Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest Dr. Katherine Meese

This week Quint talks with Dr. Katherine Meese (UAB), who conducted an extensive study on what’s driving burnout in health care workers and it’s not at all what you’d expect!

In healthcare, we often talk about the financial margin (Do we have enough money to keep the doors open and pursue our mission?) and the operational margin (Do we have enough beds, space, speed and quality?).  Dr. Katherine Meese says it’s time to focus on the Human Margin. In its simplest form, healthcare is humans working with humans to heal humans. Dr. Meese says that for every decision we’re making, every conversation we’re having at every level of the organization, we must start asking, “How will this impact our human margin?”

In 2020, Dr. Meese conducted an extensive survey of healthcare workers from all parts of the organization (both clinical and non-clinical), asking what would improve their well-being or experience at work. She looked at more than 40 different variables. The things that contributed the most to their stress levels were really surprising and not all what she had assumed was driving burnout.

Dr. Meese says we can utilize this research to create conditions that maximize the human margin. She says it’s not just about the absence of burnout, but creating a culture where our people can actually flourish. When people bring their best selves to work, it solves a lot of other problems.

About Katherine A. Meese, Ph.D

Katherine A. Meese, Ph.D is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also serves as the Director of Wellness Research in the UAB Medicine Office of Wellness and Director for the Center for Healthcare Management and Leadership. She earned her Ph.D in Health Services Administration with a specialization in strategic management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and joined the faculty in 2020. Dr. Meese has several years of industry experience which encompassed work in ten countries on four continents, including management within a large academic medical center. She has co-authored two textbooks for organizational behavior in health care that are used in healthcare management programs across the country, and over 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.  Her research interests are in organizational behavior, leadership, well-being, and delivery models that enhance organizational learning. Her passion is in helping translate rigorous research into a format that can be easily understood and utilized by individuals and teams.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guests Chuck Stokes and Dr. Paula Song

This week Quint talks with Chuck Stokes, interim department chair at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Department of Health Services Administration, and Dr. Paula Song, Richard M. Bracken professor and chair of the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. The discussion centers on how universities are preparing students for careers in healthcare and supporting those already in their career, in light of the pace and scope of change we all must navigate.

Educators are rethinking how they do things, shifting modalities, and adjusting instruction to meet the changing needs and expectations of students and practitioners as they grapple with changing circumstances. Stokes and Song see this as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. Listeners will learn about a few things the academic community is doing differently.

Here’s an overview:
Providing simulation programs (It’s not just the what but the how). There’s a lot of power in putting students in real-life situations that require both hard and soft skills. Instructors put them through a simulation to see how they deal with a situation and give them feedback on it.

Creating more options and providing more support for people already working in the field. Programs are allowing more flexibility for working professionals, whether they’re early, mid, or late careerists. One example is the tailored certificate options in sub-specialties to supplement master’s programs (including topics like health equity, financial management, and climate and sustainability).

Giving students various opportunities to gain different perspectives in all sorts of ways. For instance, they’re partnering with national associations and making sure their programming includes broader health communities. Students are exposed to different career stories and the unique challenges providers and patients face.

Providing more assessments and coaching before students enter the workplace. For example, early testing on personality profiles gives them insight on what they need to work on. There’s a big focus on self-reflection.

Looking to build lifelong partnerships with students. Schools are focused on helping students continue lifelong learning and development throughout their career and helping them leverage the value of alumni communities.

Forming partnerships with healthcare organizations in the community. Faculty are spending more time in local hospitals, which informs them on what’s really happening on the ground in real time. This gives schools an opportunity to help improve the health status of their community by solving problems. It also helps build important relationships for students.

Aiming a laser focus at engagement. This is one of the biggest issues facing our industry. Engagement impacts safety/high reliability, reduces costs, improves consumer-centered care, and boosts innovation. How well the academic community trains leaders to engage and motivate their workforce will be paramount to our success.

