:26,565 in this year. So it's just been an 593 00:20:26,565 --> 00:20:29,679 exponential growth. And what we're seeing is, is 594 00:20:29,679 --> 00:20:31,940 just our ability to get to kids quicker. 595 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:34,720 And even doing things like the hanger allows 596 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,819 us to take off directly from the hospital. 597 00:20:37,039 --> 00:20:38,480 And man, when you're taking care of a 598 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,500 kid, that needs ICU status, 599 00:20:40,884 --> 00:20:42,184 cutting off four minutes, 600 00:20:42,484 --> 00:20:44,964 you know, of transport time is huge. And 601 00:20:44,964 --> 00:20:47,044 so every, you know, time that we're able 602 00:20:47,044 --> 00:20:49,605 to cut down, that time. I'm gonna give 603 00:20:49,605 --> 00:20:52,184 an example in in West Texas. Unfortunately, 604 00:20:52,484 --> 00:20:55,109 you know, that health care across The United 605 00:20:55,109 --> 00:20:56,950 States has really taken a hit kind of 606 00:20:56,950 --> 00:20:59,190 post that post COVID, you know, time has 607 00:20:59,190 --> 00:21:01,349 been really, really hard. And as we see 608 00:21:01,349 --> 00:21:02,809 more and more hospitals struggling, 609 00:21:03,190 --> 00:21:05,430 unfortunately, in West Texas, a lot of them 610 00:21:05,430 --> 00:21:07,990 have stopped doing OB services. And so that's 611 00:21:07,990 --> 00:21:09,670 part of the reason we wanted to start 612 00:21:09,670 --> 00:21:12,044 this high risk, you know, OB. And just 613 00:21:12,044 --> 00:21:14,365 to give a flavor for that, across West 614 00:21:14,365 --> 00:21:14,765 Texas, 615 00:21:15,325 --> 00:21:18,544 one month ago, we transported 19 moms, 616 00:21:19,085 --> 00:21:21,644 from our region that were in hospitals that 617 00:21:21,644 --> 00:21:23,585 didn't really have access to, 618 00:21:24,079 --> 00:21:27,039 you know, either either any OB services or 619 00:21:27,039 --> 00:21:29,380 certainly, you know, not high risk OB services. 620 00:21:29,759 --> 00:21:31,200 You know? And of that, 12 of those 621 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:32,660 kids ended up in our NICU. 622 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:35,279 And so, like, it it's just it's really 623 00:21:35,279 --> 00:21:37,934 filling a void in West Texas, in terms 624 00:21:37,934 --> 00:21:40,115 of the ability to go to get people. 625 00:21:40,575 --> 00:21:43,394 I always say Lubbock only has about 300,000, 626 00:21:43,775 --> 00:21:46,434 people in it, but we serve an area, 627 00:21:46,734 --> 00:21:48,414 that is about the size of the state 628 00:21:48,414 --> 00:21:50,690 of South Carolina when you look at at 629 00:21:50,690 --> 00:21:51,750 the land mass. 630 00:21:52,049 --> 00:21:54,130 And so having this transport team for us 631 00:21:54,130 --> 00:21:56,369 and starting that program has really been a 632 00:21:56,369 --> 00:21:58,769 differentiator for us just in the ability to 633 00:21:58,769 --> 00:22:01,250 go get both kids and and women as 634 00:22:01,250 --> 00:22:02,849 part of that. So super proud of what 635 00:22:02,849 --> 00:22:04,275 we've been able to do in that space. 636 00:22:05,075 --> 00:22:07,815 Yeah. One every other day more or less. 637 00:22:07,875 --> 00:22:08,855 Yeah. That's crazy. 638 00:22:09,234 --> 00:22:11,234 Yeah. But I'm just glad that they're able 639 00:22:11,315 --> 00:22:13,335 that you're able to provide that now whereas 640 00:22:13,394 --> 00:22:14,295 before it was, 641 00:22:15,394 --> 00:22:16,214 not possible. 