Tory Shepherd details her career journey from respiratory therapist to CEO and shares advice for future leaders.
Editor's note:This article appears in the March 2023 edition of HealthLeaders magazine.
Rutherford Regional Health System, a 140-bed acute care hospital in Rutherfordton, North Carolina that's operated by Duke LifePoint Health, recently announced its new CEO.
Tory Shepherd, who became interim CEO of RRHS in September, was named the rural hospital's permanent CEO at the end of November. Originally a respiratory therapist by training, Shepherd brings both a clinical and operational perspective due to her work at the bedside and in executive leadership roles.
In a recent interview with HealthLeaders, Shepherd detailed her journey from respiratory therapist to CEO and shared advice for future leaders.
This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
HealthLeaders:What have the past few months looked like as you get settled into your role?
Tory Shepherd: The last few months for me, coming into this new community, it was important for me to listen: Listen to staff, listen to the physicians and providers, listen to the hospital, as well as the community at large. I spent a great deal of time not only within the walls of the hospital, but also externally listening and trying to build relationships with local officials, first responders, [and] our physician practices. You have to build a relationship on trust, and it's important to me to be transparent and genuine so that they understand where I stand and [that] I am open and available to them.
In addition to that, I was able to assess the community needs, get to know the community a bit more, and then focus on strategic growth and quality initiatives. As fate would have it, we had our tri-annual Joint Commission survey within that first three months as well. I am glad to say that the staff, physicians, and providers are the ones to hold the credit for … a successful tri-annual Joint Commission survey.
In addition to that, within these first three months, we've had our fall Leapfrog score come out, and we were able to report a score of an A. In addition to that, we were able to reaccredit our mammography clinic as well. We're also working to get our interventional cardiology program up and running.
HL: What are your top priorities as CEO and what pain points do you hope to start addressing?
Shepherd: Everything resides around patient care and quality. What I would like to focus on first is to continue with and refine the good work that's already in place as it is related to patient quality and patient satisfaction. There are always things that we can improve upon, so we want to take that and run with it.
I want to be able to continue to assess and build up services for the community. Rutherford County is quite vast, so it is important being the only community hospital for that county that we offer as many core services as we can. We want to be able to build up services such as cardiovascular services. We already had OB and we already have orthopedic service lines, but I want to be able to expand on that. [I'm] looking to stand up some vascular procedures as the year rolls around, as well as support for our orthopedic service line, such as an athletic training program and a total joint program.
Pain points are, for us, no different than anywhere else, and that's staffing. We're already working collaboratively with our local community college and our universities to create pipelines. Given this as a rural community, it is critically important that we are hand-in-hand with our community college, universities, and even high school programs to create some grassroots efforts there. We're engaging with our current students as well as our past students to determine if there were any barriers that exist. Maybe there were areas in the hospital they wanted to rotate into that may not have been allowed during COVID times. That's something that we need to reassess and make sure that we can offer those to the students.
I also want to touch on that recruitment extends to our physicians and providers, as well as our staff. Physicians and providers lead the teams, and without them, it's hard to do the work that we need to do. We're going to work with Lifepoint to leverage an ability to gain access to applicants which, if we were a standalone hospital, would be quite difficult to do.
We need to make Rutherford Regional, in the surrounding communities, unforgettable by gaining an understanding of what is important to each candidate and ensure their experience with us, and [that we] address each and everything that they need.
HL: How does your background as a respiratory therapist, and your experience working on both the clinical and operational side of things, help you lead as a C-suite executive?
Shepherd: I would have to say it's perspective. It's perspective because I have walked a mile in their shoes. I am genuine, transparent, probably sometimes to a fault, and I have an acute understanding of the interoperation of most departments. I truly have a drive to better the community by engaging the frontline staff. Oftentimes, the frontline staff has the answers to the issues that we see every day; we just need to ask them and engage them, and make sure that they are also leaving with a sense of feeling like they've added value as well.
HL: How would you describe your leadership style?
Shepherd: I truly feel anyone in healthcare is in the service of others, and I feel that servant leadership style is what is best in this setting. I'm deliberate in my efforts to be collaborative and inclusive; I think that's very important. In the hospital and clinic setting, there are many departments, all with their own operations, but all of us are interconnected. I often say that the clinics are the front door to our outpatient services at the hospital, whereas EMS is the front door to our emergency services department. Without each other, we cannot effectively deliver care to our patients in our community. It is important that everyone is included and engaged; it takes a village. I tell my team all the time, and this includes the executive team: we cannot function in silos. We have to make sure that we are all engaged toward the same mission.
HL: What inspired you to work in healthcare and to become a leader?