Encouraging professionals to get involved in their local healthcare education programs (even if they aren’t alums). Schools are eager for students to hear different voices, see different experiences, and be exposed to a variety of career paths. People don’t need to be formally tied to a program to have an impact and be important mentors and coaches for students.

About Chuck Stokes

In December of 2019, Chuck Stokes retired from Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas, after serving eight years as their system EVP and COO and two-and-a-half years as system president and CEO.

Chuck started his career as a critical care nurse after receiving his BSN from the University of Mississippi, and transitioned to executive healthcare leadership after receiving his MHA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Chuck is a two-time recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (2006 and 2016). He served as chairman for the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives and was their 2020 Gold Medal Award recipient.

In 2020, Modern Healthcare named Chuck as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Chuck also received the 2020-2021 University of Mississippi Medical Center Nursing Alumnus of the Year Award and the 2021 Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence.

In July 2021, Chuck accepted the position of interim department chair at UAB in the Department of Health Services Administration. Chuck will see the department through its new chair transition.

About Paula Song

Paula H. Song, PhD, MA, MHSA, is the Richard M. Bracken professor and chair of health administration at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Song’s research expertise includes healthcare finance, accountable care organizations (ACOs), payment reform, community benefit, and utilization and access for vulnerable populations, including the underinsured and children with disabilities. Her current research interests focus on innovative financing and delivery mechanisms to improve the delivery of healthcare. She has expertise using both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Dr. Song teaches graduate-level courses in healthcare financial management and has coauthored several leading textbooks in healthcare finance. Dr. Song is the 2020 recipient of the John D. Thompson Prize from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest David Bartholomew

There’s a lot going on in healthcare. There’s so much change, so many moving parts, and so many new ideas popping, it can feel overwhelming. That’s why the 2023 ACHE Congress on Healthcare Leadership—coming up March 20-23 in Chicago—is a perfect “time-out” for busy leaders. It provides a chance to network with peers, solve problems, form new partnerships, and build a much-needed sense of community with likeminded people. Plus, it’s hard to beat the energy created by bringing so many thought leaders and great ideas together in a single location.

In this podcast, Quint talks with David Bartholomew, the senior vice president for learning at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). David shares insights from this year’s Leadership Congress and discusses some of the biggest trends in healthcare right now. Topics covered will include:

• The future of healthcare as envisioned by ACHE Congress keynoters, including technology disruptions and lessons from other industries
• Why conferences function as safe spaces for dialogue around the very complex issues healthcare leaders face
• Why solutions for workforce issues and the staffing crisis will be front-and-center this year
• Why the sense of community created by conferences like Congress is so powerful (not feeling “alone” goes a long way toward filling a leader’s cup)
• The importance of “healing the healers”—restoring wellness among staff
• How DEI initiatives help align purpose and potential, and are crucial to building an inclusive culture
• Why closing healthcare’s gender equity gap is so urgent
• Why there is such a focus on “transformational leadership” right now, and what that means for leaders on the front lines
• Insights into “must-see” sessions at this year’s Congress, and best practices for maximizing your experience

About David Bartholomew

David Bartholomew is the senior vice president for learning at the American College of Healthcare Executives. In this role, David oversees education and publishing strategy for the organization. For 90 years, ACHE has been focused on one mission: advancing leaders and the field of healthcare leadership excellence. It is the home to more than 48,000 healthcare executives who are committed to integrity, lifelong learning, leadership and diversity, and inclusion.

ACHE’s annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership remains the premier event dedicated to advancing healthcare leadership excellence. This year’s event is March 20-23 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. Congress provides candid perspectives from leaders within and beyond healthcare on the most critical issues, as well as opportunities to network and see and be seen by some of the most esteemed leaders in the country. You can learn more and register at congress.ache.org.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest John Hallick

John Hallick, founder and president of MET Crusaders and co-president of Biomarker Collaborative, joins the podcast to share the story of his journey into patient advocacy. In February 2018, John was diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Several weeks later, the genetic tests came back, and the cancer was determined to be driven by the MET 14 skipping alteration.