642 00:22:17,170 --> 00:22:19,349 Lastly, Amy, I simply wanna ask you, 643 00:22:19,650 --> 00:22:21,250 like to give our guests a chance to 644 00:22:21,570 --> 00:22:23,809 Yeah. To discuss other things that might be 645 00:22:23,809 --> 00:22:25,029 on their mind. So simply 646 00:22:25,490 --> 00:22:27,809 what aspect of health care, whether it's related 647 00:22:27,809 --> 00:22:29,830 to pediatrics or not, do you think deserves 648 00:22:29,890 --> 00:22:32,484 a brighter spotlight? And how do you and 649 00:22:32,484 --> 00:22:35,125 Covenant Children's fit into that? Yeah. So, you 650 00:22:35,125 --> 00:22:36,805 know, we were actually discussing this. I thought 651 00:22:36,805 --> 00:22:38,484 that was the hardest question that you that 652 00:22:38,484 --> 00:22:39,924 you posed to me was, you know, what's 653 00:22:39,924 --> 00:22:41,525 the other aspect of health care that you 654 00:22:41,525 --> 00:22:43,765 think? There are always plenty of them. Right? 655 00:22:43,765 --> 00:22:45,779 Yeah. There's always plenty of them. And you 656 00:22:45,779 --> 00:22:48,820 know what, after talking with, some folks that 657 00:22:48,820 --> 00:22:51,000 were in my office, about it this morning, 658 00:22:51,140 --> 00:22:52,660 what I decided that I'm gonna say on 659 00:22:52,660 --> 00:22:54,180 this is actually I'm not gonna talk about 660 00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:56,580 a program or, you know, a service that 661 00:22:56,580 --> 00:22:57,240 we're doing. 662 00:22:57,805 --> 00:23:00,045 I lived through COVID. I both was at 663 00:23:00,045 --> 00:23:01,904 the bedside during COVID and, 664 00:23:02,365 --> 00:23:05,404 also was a hospital administrator during COVID. I've 665 00:23:05,404 --> 00:23:07,244 seen the after effects of, 666 00:23:07,644 --> 00:23:10,429 not just, you know, COVID, but also I 667 00:23:10,429 --> 00:23:12,210 call that that post COVID world. 668 00:23:12,829 --> 00:23:13,970 It it's our caregivers. 669 00:23:14,509 --> 00:23:16,829 We call all of our employees caregivers because 670 00:23:16,829 --> 00:23:17,890 we believe that, 671 00:23:18,429 --> 00:23:21,230 everybody that works at Covenant Health, takes care 672 00:23:21,230 --> 00:23:23,230 whether you are touching the patient or not. 673 00:23:23,230 --> 00:23:25,089 If you're in the billing office, you still, 674 00:23:25,355 --> 00:23:26,095 you know, have, 675 00:23:26,394 --> 00:23:27,914 part of that care. And, look, this is 676 00:23:27,914 --> 00:23:28,575 the hardest 677 00:23:29,195 --> 00:23:29,695 environment 678 00:23:30,234 --> 00:23:32,394 I've ever seen in health care in these 679 00:23:32,394 --> 00:23:34,634 last, you know, really twelve years. And, you 680 00:23:34,634 --> 00:23:36,515 know, I when people say, how did you, 681 00:23:36,515 --> 00:23:38,474 you know, live through COVID? Listen. I'm not 682 00:23:38,474 --> 00:23:40,940 trying to minimize COVID. COVID was was one 683 00:23:40,940 --> 00:23:42,380 of the hardest things we ever dealt with, 684 00:23:42,380 --> 00:23:44,720 but I'm not sure that what we're experiencing 685 00:23:44,859 --> 00:23:47,099 right now in that post COVID era is 686 00:23:47,099 --> 00:23:49,680 any easier, just because, you know, there's diminishing, 687 00:23:50,539 --> 00:23:51,180 you know, 688 00:23:51,660 --> 00:23:55,054 returns, there's, you know, inflation is high. And 689 00:23:55,054 --> 00:23:56,974 I just think we've just never had as 690 00:23:56,974 --> 00:23:57,795 much stress 691 00:23:58,335 --> 00:24:00,035 as we have right now for our caregivers. 