Shepherd: When I came into medicine, I actually did this after high school at age 17. I graduated [from] high school a little bit early, and I went right into the respiratory therapy program. I went right into healthcare because I always knew I wanted to help other people and I chose respiratory therapy because it fascinated me and I was eager to learn more about it. It is unique in that you work with all departments; you work in multiple capacities, and you come to know and learn to work collaboratively with almost everyone in the hospital.
I served at the bedside for 10 years. I was a supervisor, as well as a clinical instructor for a local community college. Then in 2011, my director experienced some unforeseen health issues, and I was asked to take the role interim. The scope of that position covered multiple departments, from the cath-lab to wound care to the sleep lab to respiratory therapy. It was then that I learned the specific needs and operations of other departments. I learned how to flow from one to the other with ease and I was able to adapt as needed. This is when I realized how much I enjoy the challenge as well as the rewards of leading multiple departments. I enjoy working with the teams to see a shared vision become a reality.
After several months, the position was offered to me as permanent, and I accepted. I often tell people leadership found me. But it is a great feeling to have been able to expand, refine, and start new services, to have the ability to help so many, and provide care close to home. I pressed forward by obtaining my MBA so that I would have the ability to continue to grow in leadership roles when opportunities presented.
HL: What advice do you have for those in the workforce who might want to make the jump into the C-suite?
Shepherd: If someone finds that they have a passion for healthcare, either accidentally or purposefully, you have to go after it. You have to be fierce, and you have to never give up. You need to find a mentor that can help give you guidance. You always have to remember your "why;" you're going to have to lean on that often. Healthcare can be a challenge, and some days are hard, and you're going to need to remember that and lean on that.
You need to be genuine and transparent. You have to be present in every moment. If you are a leader, you are a teacher. Delegation and succession planning, that's key. The sign of a great leader is not that the organization runs well while you're there, it's that it runs well when you're not.
Personally, I have had many barriers and detours to get here. I feel you have a choice as to the legacy you leave. I'm happily married, I have three beautiful children. I became pregnant during my MBA program and delivered our second child before the completion of that program. I never stopped. I pushed forward even when it was hard and sometimes seemed unattainable. Likewise, we found out that we were pregnant with our third child after I had just accepted the director role. There was a tremendous amount of stress at that time, if you can imagine, but I was determined to see it through.
The thing is, you have to remember that this is a marathon, this is not a sprint. There's only one person who can win the race and no one else is going to do it for you.
HL: Do you have anything you'd like to add about being CEO of a rural hospital?
Shepherd: I have an appreciation for rural healthcare, and I also have an appreciation for working for a larger system that can support that as well. Lifepoint gives you the ability to keep the community feel and stay connected to the community, but it also gives you the support that you need. It would be difficult to continue operating in this environment if you were a standalone hospital, not to say that it can't be done, but certainly a challenge.
Susan Turney, MD, MS, will continue to lead the Wisconsin-based health system through the next steps of its proposed merger with Essentia Health.
Marshfield Clinic Health System, an integrated, rural health system with 11 hospitals and 65 clinics across Wisconsin, will lose its current president and CEO next year.
Susan Turney, MD, MS, who became the system's inaugural CEO in 2014, will be stepping down in September 2023.
"My time as CEO here has been the greatest professional experience of my life, and I am deeply proud of what we have achieved together," Turney said in a statement. "Rural healthcare was in crisis long before COVID-19, and the pandemic deepened those challenges and created new ones. Despite those hurdles, through the last decade, we have grown, executed our strategy, cared for our communities, and stayed true to our values."
Turney completed her internal medicine residency at Marshfield Clinic and served in clinical and administrative roles there for 22 years. She later served as CEO and EVP of the Wisconsin Medical Society, and president and CEO of Medical Group Management Association/American College of Medical Practice Executives. She then returned to Marshfield Clinic to lead the newly created integrated Marshfield Clinic Health System, and successfully guided the system through unprecedented growth and expansion, while also serving as a rural healthcare advocate and industry leader.
Turney will continue to lead and help guide the system through its next phase as it progresses through a proposed merger with Essentia Health, an integrated health system serving communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.
The two mid-sized systems signed a memorandum of understanding in October to evaluate a potential merger to combine the systems into one integrated regional health system. The new system would create a 25-hospital system that serves 2 million patients across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and North Dakota.
The systems anticipate reaching a definitive agreement in the coming months, according to Marshfield Clinic.
These aren't the first merger talks that Marshfield Clinic has been involved in, recently.
In December 2019, Marshfield Clinic and Gundersen Health System mutually called off their merger talks, which began in May 2019. The combined system would have formed a 13-hospital system, serving patients across Wisconsin, northeast Iowa, and southeast Minnesota. A joint statement released by the two systems described the merger discussions as "productive" and "collaborative," while noting that the two would continue to partner on future projects.
