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This is Chris Sok with the
Becker's Healthcare Podcast.

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I'm thrilled today to be
joined by Dr. Robert Ansoft,

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chief Operating Officer of Franciscan
Children's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Eof,

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thank you for joining us today.

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Thank you. I appreciate the invitation.

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Wonderful.

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Would you please introduce yourself and
tell us a bit about your background?

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Sure. Um, uh, my name is Robert
Gsoft, as you mentioned. I am the, uh,

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chief Operating Officer at Franciscan
Children's Hospital here in Boston.

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And for those of you who aren't
familiar with our institution, um,

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we are one of the largest
post-acute care, um,

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and rehabilitative in behavioral
health hospitals in the Northeast.

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What would you say are top
priorities today, Dr. Ansoft?

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Um, um, my top priorities
as Chief operating Officer,

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actually we're going through like a
lot of other hospitals and healthcare

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systems. We're going through a period
of transition where we're trying to,

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you know, come out of, you know, the last
three years of the Covid Pandemic, um,

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basically to, you know, strengthen
our workforce. Um, again,

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it's been impacted like many other
healthcare systems around the state and

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around the country. Um,

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and we're also in an unusual position
in that we're very excited to be, um,

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go entering into, um,

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becoming part of a new healthcare system
with Boston Children's Hospital. Um,

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Boston Children's has never
been a healthcare system.

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It's always been a free-standing
children's hospital,

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one of the best in the
country, if not the world.

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And they're on a journey to become
a full-fledged healthcare system.

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And we are the first major piece in
that journey to become a full-fledged

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pediatric healthcare system, um,

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by bringing in what we call
state-of-the-art first class pediatric

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rehabilitative behavioral health and
education into the model of an acute

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care, um, academic medical center.

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What are the advantages you think
of becoming part of that network?

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For us, I think there's a, a lot of
advantages. Uh, I think it both ways,

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both for, for us at Franciscan Children's
as well as for Boston Children's.

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I think the first that comes to mind is
that we're both very complimentary. Um,

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we're both free-standing pediatric
hospitals, but we serve, uh, like I said,

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a complimentary patient population.
Um, the services that we provide,

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they currently do not and vice
versa. So to become a, uh, you know,

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one of the nation's leading
pediatric healthcare systems,

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I think you need to build on what are
the institutions that each of you bring,

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what are the strengths that each of you
bring to the table? And I think for us,

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it's an amazing opportunity to take what
we've done over the last 70 years and

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connect ourselves with one of
the leading acute care, um,

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pediatric hospitals in the
country, if not the world.

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Given all the changes that you just
mentioned that Franciscan Children's is

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undergoing right now and the challenges
that pediatricians are facing, uh,

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how do you anticipate your role will
evolve over the le the next 18 months?

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Sure. I think I'm a, you know, an
unusual chief operating officer in that,

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you know, first and foremost,
I'm a pediatrician. I'm
also a neonatologist, um,

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board certified in pediatrics in
neonatal per perinatal medicine.

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My background is in critical care
transport as well as neonatology.

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And I've had the pleasure
of being in numerous, um,

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healthcare leadership positions in the
past, including being NICU directors,

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pediatric chiefs. Um,

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most recently I served for over eight
years as a chief medical officer,

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and now as a chief operating officer.

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I think I bring a very different
dimension to the role in that I really can

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link, um,

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the operational improvement needs of our
institution with what we need to do to

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build ourselves into a system with also
having that framework of what is the

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ultimate goal,

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providing the best high quality care
and safest care for our patients and the

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best patient experience for our
patients and their families.

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What are you most excited about
right now and what makes you nervous?

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I think first of all, what makes me
most excited is that as a pediatrician,

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first and foremost,

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we are really developing a first of
its kind pediatric healthcare system

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that really will have all service
lines that have to do with the care of

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children from birth all the way through
adolescents and young adulthood.

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There won't be any specialty or
service that will be left behind.