692 00:24:00,414 --> 00:24:02,015 And so when I think about, you know, 693 00:24:02,015 --> 00:24:04,734 what what deserves a brighter spotlight, it's the 694 00:24:04,734 --> 00:24:06,494 people that actually each and every day are 695 00:24:06,494 --> 00:24:08,575 standing at the bedside and or working, 696 00:24:08,894 --> 00:24:09,795 in our hospitals. 697 00:24:10,180 --> 00:24:11,380 And and I just think we have to 698 00:24:11,380 --> 00:24:12,759 continue to have that conversation 699 00:24:13,059 --> 00:24:14,200 about how we honor, 700 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:15,400 the people, 701 00:24:15,859 --> 00:24:17,380 that are doing this work day in and 702 00:24:17,380 --> 00:24:19,059 day out and, and make sure that we're 703 00:24:19,059 --> 00:24:21,700 not burning them out, especially in this very 704 00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:24,125 hard kind of post COVID environment. So I 705 00:24:24,125 --> 00:24:26,204 I think that that we've gotta figure out 706 00:24:26,204 --> 00:24:27,424 a way that we can, 707 00:24:27,964 --> 00:24:28,545 you know, 708 00:24:29,005 --> 00:24:30,924 pay people what they need to be paid, 709 00:24:30,924 --> 00:24:33,404 but also celebrate people in the way that 710 00:24:33,404 --> 00:24:34,845 they need. And then we have a long 711 00:24:34,845 --> 00:24:36,785 way to go in this even at covenant. 712 00:24:37,059 --> 00:24:38,980 It's something that's important to us. And so 713 00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:39,960 I wanna continue, 714 00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:42,019 just to grow in that because I know 715 00:24:42,019 --> 00:24:43,559 how important that is for our caregivers. 716 00:24:44,580 --> 00:24:46,259 Amy, I think that's the perfect place to 717 00:24:46,259 --> 00:24:48,599 end. Thank you for covering all this ground 718 00:24:48,914 --> 00:24:50,434 that you did today. I know I learned 719 00:24:50,434 --> 00:24:51,875 a ton. I know our audience will feel 720 00:24:51,875 --> 00:24:53,715 the same. Thank you so much for sharing 721 00:24:53,715 --> 00:24:55,315 your insights, and I look forward to the 722 00:24:55,315 --> 00:24:57,315 next time our paths cross. Awesome. It was 723 00:24:57,315 --> 00:24:58,595 so nice to meet you. Thank you so 724 00:24:58,595 --> 00:25:00,695 much for having me. Thanks, Amy. 725 00:25:03,490 --> 00:25:04,150 At athenahealth, 726 00:25:04,529 --> 00:25:07,190 we know your ambulatory practice wants healthier, 727 00:25:07,570 --> 00:25:10,450 a healthier business, healthier care teams, and healthier 728 00:25:10,450 --> 00:25:10,950 patients. 729 00:25:11,410 --> 00:25:13,730 But the complexities of modern health care tech 730 00:25:13,730 --> 00:25:15,570 make it hard for you and your care 731 00:25:15,570 --> 00:25:17,434 teams to focus on what matters most? 732 00:25:17,894 --> 00:25:21,014 That's where athenahealth can help. Our AI native 733 00:25:21,014 --> 00:25:24,634 all in one solutions reduce administrative burdens, streamline 734 00:25:24,694 --> 00:25:27,335 billing and payments, and deliver critical insights when 735 00:25:27,335 --> 00:25:30,420 clinicians need it most. That means fewer clicks, 736 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,059 more time for patients, and stronger bottom 737 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,799 lines. Practicing medicine is complex, but running a 738 00:25:36,799 --> 00:25:38,980 practice can be that much simpler with athenahealth. 739 00:25:39,759 --> 00:25:43,460 See how simpler is healthier at athenahealth.com.