Check out these four organizations that decided to change their names, logos, and brands this year.
This past year, HealthLeaders spoke with C-suite executives from health systems across the country, including Henry Ford Health, CareWell Health, Dartmouth Health, and Lifepoint Health, which all announced organization rebrands during 2022.
In the articles below, executives from those organizations discuss the why's behind their name and logo rebrands, and what it means for their health systems.
Henry Ford Health has dropped "system" from its name.
The Michigan-based, nonprofit health system announced in March it has a new, "evolved" brand, which includes a name change and a new logo to emphasize the organization's focus on the health journey of its patients, communities, and workforce.
The new branding hopes to unite all of the health system's offerings, which includes primary and preventative care, complex and specialty services, home health, pharmacy and healthcare retail, and its research and academic mission.
For CareWell Health Medical Center, it means reaffirming an organization-wide commitment to the community of East Orange, New Jersey with a new start.
Previously known as East Orange General Hospital, CareWell Health Medical Center is an independent, boutique community hospital, and the only independent, acute care hospital in Essex County.
Along with the COO, CNO, and CMO, CEO Paige Dworak, FACHE, led a rebranding effort for the hospital that started earlier this year, which will be followed by expanded services, and investments in staff and technology.
The health organization, previously known as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, based out of Lebanon, New Hampshire, has a new name and logo.
Following a three-year strategic plan to integrate the growing system, president and CEO, Joanne Conroy, MD, introduced the organization's new branding in a video released to the media this afternoon. Moving forward, the health system will be Dartmouth Health.
The brand identity, which will phase in over the next two to three years, has already begun, first with the health system's website. The health system will continue to update branding on collateral materials, digital assets, and publicly visible elements including facility signage and employee badges.
Lifepoint Health (previously LifePoint Health) announced on Tuesday that the organization is launching a new brand identity to "reflect its compassionate culture, focus on innovation, and growth as a diversified healthcare delivery network."
Part of the branding rework includes a new heart-shaped logo that represents the organization's "caring and inclusive culture and its mission of making communities healthier," which is made up of different colored dots to symbolize the organization's commitment to patient-centered care, the organization's almost 50,000 employees, its numerous business lines, and collaborative mindset.
The organization also unveiled the new brand promise: "Great care lives here," and a subtle spelling change in the name Lifepoint.
Chethan Sathya, MD, director of the system's Center for Gun Violence Prevention, shares insights into the campaign and the center's gun violence prevention work.
Only 30% of gun owners who have children at home safely store their firearms, and every day, 13 children are killed by gun violence and another eight are shot by accident, according to research from TK. With guns now the leading cause of children's death in America, Northwell Health is aiming to fix that by ending the stigma around conversations on unlocked guns in the home.
Launched in September and supported by more than one thousand hospitals across the country, the American Hospital Association, the Children's Hospital Association, and the Catholic Health Association of America, the first national gun violence awareness campaign urges parents to ask, "is there an unlocked gun in the house," when dropping off their kids at someone else's home.
The campaign's media channels include print ads— with an ad in the New York Times—15-second national and New York-based television spots, billboards, social media posts, online video, radio public service announcements, a coalition website, and a website for the awareness campaign.
While the campaign is in its infancy, and the organization is still gathering quantitative survey data, they have already seen the campaign make an impact on the system's patients and consumers. In just one month, consumers in the New York market who were exposed to the campaign's "Tiger" television spot were more than three times likely to have asked someone if they had an unlocked gun in the house. They found that 12% of parents who hadn't seen the campaign had asked about unlocked guns, and 38% of those who had seen the campaign had asked.
Chethan Sathya, MD, Director of Northwell's Center for Gun Violence Prevention and pediatric trauma surgeon, recently spoke with HealthLeaders about the campaign and Northwell's continued work against gun violence.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HealthLeaders: Why did Northwell launch this national campaign and what is its intended impact?
Chethan Sathya: Our goal with the Center for Gun Violence Prevention has been to normalize the way we talk about gun violence and firearm safety. We do not view this as a political issue. It is the leading cause of death in kids, so it's very much a public health issue and safety issue. At the end of the day, the majority of gun owners in this country are for firearm safety and many folks in this country are for violence prevention.
The healthcare industry has a critical role to play in reframing this as a public health and healthcare issue. And as such, this public awareness campaign goes hand in hand with our philosophy of screening our patients for firearm risk. The purpose is to destigmatize and normalize the way we talk about this topic. We view gun violence risk, or firearm injury risk, no different than we view the risk of heart disease, risk of cancer. When we ask questions about sugar intake, exercise, smoking, substance use, there is no difference in asking from a healthcare lens from asking questions about firearm injury and risk, to access or violence.