After learning from doctors that while there are many support groups for genetic alterations, there was none for his, John took action. He drew from his background as a serial entrepreneur to set up a patient-centric advocacy group for people with his particular genetic alteration.

You’ll hear about:

• John’s story from his diagnosis of stage IV metastatic cancer to his treatment to where he is today
• MET Crusaders, the advocacy group John founded that’s dedicated to helping patients with the MET alteration live normal lives
• Biomarker Collaborative, a comprehensive body that represents all the advocacy groups, and their work connecting patients with the resources and support they need during what is likely the most traumatic point in their life
• How others can find support and resources
• Most importantly, you’ll meet a courageous individual who is using his own serious life challenge as a springboard to help, educate, and support others.

https://biomarkercollaborative.org/

About John Hallick

John Hallick is a serial entrepreneur of several companies, all based around data warehousing, data mining, and individualized communications management. In December 2017, John developed what he thought might be the flu. It was diagnosed as an upper respiratory infection, and he was prescribed an antibiotic. After several weeks, the symptoms didn’t go away, and he went back to the doctor’s office. The second diagnosis was bronchitis, and he was prescribed prednisone. Again, the illness never went away. In January of 2018, he flew a helicopter four hours from Madison, WI, to Louisville, KY. The drive back to Madison was eight hours. He coughed on and off the entire drive back home. The next day, he went back to the doctor, and they decided to take an X-ray. The X-ray showed he had a mass in his right lung. As a note, nine months earlier he had a normal chest X-ray.

At the end of January 2018, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, performed a complete workup, including PET scans, CT scans, brain MRIs, bone scans, and blood work. On February 1, 2018, at age 67, John was diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. Several weeks later, the genetic tests came back, and the cancer was determined to be driven by the MET 14 skipping alteration.

His initial treatment was a combination of carboplatin, Alimta, and Keytruda every three weeks. John experienced all the normal side effects, including losing 65 pounds and half his hair, hearing loss, neuropathy on the bottom of his feet, no energy, and a significant loss of red blood cells. He was given two units of blood to get his red blood cells back into range. After four treatment sessions, carboplatin was removed from his treatment due to intolerability. After a total of five months of mixed results, it was decided for him to have one additional treatment and look for a clinical trial. After the last treatment, the immunotherapy started to work, and the tumors shrunk about one-third.

Now John had to make the decision of whether to stay on the current treatment plan or go on the trial. John decided to go on the capmatinib phase 2 clinical trial in July 2018. At first, the tumors shrank and then became stable. Targeted therapy returned his quality of life. Like all TKIs, capmatinib stayed effective for over three-and-a-half years. John trialed a MET antibody with limited success and is back on chemo and immune therapy.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest Katie Boston-Leary and Hunter Joslin

Quint’s guests in this podcast are Katie Boston-Leary of the American Nurses Association (ANA) and Hunter Joslin with Joslin Insight, a customer insights and strategy consulting firm. The two have joined forces with Healthcare Plus Solutions Group (HPSG) to initiate the national Models of Care Insight Study. The goal is to look at new and alternative models of care being implemented across the US to help ease the nursing crisis and close the gaps/disconnects between nurse leaders and frontline nurses. Ultimately, the team hopes to generate not just short-term fixes, but share longer, sustainable solutions with hospitals across the country.

The actual survey will go live January 27th, with the hope of receiving responses from every hospital in the country. This podcast overviews what has been done so far, including highlights from listening interviews that were held late last year.

Themes discussed in the podcast include:

• Creative ways to tackle nursing staff shortages, including the role and impact of travel nurses (and how best to optimize them).
• Building workforce pipelines. Discussion includes residency and transition to practice programs, an emeritus campaign (which bring retired nurses back), and a boomerang program (aimed at re-recruiting nurses who have left).
• How to better engage the existing nursing workforce (including how to create a sense of belonging with nurses across the spectrum of credentials).
• Stabilization of management teams (due to the industry’s huge influx of new nurse managers).
• How to close the competency gap with newer nurses.
• Determining which practices can be scaled and how to create a collaborative approach between nursing and management for rolling them out.

