Becker's Hospital Review

43 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 43 CEO / STRATEGY wait to see and hear those videos,'" said Mr. Sutton. "It's important, because our front- line workers need to know our senior leaders continue to support them and that we do ev- erything we can. Even though we're physical- ly removed, that we do everything we can to understand what they're going through and how we can be part of the team with them." Mr. Sutton also writes dozens of handwritten notes a week to staff. e notes go to peo- ple in all different levels of our organization, from senior leaders and vice presidents and physicians to housekeepers and food and nutrition workers. He said he typically writes a note when he hears of something "extraor- dinary or above and beyond." A young in- tensive care unit nurse did a TV interview and discussed her experiences during the COVID-19 surge last fall, including moving a patient so a family could see their loved one during the person's last moments of life. "I was so moved by that, and not just me, many people were. I wrote the note the next morning and thanked her for her commit- ment to our patients and her commitment to her profession and her commitment to our ministry and the compassion that she showed," Mr. Sutton said. In his DNA Although Mr. Sutton has found avenues for being present during the pandemic, doing so has always been a staple in his career. He became president and CEO of Ave- ra Health in 2018, aer serving as the health system's executive vice president of human resources. He said he began visiting facilities immedi- ately aer beginning his current role, includ- ing regional hospitals, and getting to as many of the organization's critical access hospitals as he could during his first year. "It's nothing to be a three- or three-and-a- half-hour drive for me to get to one of our rural facilities, and I love those days, and I relish them because with physicians and nurses, you get to spend time and get feed- back," said Mr. Sutton. He said he also spe- cifically takes time to visit with housekeepers to let them know how important they are to healthcare quality. His passion for being present isn't isolated to Avera Health. As executive director of the South Dakota Association of County Offi- cials, he visited every county courthouse in the state. ere are more than 60. en lat- er as executive vice president for the South Dakota Bankers Association, he visited every bank in South Dakota, and as president of the South Dakota Community Foundation, he drove 65,000 miles a year in the state. "I just learned I can lead much better when I've physically walked with the people I have been called to lead. And for me when I've taken time to learn who these people are, learn a little bit about their families, learn about the local community and what's going on there, I have personally reaped benefits and rewards," Mr. Sutton said. What he's learned from being present Leaders can learn a lot from others when they are present. Mr. Sutton learned one such lesson from a physician. He said the physician recommended that Mr. Sutton ask staff: "What are the things you think I don't want to hear?" "It was an eye-opener for me," said Mr. Sutton. "It was brilliant. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback. I've [heard] a lot of things people never felt comfortable shar- ing because they were never asked. ey are asked, 'How are things going?' Even asking, 'Are there things we could be doing better?' at's different than asking people, 'What are things that you think I don't want to hear?' It takes down a bunch of barriers. ey feel comfortable that they can open up. And they know that it's not going to come from a place where there's going to be any retaliation for what they tell me, because I'm inviting them to share that. at has served me extremely well in my years at Avera." Dr. McGarvey, the adjunct lecturer on edu- cation at Harvard, agreed. She said last April that leaders should reflect and be honest and open about their decisions. Advice for other health system leaders Mr. Sutton acknowledged that traveling to every facility or standing in front of groups of people and talking to them, even em- ployees, is not a great fit for all health sys- tem CEOs' personality, style and leadership philosophies. He said it's important for health system CEOs to be genuine to who they are. "My colleagues in the C-suite are there be- cause they are competent and capable, and they have strengths that I will never imag- ine having. [Being present] happens to be something that's a passion for me. I think it's important for other CEOs to be present in whatever being present is comfortable for them," he said. e main goal, he said, is for employees to feel comfortable approaching the CEO, so the CEO has a better understanding of the day-to-day operations at the organization. Mr. Sutton said leaders must also be deliber- ate and purposeful about being present. "We're all busy. We all have meetings. We all have an extraordinary responsibility during a global pandemic. And we have to remem- ber that when things are going well, that is an important time to communicate with our team members and to be present," he said. "But when things aren't going well and when there are challenges, it's exponentially more important to be seen and heard during those times."n CVS: Expect 65B healthcare interactions by 2030 By Morgan Haefner C VS Health is looking to significantly expand its healthcare interactions in the next decade, the company said March 31 in its updated Trans- form Health 2030 strategy. Four things to know: 1. CVS plans to facilitate 65 billion healthcare interactions by 2030. 2. Working toward this goal in 2020, CVS administered more than 15 million COVID-19 tests. 3. Additionally, CVS launched a telehealth offering to go along with a typ- ical Minute Clinic Video Visit. CVS conducted nearly 20,000 telehealth visits in 2020. 4. The company also expanded its HealthHUB model to 650 locations. n

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