Becker's Hospital Review

105 105 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP them with staffing, and for those who have closed their units tempo- rarily, we agreed to accept all transfers. Overall, as an organization, we have reached a daily cadence of meet- ing with senior leaders and have scaled back our weekly briefing with all other leaders — administrative, clinical services, research and pro- viders — to every other week. Q: How are you ensuring that Children's Hospital Los Ange- les is addressing systemic racism and promoting diversity? PV: Racial injustice is a public health crisis. We are committed not only to establishing a diverse workforce and leadership team, but also to creating an anti-racist culture. I have received hundreds of emails around this topic, and I've answered every single one of them person- ally and participated in a Town Hall held on the topic. Children's Hospital Los Angeles formed an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion just over a year ago, before racial injustice became so central to our current cultural conversation. We are proud we did so. In our experience, it's unusual for a freestand- ing children's hospital that is independent from a university system to have such an office. is gave us the structure to commission a Racial Equity Task Force more recently to help us understand and take ac- tions in support of racial justice; and further, to ensure we articulate our values and what we stand for. We've hosted listening sessions with team members and boosted com- munication with team and faculty members. We have also participated in a White Coats for Black Lives demonstration and made it a house- wide opportunity to express solidarity with our Black colleagues. We are also curating resources to support all of our team members in learning more about this issue. e ultimate commitment for us is working to eliminate disparities in health outcomes. Los Angeles is a very diverse city, thank goodness. But there are dif- ferences in outcomes based on race. We have a healthcare disparities dashboard for outcomes, and we are bringing greater vigilance to attending to sharing findings to build broad awareness and develop commitment to institutional actions that will result in improvement. We have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but there's earnestness about our desire to be a more inclusive and a more culturally humble and sensitive organization. Q: What's the hardest part of your day? PV: e hardest part for anybody in healthcare is circumstances where families experience a loss. While we have been recognized for fantastic clinical performance, there are still days when some of our young pa- tients don't survive. Spending time with families who have lost a child is without doubt the hardest part of all the work that we do. I know caregivers on the front lines have it much harder than I do in that re- spect, but I am always humbled when I am able to be engaged in these discussions. is is the hardest part of anybody's job in healthcare — knowing that some outcomes don't change no matter what you do. Q: What's the most rewarding part of your day? PV: It is the converse of my answer for what the hardest part is — to have the opportunity to do more for children and help them survive. It's rewarding to develop new programs and services. It is rewarding to demonstrate that we are creating a future for them that is promising, hopeful and healing. Q: What is the last thing you do before you leave the office? PV: I make sure there are no emails that need an answer immediately. I'll check my phone to make sure there are no text messages that sim- ilarly would need a response. Q: Do you do any work at home? Why or why not? PV: Aer dinner I'll take a walk to get a little exercise and fresh air, and then I will check emails again and ensure that preparare for the next day. For me, I'm cleaning up my inbox and just making sure that everything is addressed and read. And while I do this work outside of typical business hours, I don't expect fellow team members to respond to me on the weekend or at night unless it's urgent. Q: How do you unwind at the end of the day? PV: Our two daughters are now grown and out of the house. When we had children at home, unwinding would be spending as much time with them as possible. Now, it is having dinner with my wife, unin- terrupted when possible. It is also taking a walk aer work or spend- ing my commute home reflecting on the day. Although my kids are grown, we're in this great phase of life. ey each have two children, so we have four wonderful grandchildren. n

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