Likewise, the campaign is around the fact that we hope to enhance discussions in the community and among parents when they send their kids to other houses. In the same vein that they ask about drowning avoidance, choking hazards, safety gates, other dangerous things in the household, it's okay to ask about guns with the intention to have them safely stored. This is not about taking people's weapons away, it's purely for having them safely stored, which means locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.
HL: What reactions have you seen from patients, your community, and other healthcare organizations?
Sathya: We've already been doing this in our healthcare setting for a year or so now; having these conversations with our patients and screening, and the reception there is very, very high.
With respect to this public awareness campaign, which focused more on the consumer and focused more on parents and the community … they're happy to see this. We've seen a tremendously positive impact from this. I can't tell you how many parents have said "this the first time I've thought about it this way." Based on the metrics we are measuring; we're seeing parents starting to have these conversations where they weren't before. It's, in general, being positively reviewed.
There are always going to be folks who think we're doing this for other reasons. And that's also led to a number of exciting opportunities to have a conversation and to educate why we're doing this and why we're not. We almost always are able to find common ground with folks that don't agree with this.
HL: Can you share the continued work the Gun Violence Prevention Center has been doing?
Sathya: I'm a pediatric surgeon. I, unfortunately, treat a lot of kids [who have succumbed to firearm injury] and I come at this from that level. We've seen a 600% increase in our level one trauma center here of bullet wounds in kids this year compared to last year. This is certainly an issue that's front of mind.
When I got here in 2019, I was inspired to see our CEO, Michael Dowling, [make us] one of the first health systems to make an institutional commitment to this issue. If you think about how many hospitals have centers for cancer and centers for heart disease, very few have a center for violence prevention. That's what led to the center, which I direct. We have hundreds of initiatives we focus on targeting a public health approach to this crisis and our initiatives [include] anything from medical education to community work. We work with law enforcement, veterans, community violence prevention organizations, schools. We have NIH research projects, and we have a policy advocacy arm as well.
Our big national push has been bringing health systems and hospitals together to talk about this issue. We think hospitals and healthcare needs to do more prioritizing how we figure this out. We've launched a learning collaborative that focuses on best practices at a grassroots level. There are 600 hospitals that are funded by 13 states. We have a new CEO council that's going to be announced soon that has 45 CEOs of large health systems to make a substantial commitment to the healthcare industry when it comes to this epidemic.
4.6 million children live in households with unsecured guns, and that number has only gone up significantly since COVID-19, with millions of Americans buying guns for the first time. This is an educational effort around firearm safety. A lot of parents are surprised at these risks and surprised that there are simple things that they can do. Locking up their guns could save a life.
Editor's note: This story was updated on December 16.
The newly merged health system, which recently announced its appointed executive team, promises lower healthcare costs and expanded access for patients, but stakeholders have concerns.
The mega merger between Illinois-based Advocate Aurora Health and North Carolina-based Atrium Health is complete, creating a $27.1 billion health and wellness delivery system that has some healthcare stakeholders worried.
The combined system, Advocate Health, will serve 5.5 million patients in Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. New headquarters will be established in Charlotte, North Carolina, while a new institute for health equity will be established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
While the organization has transitioned to a new umbrella brand, the Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health brands will continue to operate in their markets as they did prior to the merger, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the organization's academic core.
The system now operates 67 hospitals and more than 1,000 ambulatory locations, and will be supported by 148k teammates, 7.6k employed physicians, 18.5k aligned and medical staff physicians, and 41k nurses.
Executive leadership team named
Additionally, the organization, along with co-CEOs, Eugene A. Woods and Jim Skogsbergh, announced the merged organization's executive leadership team, earlier this week, comprised of previously appointed Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health employees and leaders.
"This is a stellar leadership team—each with diverse experience and a proven track record to boldly lead our new organization into the future," Woods said in a statement.
"Our executive leadership team will chart the course for our journey to reimagine health and well-being, advance health equity and improve the lives of individuals, communities and teammates," Skogsbergh said in a statement.