The data and the ideas generated by the Models of Care Insight Study are meant to improve working conditions for nurses and care for patients. By creating better places for nurses to work, organizations can help relieve caregiver stress, elevate staff well-being, retain the best talent, and improve patient outcomes. To learn more about the Models of Care Insight Study and/or to sign up as a participant, visit https://healthcareplussg.com/models-of-care-insight-study/. 

Important Dates for the Study:
January 27: Survey launches.
March 20: Quint Studer and Katie Boston-Leary will present findings at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) 2023 Congress on Healthcare Leadership.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest Brooke Montoya

On this podcast, Quint has an in-depth discussion with HR Practitioner, Brooke Montoya, and discusses her time as the director of human resources for Monticello Health Services, which was recently ranked as one of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to WorkTM for 2022.

Creating a workplace that people want to be a part of requires a lot of things to happen at once. The leadership team has to be on the same page and be really transparent and consistent about what they are trying to do. All the employees need to feel heard and feel like they are included in the important things going on in the organization.

In order to make that happen, Monticello created the “culture committee,” whose primary role is to create cohesion and consistency across the organization. When done right, it can really accelerate your employee engagement efforts, as it provides diverse perspectives and valuable insight into where the leadership team should focus their efforts.

Brooke feels the number-one reason they made it on the Best Places to Work list is because they have been effective in aligning their values with the values of employees. The culture committee makes that possible.

Brooke explains that flexibility and adaptability go both ways, and that they have put together a myriad of programs and offerings for employees to make them feel appreciated, valued, and cared for. “The idea is that if we are there for them in times of need,” she says, “they’re there for us whenever we’re in times of need.”

At Monticello, they have operationalized the word “care,” and in this podcast, Brooke will share some of the specific and really creative strategies they have used that make people feel consistently valued, supported, included, and appreciated, and the role the culture committee has played in developing these highly effective programs.

*The game referenced is called Mind The Gap.

About Brooke Montoya

Brooke Montoya is a dynamic HR Practitioner with over ten years of experience in healthcare human resources management. Having had the opportunity to lead several organizations as the head of HR she has proven success in creating cultures of collaboration and implementing change to achieve workforce excellence. Brooke possesses experience in several aspects of human resources, including recruitment and retention, employee engagement, employee relations, and performance management. She believes that building relationships, leadership development, mentorship, and coaching are key to creating healthy workplace cultures.

Brooke holds a bachelor’s degree in human resources management as well as her PHR certification.

Brooke passionately pursues continued learning in all areas of leadership. She is currently enrolled in the master of science in management program at Tarleton State University. Her mission is to inspire individuals and companies to be the best versions of themselves by sharing her knowledge through teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Her most recent achievement is helping to lead her Monticello team to becoming one of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work.

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guests Bob Page and Tammy Peterman

When times are tough (or even when they’re not), culture is everything. In this podcast, Quint talks to Bob Page and Tammy Peterman, executives at The University of Kansas Health System and coauthors of the book Proud But Never Satisfied: Ten Transformative Actions for Healthcare Systems. The academic health system has had quite a journey of transformation. In 1997, they had the lowest patient satisfaction ranking in the nation (a dismal 5th percentile). Now, for over a decade, they’ve been nationally ranked as one of the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report. 

Bob and Tammy talk about how their emphasis on culture has helped them sustain these results. It created a strong foundation and the consistency to get through some rough patches over the years, most recently COVID-19. And they believe culture will carry them into the future. Here are a few of the insights they share:

• You must have “guardians of the culture” to maintain the consistency.
• Communicate early. Don’t make people wonder what the plan is. Make sure they have the information they need to lead their team.
• When the message stays consistent over time, people know what the core expectations are. This is invaluable.
• Recognizing the value of the entire team (frontline care providers and those who support them) is critical. Leaders should spend most of their time rewarding and recognizing others.
• Always think, What can we do differently? What can we do better? It’s important to be aware of that creative tension where you want to feel really good about where you are but also keep improving.

