Becker's Hospital Review

28 POPULATION HEALTH 28 CEO/STRATEGY Why pharmacy leaders at RWJBarnabas Health eat lunch together each day By Kelly Gooch W orkplace culture is critical to the success of any hospital and health system. It not only affects the business of an organization, but also has the potential to affect clinical quality and em- ployee satisfaction. While the entire organization should be in- volved in developing and maintaining a posi- tive workplace culture, sometimes an individ- ual department can make significant strides on their own. Such is the case with West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health's pharmacy enterprise. e 1,100-staff enterprise, consisting of RW- JBarnabas Health's 23 pharmacy divisions, is led by Indu Lew, PharmD, senior vice presi- dent and chief pharmacy officer. Dr. Lew has only been in the chief role since July, but she has been working to improve the system's pharmacy enterprise for 18 years in various roles, including vice president of cor- porate pharmacy at RWJBarnabas Health. In addition to addressing the challenges spe- cific to hospital pharmacy in her chief role, Dr. Lew also began working to improve workplace culture in her enterprise with two specific programs: a daily lunch for leaders where work-related talk is not allowed, and a team-building exercise of choosing a single word that the pharmacy department will ex- emplify in the year ahead. Word for the year Beginning in March or April, pharmacy team members work together to begin brainstorm- ing the pharmacy enterprises' vision for the next year. is vision then gets distilled into a single word that the entire pharmacy team knows and embodies, Dr. Lew said. Ratification and adoption of the word is lat- er approved by the health system's Pharmacy Executive Council. "Effective leadership is predicated on com- munication that is simple and clear," ex- plained Dr. Lew. "e pharmacy enterprise leadership has taken this fundamental tenant and distilled it to one word, [chosen annual- ly]. By asking a diverse group of pharmacy stakeholders to remember one word, in order to focus their annual priorities." e pharmacy enterprise's word for 2020 is "foundation," and it is focused on harmonized workflows, policies and procedures and compe- tencies in anticipation to the migration of the health system's universal EHR, said Dr. Lew. She said the word was an appropriate choice because essential structure is critical to suc- cess during the implementation journey. Dr. Lew said the strategy has improved work- place culture because it "has accelerated unity and execution of goals and tactics." Lunch e corporate pharmacy leadership team also has made resiliency a priority. Dr. Lew said one of the most successful and simple tactics used is connecting over lunch every day. To ensure that lunch provides resiliency, one simple rule is in effect: No one can talk about work. Instead con- versations typically are centered around family, pets, vacations, hobbies and passions. "is process has moved everyone from be- ing co-workers to family members. I think when you learn a lot about your teammates and about their families, you become vested in them," said Dr. Lew. Also, "when you don't talk about work, it does give your mind a fresh perspective," she add- ed. "We work really hard all day long, and you need to let your mind decompress a little bit, so you come back fully charged." Still, Dr. Lew acknowledged that it's not easy for people to commit to lunch, and corporate phar- macy leaders must intentionally set aside and guard that time. Sometimes people do have to miss lunch due to important meetings or other circumstances. But about 10 corporate pharma- cy leaders end up making it most of the time. "We laugh a lot, and there's something scien- tific to laughing and releasing endorphins. It works well," Dr. Lew said. She said the lunches overall are about the concept of building resiliency among phar- macy enterprise leaders. She realizes that doing lunches daily isn't feasible for all parts of the hospital environment, especially with teammates involved in direct patient care. But she recommended that hospitals and health systems build some type of resiliency process into the workflow of employees, even if it's a 15-minute break a couple times a week to dis- cuss nonwork-related topics. n 5 things to know about Walmart Health By Ayla Ellison W almart has expanded its footprint in the primary care market by opening two standalone health centers. Five things to know: 1. Walmart opened its first standalone clinic, called Walmart Health, Sept. 13 in Dallas, Ga. In January, the retail giant opened its second freestanding clinic in Calhoun, Ga. 2. Walmart Health centers offer a variety of services, including primary care, urgent care, labs, X-rays, dental, counseling and optometry. 3. Patients can schedule appointments and view prices on Walmart Health's website, which says the clinics offer "quality medical care at low prices you'll love – no insurance required." 4. Sean Slovenski, who Walmart recruited from Humana, is heading up the company's healthcare and wellness unit. He formerly served as Humana's vice president of innovation. 5. The two health centers in Georgia are the first of many Walmart plans to open. In management's commentary accompanying Walmart's third-quarter results, President and CEO Doug McMillon said the company will open "sev- eral more" standalone health centers. n

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