President-level leaders:
President, Atrium Health Navicent: Delvecchio Finley, MPP, FACHE
President, Advocate Health - Southeast Region: Ken D. Hayes, MSHA, MBA, FACHE
President, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist: Kevin High, MD
President, Advocate Health Enterprises: Scott Powder, MBA
President, Advocate Health - Midwest Region: William (Bill) P. Santulli, FACHE
President, Atrium Health Floyd: Kurt Stuenkel, MBA, MHA, FACHE
Executive vice president leaders:
EVP, chief academic officer and CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist: Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS
EVP, chief information officer: Bobbie Byrne, MD, MBA
EVP, chief community and social impact officer: Kinneil Coltman, DHA
EVP, chief financial officer: Anthony C. DeFurio, MBA, MHA
EVP, chief legal officer: Brett J. Denton
EVP, chief people and culture officer: Jim Dunn, PhD, DHA, DAST, FACHE
EVP, chief brand, communications, and consumer experience officer: Kelly Jo Golson, MBA
EVP, chief nursing officer: Mary Beth Kingson, PhD, RN, FAAN
EVP, chief of staff: Richard (Rick) G. Klein
EVP, chief of staff and chief integration officer: Carol A. Lovin, MHSA, MN
EVP, chief physician executive: Scott Rissmiller, MD
EVP, chief innovation and commercialization officer: Rasu B. Shretha, MD, MBA
EVP, chief strategy officer: Shoeb J. Sitafalwalla, MD
EVP, chief medical officer: Gary Stuck, DO, FAAFP
Senior vice president leaders:
SVP, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, and president of Advocate national Center for Health Equity: Cristy Garcia-Thomas
SVP, chief population health officer: Don Cacagno, MBA
SVP, chief government affairs officer: Kristen Morris
SVP, chief population health officer: Terry G. Williams, DrPH candidate, MBA
SVP, chief government affairs officer: Meghan Woltman
The organization's board of directors has an equal number of members from Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health. Thomas C. Nelson, who previously served as chair of Atrium Health's board of directors, will serve as chair of the new organization's board until December 23, 2023. Michele Richardson, who previously served as chair of Advocate Aurora's board of directors will immediately succeed Nelson to serve a two-year term.
Keeping healthcare costs low
The two systems told HealthLeaders during a previous interview that the merger will result in better, more efficient care delivered at a lower cost to consumers.
"We are coming together to better serve our patients and communities with more access and better care at a lower cost, while addressing the root causes of health inequities," Advocate Aurora told HealthLeaders. "We can expand access to key subspecialties via technology, extend the reach of our population health approach to improve outcomes and affordability, and provide more opportunities to recruit diverse teams with the cultural competence to confront the toughest equity issues."
Advocate Aurora says it has controlled the growth of medical costs in its value-based plans with increases of 1%–2% while the national average is 6%–7%. Mortality rates have also fallen by 11%, team safety events are down 20%, and compliance with sepsis protocols is up by more than 50%.
"Together we can undoubtedly do more, be better, and go faster," Advocate Aurora added.
Concerns regarding the megamerger
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein released a statement on December 1 regarding the Atrium transaction and said the office concluded that there is no legal basis to prevent the merger following a thorough review.
"I appreciate Atrium’s efforts to respond to our numerous inquiries and its commitments to comply with its obligations under the antitrust consent order with my office, as well as our state law’s requirements governing municipal hospitals across its service area," Stein said.
He added, however, that he is concerned about the merger's possible effects on healthcare access in rural and urban underserved communities.
"Atrium has estimated that it will invest $25-50 million in the coming years to expand services in underserved communities in North Carolina; given the size and strength of this new combined entity, it is my strong belief that it can and should do more," he said.
"My office will continue to monitor the combined entity’s operations and its impact on North Carolinians’ health and well-being. If Atrium-Advocate Aurora is not in compliance with its legal obligations, my office will not hesitate to take action," he added.
North Carolina State Treasurer, Dale R. Folwell, shared deep concerns about the merger's cost implications in a statement published on December 2.
"Hold onto your wallets, the Attorney General has failed the patients and taxpayers of North Carolina yet again," he said. "There is widespread evidence that mergers make hospital care less affordable and less safe."
He voiced his concerns about the merger, citing Atrium Health's "notorious" aggressive medical debt collections and has sued more than a thousand North Carolinians, while encouraging thousands more to open medical credit cards that could charge up to 18% interest.
He also said that Advocate Aurora "is facing an antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive behavior that has made health care prices higher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, than in New York City."
"When hospitals make health care unaffordable, patients suffer the consequences. Millions of Americans have rationed medicine, gas, food, or skipped medical treatment, sometimes at the cost of their lives," he added. "This is just another example of the cartel putting profits and protectionism over patients. Merry Christmas for all."
Michael Abrams, MA,managing partner of Numerof & Associates, rejected the systems' claims that as a combined system they would achieve efficiencies and lower care costs, in a previous interview with HealthLeaders.
"If research on the subject is any guide, patients can expect that neither the cost of care nor the quality will improve as a result of the merger, certainly in the short term," he said.
It could also affect smaller, local vendors, since larger organizations tend to want to deal with national vendors for massive discounts.
"I can't see this as offering anything for the local economies, patients, or consumers. I think at the end of the day, this is all about hospitals putting the squeeze on payers and extracting from them concessions in their contracts," he said.
"In the long term, what this means for patients is they can expect that Advocate Aurora will control the cost of care in their markets, which means that costs will rise, and quality will, at best, remain the same because they can," he added.
