Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1412801
113 113 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP our commitment to providing the right care in the right setting for every member. Q: How does this investment position your health system as a player in the future of at-home care? MG: We see tremendous opportunity to scale this model together. e model can address a broad spectrum of clinical applications, includ- ing cancer care and bone marrow transplant. e high-acuity patients envisioned in our partnership could potentially serve about 30 percent of current hospitalizations. As an academic medical center, Mayo Clinic is known for its integrat- ed approach of clinical practice, research and education. We study this model with scientific rigor, apply and share the learnings, and train the workforce of the future, which will need to be proficient in digital or virtual care delivery models. SP: Kaiser Permanente's investment in Medically Home extends our reach beyond the walls of our hospitals, accelerating the expansion of novel and high-quality virtual care delivery options by providing a patient-centric model of care from the comfort of patients' homes. Medically Home aligns with our values of putting patients first while upholding the highest standards of excellence in innovation. is program will provide learnings from years of firsthand market experience while expanding access to virtual hospital care at a much larger scale. As many as 30 percent of patients treated in hospitals can safely receive care in their homes, potentially impacting millions of patients. Q: Why do you think at-home care is such a rapidly grow- ing innovation area in healthcare? MG: A confluence of forces has converged, with the pandemic serving as a catalyst. e pandemic revealed gaps in our health system as well as inequities. Medical science, powered by technology, has outpaced the advancement and innovation in healthcare delivery, but the pan- demic produced an alignment of policy and we are now able to meet patient demand for consumer-centered models. e state and federal flexibilities provided during the pandemic made it possible for many providers across the healthcare system to revisit how we conceptualize bringing the best medical science to our pa- tients, moving away from a prior anchor in brick-and-mortar models. Hospitals will continue to need flexible capacity, and the regulations unlocked nonhospital spaces to be used for patient care during the COVID-19 emergency. With the rise of telemedicine and positive experiences with it, patients will expect to have home hospital care available to them. ere is no going back. SP: is innovation is occurring because the technology has come of age, people want it, and we believe this is an effective, affordable way to provide excellent care. e technology for home monitoring, rapid response to clinical needs and the management of supply chain lo- gistics is now available. We see the greatest demand and potential for Medically Home's care model being for patients with higher-acuity, seriously complex illnesses because a lot of people would rather stay at home instead of going to a hospital. Ultimately, it should reduce the number of transitions of care that right now occur because of a particular venue. Instead of the step- downs from hospital to post-acute care to home, we can provide true continuity of care and help patients on the road to recovery quicker than ever before. e time is truly now for this model. n Heart Hospital of Lafayette COO's top advice for leaders? Be present, creative By Mackenzie Bean M ichelle Crain, MSN, RN, vice president of the cardiovascular service line, administrator and COO of Heart Hospital of Lafayette (La.), shared her top leadership advice during an episode of the Beck- er's Healthcare cardiology podcast. Here is an excerpt from the podcast. Editor's note: This response was edited lightly for length and clarity. Question: Can you share three pieces of advice for emerging leaders today? Michelle Crain: If anything, this past year has also taught us to be very creative and agile with our decisions. Initial- ly, when there was a requirement to do COVID-19 swabs before we could do surgeries, we created a drive-thru ser- vice. I could never have done that without having leaders who were open to doing things differently, open to having a process that was established at 8 a.m. and by 4 p.m., it might look like a completely different process. So first and foremost, you have to surround yourself with leaders who create that dynamic of a team. From a leadership perspective, you also have to be present. And that's something I believe in as a nurse practitioner. I come to work in scrubs fairly often. I round on the floor. I'll carry the resource phone. I think it's important that the staff are seeing me be on the campus and out and about. You set the example from the top. We're very blessed on this particular campus, as we've been at the 99th percentile for patient satisfaction and patient engagement for at least my whole seven years here. It's something that we all strive for. Lastly, I think you have to appreciate and respect every member of your team and the importance of the service that they bring to your organization. You have to remem- ber that admitting and registration is just as important as your surgical team or your nurses on the floor. When you get them in a room and you get them talking through issues, they again become very creative with their solu- tions at the grassroots level. And it allows change to be accepted and to be implemented much quicker than a top-down approach. n