About Bob Page and Tammy Peterman

Bob Page and Tammy Peterman are coauthors of Proud But Never Satisfied: Ten Transformative Actions for Healthcare Systems (Huron Consulting Services, LLC, 2021, ISBN: 978-1-62218-111-7, $30.00).

Bob Page is president and CEO of The University of Kansas Health System. Page has guided its transformation from an institution with the lowest patient satisfaction ranking in the nation to an organization consistently recognized among the best comprehensive academic medical centers in the country by the Vizient Quality and Accountability Study since 2006.

Tammy Peterman, MS, RN, FAAN, is president, Kansas City Division, and executive vice president, chief operating officer, and chief nursing officer at The University of Kansas Health System. The organization achieved Magnet status four times in a row—to date—and “Best Hospital in Kansas City and Kansas” consistently under her leadership.

About The University of Kansas Health System

The University of Kansas Health System is a premier academic health system providing a full range of services, from routine primary care to advanced care for complex conditions. With over 1,100 staffed beds, the system includes facilities located across the Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as hospital and clinic locations in Great Bend, Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas. During the past fiscal year, the health system cared for more than 355,000 unique patients, coming from every county in Kansas, 96 percent of counties in Missouri, each of the 50 states in the U.S., and nearly 30 international locations. The health system appears on many best hospital lists and is recognized for its quality and service, provided by an outstanding team of staff and physicians. For more information, visit https://www.kansashealthsystem.com/.

 

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guests Kay Kennedy, Lucy Leclerc, and Susan Campis

When Kay Kennedy, Lucy Leclerc, and Susan Campis started the research for Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare, they had a long list of survey questions. However, it really came down to these two questions. First, describe the leader you’ve had in the past or currently whom you would follow to the ends of the earth. What does that leader look like? The second question was to describe the leader you’ve had in your current career and your life who made you want to leave a position or leave the profession. All that research and those conversations led them to create a body of work called “Human-Centered Leadership,” and it’s all about being high-touch in a high-tech world.

It’s not just a theory; it’s a philosophy, an approach, and a lens through which to see the workplace. They operationalized all their research into specific behaviors leaders can use to create these cultures of excellence, trust, and caring, and that are going to bring about the outcomes we’re all looking for.

At the center of Human-Centered Leadership is the idea that great leaders not only hit the metrics, but they also stay balanced and healthy in the process. Once you really understand the impact your own wellness has on your team, you can create a culture where well-being is a priority for everyone.

They are big believers in the butterfly effect. If a butterfly flaps its wings in South America, the changes can resonate to cause a tornado in Texas. If every leader makes one small change—wherever you are in the world and whatever the size of your environment, whether it’s a small unit or a system—that energy emanates outward and can make a big change. So flap your wings!

Contact information: team@uleadership.com

Website: https://www.uleadership.com/

 

Hosted by Quint Studer with special guest Nicole Stec

Health systems are providing employees with more well-being resources than ever, but most have a utilization problem. This week’s guest is Nicole B. Stec, director of well-being for Banner Health based in Phoenix, AZ. In this podcast, Nicole discusses Banner Health’s system-wide comprehensive well-being strategy called “MyWell-Being.” Banner has figured out that the ticket to increasing utilization of these services is to lower the barriers to team members accessing them—in other words, you take the service to the person, instead of trying to take the person to the service.

In this podcast, you will learn about:

• Banner’s “five-pillar” strategy that represents the different dimensions of well-being: physical, mental, intellectual, social, and financial. It all adds up to well-being for the whole person.
• How they worked with their EAP to embed onsite and virtual counselors within their 30 hospitals across the system to help team members struggling with stress and burnout during COVID.
• Creative strategies they used to create a private, discreet experience for employees and achieve a higher utilization of services. (For example, counselors hand out business cards with QR codes people can scan to quickly and easily make appointments, and they can make appointments during work hours, without using PTO.)