Mass General Brigham's CEO looks ahead to what is needed for a successful patient-centric healthcare system of the future.
Editor's note: This conversation is a transcript from an episode of the HealthLeaders Podcast. Audio of the full interview can be found here and below.
Mass General Brigham, an integrated health system based in Boston is a world-recognized leader in research that serves 1.5 million patients annually.
Anne Klibanski, MD, serves as president and CEO of the health system, a role she took in 2019 following a seven-year tenure as the system's chief academic officer. Prior to joining the system's executive team, she served as chief of the neuroendocrine unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
During a recent HealthLeaders podcast interview, Klibanski talks about the health system's successful 2022 initiatives and looks ahead to the future, discussing what care models are needed for a successful patient-centric healthcare system.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HealthLeaders: Can you talk about your personal and professional background and what drew you to work in neuroendocrinology and healthcare?
Anne Klibanski: I grew up in a family that valued resiliency; there are so many things that are out of one's control, and understanding how to best deal with that is an important attribute. The second important characteristic is compassion and what impact you have on other people.
When I started college, I brought two important interests with me: One was literature, specifically poetry, and the other was chemistry. They came together in interesting ways.
I've always loved poetry; it requires incredible discipline to take many complex things and put them together in a simple way that requires interpretation for many perspectives. That was something that appealed to me enormously. With chemistry, it was the simplicity of the organization of multiple elements and what that looked like.
I went through college with this combined interest that drew me to complex systems. Solving problems, and [having an] impact and [changing] lives for the better, those also drew me to medicine.
I was immediately interested in a subspecialized area of neuroendocrinology. I liked it because it is a very complex field. It brings together hormone regulation, multiple feedback systems, the brain, behavior, so many different things that are so delicately orchestrated in a way that is profoundly important in human health.
One of the things about neuroendocrinology as a discipline is sometimes very small things can cause so much havoc with the human system and can have such a profound impact on health. The ability and the discipline required to tease all of this apart for a patient so that one can determine what went wrong, these things can have such lifesaving effects on patients, and all of that became so important to me.
HL:During your tenure as president and CEO of Mass General Brigham, your vision has been to build the integrated academic healthcare system of the future with patients at the center. What strategies and initiatives have you led to make this a reality?
Klibanski: If I look across the system, it has two renowned academic medical centers: Brigham and Women's Hospital [and] Mass General Hospital. There are three specialty hospitals that are renowned: McLean Hospital for psychiatry, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and Mass Eye and Ear. [There are also] Community hospitals, outpatient clinics, [and] urgent care [sites]. Looking at all the parts of the system and thinking about how to take the best of all the parts and have the best impact.
Building the integrated academic healthcare system of the future—that requires a very different mindset.The first thing is to look at the strategic priorities we are focused on … and there are several guiding principles that we've looked at:
1. Understanding the care continuum and providing access to it. 2. Value-based care. 3. Innovation. 4. Health equity. 5. Providing high-intensity complex care fueled by research and innovation. 6. Clinical integration. 7. Technology-enabled care, home-based care, and shifting more care closer to home. 8. Patient-centered research and innovation.
HL: Looking into the future in 2023, what will be your top areas of focus in the new year?
Klibanski: Lack of access to quality healthcare is a crisis across the country and globally. Access is also an equity issue. The capacity levels that we're seeing are incredibly high [and] are grave.
We have labor shortages that make it very difficult to provide needed care. Filling the void with short-term labor is very costly. We're also seeing, across the country, many employees who are leaving healthcare, and the pipeline for many of these positions is inadequate.
We have the cost of drugs, supplies, equipment, supply chain shortages, and the highest level of inflation in 40 years.
Working onaccess is a high priority item.
One of the ways in which we're dealing with this is [by] taking all of the parts of the system and bringing them together. It's efficiency, it's integrated care delivery, it's services being enterprise-wide services: radiology, pathology, emergency medicine, and anesthesiology. It's also setting up service lines. We've launched a service line in cardiovascular medicine, which is cardiac surgery and cardiology.
These are important in terms of access, because it will provide a single entry point for patients who need any of this care. It also gets into how do we move care to the right place. So much care can be provided in community hospitals, so much care can be provided in ambulatory, so these [are] strategic priorities in terms of access, and having a single operations team across the entire system, having the hospitals that are community hospitals put together as a community division, all of these things are part of a plan to deal with the crisis in healthcare.
How we capture patients to be in the right place to get the right care at the right time, how we reach out to patients ahead so that we can actually deal with so many of these issues before patients come to the emergency departments.
Embracing digital care delivery. As we head into 2023 and beyond, we need to embrace the fact that care models have fundamentally changed. We need to reach out to patients, [and] patients need to reach us not only in terms of where they come in to be seen. We are redefining the patient experience and contact with patients.