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There'll be nothing that we
can't provide as a system,

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and that you will basically be
able to come to our hospitals,

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to our outpatient services,
to any of our centers,

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and be able to access all aspects of
pediatric care regardless of what those

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needs are. And in terms of what makes
me the most nervous, I think, you know,

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what makes me nervous is similar to what
a lot of how the healthcare leaders are

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failing, um, in this, in this market
right now. You know, we're, we're,

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we're struggling is like others
with, you know, again, securing, um,

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the right workforce. And that means
not just the right numbers of staff,

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but the right type of staff.
We wanna make sure that we're,

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that we're recruiting really highly
committed mission focused pediatric

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providers of all different types, whether
it be frontline, pedia, pediatricians,

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specialists, um, social
workers, physical therapists,

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occupational therapists, behavioral
health specialists, psychologists,

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psychiatrists. We wanna make sure
that we really have the right people,

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not just the right credentials, um,

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who can really fit into what we're
trying to do to basically set forth the

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standard and what a pediatric healthcare
system should be in the next 10 to 20

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years.

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It certainly seems like a terrific and
ambitious project you have going in terms

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of building the system when
it comes to access to care and

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behavioral health in particular.

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How do you connect with people
who are able to grow this project

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in the way you want it to see it evolve?

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I think for us, we actually will
be able to offer all aspects,

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specifically to your question
about behavioral health,

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everything from outpatient care
to acute inpatient psychiatric

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care in everything in, in
between, including, uh,

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community based treatment as well.
Um, the other, the other unusual, um,

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aspect of our hospital in our future
system is that we already provide

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direct mental healthcare and
behavioral healthcare, um,

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treatments directly in schools.

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We have a very strong connection with
our child wellness initiative where we

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actually provide direct behavioral

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services in the school setting. So
the children and their families,

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their parents,

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their caregivers don't have to go outside
the school to seek those important,

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um, you know, first line behavioral
healthcare needs When those,

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when that need arises.

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Uh, Dr. Ansoft,

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as far as pediatric access
to care is concerned,

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who needs to be, let's put it this way,

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who needs to help you step up
and provide that access to care?

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I think there's, that's a great question.
I think there's a number of areas.

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I mean, if I could draw
it on a, on a, on a board,

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you'd probably see it better
than me be speaking to it.

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But what I I envision is, comes from,
you know, community leaders, um,

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whether it be, you know, people who
make the laws, our state legislators,

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either in state or federal level,

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being able to kind of get rid of
some of those roadblocks that, um,

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really impede us,

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impede us being able to provide us
some of the services that we can do so,

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and being able to do so more
efficiently. Um, as we all know,

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there's a lot of bureaucracy that
healthcare has to work around.

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So I think getting rid of some of those
bureaucratic roadblocks is first and

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foremost. And then secondly,

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I think we need to do a better
job and we're doing it, um,

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of teaming up with and partnering
with our educational, um,

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institutions that really are the pipeline
for our future healthcare providers.

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So, for example,

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working with local universities in
medical schools, nursing schools,

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um, other, um, healthcare
professional schools,

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BA basically being able to be a training
site for their trainees by showing

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them, you know, how exciting it is
to practice in their specific field.

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And also, and not to sound selfish,

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but also to show them this is a great
place to work and hopefully become a

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pipeline for those future trainees
to make us a destination for their,

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for their employment and their careers.

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Also. Doctor Enol,

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what issue in your line of work
do you think needs to be discuss,

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discussed more often?

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I think by far and away, especially
when it comes to pediatrics,

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is the reimbursement piece. Um, what
we are seeing still in this country,

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especially locally, but
even more nationally,

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is the divide between reimbursement
on the adult side versus the

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similar type of care that's being
delivered on the pediatric side.

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And the divide in terms of what that
reimbursement, um, holds for us.

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So for example, as I
mentioned earlier, you know,

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I come from a strong
background as a neonatologist,

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having worked in a number of NICU
and having led a number of nicu, um,

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in some very, um, exciting, um,
institutions throughout my career.

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And you compare the reimbursement
in critical care for newborns in,

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in children compared to that in the
adult world. And there's a huge division.

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And I think those divisions need to be
looked at better analyzed and kind of

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brought up to par with our
adult colleagues so that
we can provide better care

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for our children.

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Dr. Ina, thank you so much
for all your insight today.

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It was an absolute
pleasure speaking with you,

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and hopefully we can connect again soon.

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Oh, no. Thank you for the
honor of being able to, uh,

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provide this information for this podcast.

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And thank you for the
honor of the invitation.