Ultimately, Banner’s emphasis on well-being underscores its belief in investing in its most valuable asset: its people. Having a great well-being program helps with recruitment and retention and creates a better, more meaningful work experience…which is what today’s employees want.

In addition to being the director of well-being for Banner Health, Nicole is a national speaker on employer on-site clinics and well-being strategies. For the past ten years, Nicole has worked in community and corporate health settings, designing and implementing population health management strategies for organizations, including healthcare systems, small businesses, the U.S. military, and local government.

In her current role, Nicole is responsible for Banner Health’s system-wide well-being strategy for 55,000+ team members located in six states. Nicole recently implemented the Banner Strong Center for Healing to support the mental well-being, healing, and recovery of healthcare workers post-pandemic. Nicole has also increased Banner’s team member well-being engagement to more than 50 percent in the past two years with the introduction of a holistic well-being approach and new wellness technology.

Nicole is a graduate of the University of Southern California (BS), the University of Phoenix (MBA), and the University of South Florida (MPH). She also holds many certifications, including being certified in public health (National Board of Public Health Examiners) and a certified wellness practitioner (National Wellness Institute).

Nicole’s Gratitude Group Presentation

 

Hosted by Dan Collard with special guests Denise Webber and Jim Ulrich

Being on Modern Healthcare’s “Best Places to Work” list is an honor. But the real reason the designation matters is that preparing for it creates the best patient care possible. Denise Webber, FACHE, president/CEO of Stillwater Medical, and James P. Ulrich, Jr., MHA, FACHE, FHFMA, CEO of York General, head up organizations that are longtime designation “regulars.” Stillwater has been a Best Places to Work organization for eleven years and York for nine years.

In this podcast, special guest host Dan Collard, cofounder/partner with Quint Studer of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group, talks with Denise and Jim about why being with people at the most critical times of their lives creates a responsibility to be the best we can be. Seeking a Best Places to Work designation helps achieve that. The data is invaluable. It gets us focused on the right things, shows us what’s going well, and pinpoints areas for improvement. (Side note: Don’t wait until you’re ready to apply to start this journey.)

Denise and Jim share some of the benefits of being named to the Best Places to Work list:

• It provides a good road map/game plan for success. It really promotes the foundational skills that make an organization run smoothly.
• It creates a great culture that permeates every corner of your organization. (It’s not department-specific.)
• It helps promote continuous improvement as you strive to move up the list every year.
• It gels your leadership team together in a really unique way as it requires a lot of collaboration.
• It shines light on some things you might not normally look at (the demographics of the workforce, for example).
• The skills you develop in the process help you manage the ever-changing healthcare landscape. (Jim says York’s rock-solid culture and strong team helped them navigate COVID.)
• The designation will help you attract talent and organically retain the talent you have. It means something.
• It gives you a great chance to see where you compare to others and helps you figure out whom you can learn from.
• It gives you a great opportunity to celebrate, shine the light on your heroes, and focus on your strengths. It reminds you to narrate to your community how good you are!
• It helps you see you are on the right track. The third-party validation is reassuring to patients, community, and employees.

One of the biggest benefits of this designation is the impact it has on the community. It promotes involvement and ownership. With hospitals often being the largest employer and literally the ones caring for community members, there’s a sense of obligation to make life better for everyone. We don’t just have a seat at the table, we get to help set the table—and being a Best Places to Work organization builds the trust that allows us to do so.

Contact Information:
Denise Webber
President/CEO
Stillwater Medical Center
Cell 405-880-5117

James P. Ulrich, Jr., MHA, FACHE, FHFMA
Chief Executive Officer
YORK GENERAL
(402) 362-0445 Office
(308) 340-1752 Cell
Jim.Ulrich@yorkgeneral.org