Patients need to have a journey throughout their health; they need to be seen in many different ways. So much of this is not new technology, it's employing the technology that has been there a long time. The ability for telehealth that's not new, hasn't been really employed the way it needs to. And so that is the kind of work that we're doing. And during the pandemic, we saw what that looked like. We saw a few thousand telehealth visits go to over 2 million in a fairly short period of time. And it was life changing for many patients.
Using telehealth is the way to reach people, but we have so many barriers in all of this. It's the use, it's the regulations around it, it's the credentialing out of state. All of these things need to be worked on. These are very strong focuses for this coming year. We've already started to work on that.
Benefit from intentional partnerships. We see so many for-profit companies, technology companies, and pharmaceutical companies, coming into this space. How do we partner with those companies that provide things that will be beneficial to the nonprofit healthcare world? How do we think about partnerships in a different way?
We often hear about competition between for-profit companies, startups, and the nonprofit healthcare system like ours. [We] need to put revenue generated back into the system and support the mission. As many have said, and I'm always happy to join [in] saying this, we do not have shareholders, our shareholders are our patients. We have to invest in our patients. So how do we have those intentional partnerships that enable us to do that.
Supporting research. That knowledge and innovation will help define the future of healthcare. It's innovation in all of those areas and innovation in healthcare delivery. Both need to be done in parallel; both are essential for the future of healthcare.
HL:What do health systems and hospital executives need to prioritize in 2023 to be successful?
Klibanski: We need to work on new ways to think about what's best for patients, no matter where you are in the healthcare world, no matter what you're doing. We need to all focus on the bigger goals.
Healthcare needs to focus on what the models of healthcare delivery [will be] in the future. How do we best work with the state, with for-profit companies, the government to think about what are the best models? There are so many small community hospitals throughout the country that are in danger of closing. How do we provide care in many different settings in different ways?
The second thing is the basic financial models that fund healthcare. How do we achieve lowering the total cost of care, providing equitable care and access, and at the same time surviving as healthcare systems? We need to all be very much focused on that.
I'm optimistic about the future, but it will take a very different mindset to always put patients at the center of everything that we do. That is going to be a real shift for many healthcare systems and how we think about things in general.
HL: In 2019 you became the first woman leader to serve as president and CEO of Mass General Brigham, which was Partners HealthCare at the time. How does your background as a physician and a woman leader help define your current leadership style?
Klibanski: A lot of my story, and I think the stories of many, is building on what you've done. Seeing so many different things that you do in your career as all part of the same thing. Sometimes people think of the different things they've done as not being very related to what they're doing at the moment, and I think that's a major mistake.
I've spent the vast majority of my career seeing patients. Prioritizing, listening, getting people excited about a shared vision, and viewing things with multiple perspectives has been important.
When it comes to women in leadership, when I was first named to this position, I said I'm looking forward to the day when nobody says, 'How do you feel about being the first woman CEO in this job?' And I stand by that. I do think mentoring and thinking through what people's careers are are important.
HL: What advice do you have for women and others who aspire to be leaders in healthcare?
Klibanski: My advice to anybody is this: Do what you're passionate about. If you're doing what you're passionate about, if you and people around you share a vision, progress will be made. I feel that very strongly.
There are so many people whose lives have been profoundly changed by having a chance. So, giving people a chance, making sure they're doing what they're passionate about, that's absolutely critical.
Hackensack Meridian Health and Stanford Medicine Children's Health were among the top organizations recognized for their overall digital approach.
eHealthcare recently announced the winners of the 23rd Annual eHealthcare Leadership Awards, which recognized more than 250 healthcare organizations as winners of 28 digital engagement awards. This year, the awards theme was "humanity," which celebrated the contributions that healthcare organizations make towards community health and well-being.
Each category has several award levels including platinum, gold, silver, and distinction, which were selected by 143 healthcare digital marketing experts serving as judges.
The Leadership Awards includes the Mark Gothberg eHealthcare Organizational Commitment Award, which is the highest honor award and recognizes organizations that excel in leadership, innovation, and commitment in their overall digital approach and strategy.
"Now more than ever, Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to making healthcare easier to access and manage for the communities we serve," Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said in a statement. "This recognition is no small feat, and only made possible by our talented team members, dedicated to connecting patients and providers to create the best possible healthcare outcomes."
Average monthly healthcare employment increased significantly so far in 2022 compared to the average 9k monthly gain in 2021.
Healthcare was once again one of the top sectors with notable job gains in November, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment situation summary.
Healthcare, which joined leisure and hospitality and government at the top, gained 45,000 jobs last month, with the most gains seen in the ambulatory healthcare sector (+23,000 jobs). Additionally, hospitals gained 11,000 jobs, and nursing and residential care facilities gained 10,000 jobs.
"While the October data show that hospitals and health systems continue to prioritize filling critical positions to care for their patients, they continue to experience unprecedented workforce pressures and historic inflationary cost pressures that have outpaced any growth in both volume and revenue," Aaron Wesolowski, American Hospital Association's vice president of policy research, analytics, and strategy, said in a statement about the job gains for hospitals.
Healthcare employment increased by an average of 47,000 job gains per month so far in 2022, which is well above the 9,000 average monthly job gains reported in 2021, according to BLS.
Total nonfarm payroll employment saw an increase of 263,000 jobs in November, which falls roughly in line with the 282,000 average job growth seen over the last three months.
Monthly nonfarm payroll job growth through 2022 has averaged 392,000 jobs per month. In 2021, total nonfarm payroll employment had a monthly job growth average of 562,000.
The multistate children's health system also created new regional and enterprise leadership roles to support the organization's growth initiatives.
Nemours Children's Health announced Wednesday that Mark Mumford, who currently serves as chief executive of Nemours Delaware Valley operations, has been promoted to serve as enterprise COO for the pediatric health system.
Mumford will serve in a dual role as enterprise COO and Delaware Valley regional president in the interim until a national search for his replacement is conducted. He will continue to report to president and CEO R. Lawrence Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, and be based out of Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.
"Mark is the quintessential servant leader, and his consummate expertise in healthcare operations is critical to achieving our vision of creating the healthiest generations of children," Moss said in a statement. "As we evolve our children's health system for continued operational excellence, innovation, and the expansion of value-based care, Mark is the right leader at the right time to help Nemours Children's achieve our strategic goals."
Mumford joined the health system in September 2020 to lead clinical operations in Delaware for Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware and Nemours Children's Health. He previously served as senior vice president of finance and CFO at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Prior to that, he served in executive financial positions for corporations such as P.F. Chang's China Bistro and PetSmart.
"I joined Nemours two years ago because it was the only healthcare system in the country that had a bold plan and vision to not only help children recover from illness but to prevent them from getting sick in the first place," Mumford said in a press release. "I knew that this was where I wanted to be. All of us at Nemours are committed to going well beyond medicine to help even more children access the best care, outcomes, and comprehensive approach to their well-being."
Additionally, the health system announced two new enterprise clinical leadership roles and new segmented leadership roles for its Florida operations.
Mary M. Lee, MD was promoted to serve as enterprise chief physician executive and chief scientific officer. Jane Mericle, DNP, was promoted to serve as chief nursing executive and patient operations officer. Both leaders will be based out of Wilmington and will provide leadership for clinical operations across the system.
Michael Erhard, MD, was promoted to serve as president of Nemours children's Health, North Florida, while Martha McGill, MBA, was promoted to serve as president of Nemours Children's Health, Central Florida, to help with the system's growth initiatives in the Sunshine State.
Nemours Children, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is a multistate pediatric health system with two children's hospitals and a network of primary, specialty, and urgent care practices in Florida, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Following a more than 30-year healthcare career, Brian Smith is set to retire at the end of the year.
Bon Secours Mercy Health, a nonprofit Catholic health system with 50 hospitals in seven states, announced the system's president will be retiring this year.
Brian Smith will retire as president of core operations on December 31, 2022, ending his healthcare career that has lasted for more than 30 years. In his role as president, Smith strategically leads and manages the organization's clinical and core activities.
"When I started as a wages and benefits manager in 1990, I had no idea that Mercy Health—and later Bon Secours Mercy Health—would be my professional home for 32 years," Smith said in a statement. "Serving this ministry and the millions of patients who come through our doors each year has been my pleasure and a true calling, and I am honored to have been a part of such a dynamic and innovative health system."
Bon Secours Mercy Health was created in September 2018 through the merger of Maryland-based Bon Secours Health System and Ohio-based Mercy Health. Prior to the merger, Smith served as Mercy Health's COO, as well as in numerous other operations and HR leadership positions over the years. He has held the roles of CEO, executive vice president, and COO within the system.
"As a dedicated servant leader, Brian has mentored and developed countless leaders and associates across the health system, helping them to achieve ministry goals and personal success. His focus and expertise in developing talent, building effective teams, and succession planning has kept our ministry vibrant and sustainable," Bon Secours Mercy Health CEO, John Starcher, said in a statement. "Many of our most successful initiatives are evidence of Brian's continued operational focus and intellectual curiosity. When I think about the millions of patients we serve, the advancements we’ve made in technology and the emphasis Brian has placed on better care processes that improve the patient experience, I know it is Brian's strong leadership that has enabled our teams to work at the top of their license."