Becker's Spine Review

29 29 HEALTHCARE NEWS as cutting edge, making it easy to forget the origins of integrated health systems like Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, which dates back to one young surgeon establishing a 12-bed hospital in the height of the Great Depression to treat sick and injured workers building the Colorado River Aqueduct. Many large companies have tried and failed, quite publicly, to improve healthcare outcomes while lowering costs. Will 2023 be the year in which at least one Fortune 500 company does not only announce intent to transform workforce healthcare, but instead point to proven results that could make for a scalable strategy? Walmart is doing interesting things. JPMorgan seems to have learned a good deal from the demise of Haven, with Morgan Health now making some important moves. And just as important are the large companies paying attention on the sidelines to learn from others' mistakes. Health systems with high- performing care teams and little variation in care stand to gain a competitive advantage if they draw employers' attention for the right reasons. 4. Who or what will stabilize at-risk hospitals? More than 600 rural hospitals — nearly 30 percent of all rural hospitals in the country — are at risk of closing in the near future. Just as concerning is the growing number of inner-city hospitals at increased risk of closure. Both can leave millions in less- affluent communities with reduced access to nearby emergency and critical care facilities. Although hospital closures are not a new problem, 2022 further crystalized a problem no one is eager to confront. One way for at-risk hospitals to survive is via mergers and acquisitions, but the Federal Trade Commission is making buying a tougher hurdle to clear for health systems. e COVID-19 public health emergency began to seem like a makeshi hospital subsidy when it was extended aer President Joe Biden declared the pandemic over, inviting questions about the need for permanent aid, reimbursement models and flexibilities from the government to hospitals. Recently, a group of lawmakers turned to an agency not usually seen as a watchdog for hospital solvency — HHS — to ask if anything was being done in response to hospital closures or to thwart them. Maintaining hospital access in rural and urban settings is a top priority, and the lack of interest and creativity to maintain it is strikingly stark. As a realistic expectation for 2023, it would be encouraging to at least have an injection of energy, innovation and mission-first thinking toward a problem that grows like a snowball, seemingly bigger, faster and more insurmountable year aer year. Look at what Mark Cuban was able to accomplish within one year to democratize prescription drug pricing. Remember how humble and small the origins of that effort were. Recall how he — albeit being a billionaire — has put profit secondary to social mission. ere's no one savior that will curb hospital closures in the U.S., but it would be a good thing if 2023 brought more leadership in problem-solving and matching a big problem with big energy and ideas. 5. Which hospital and health system CEOs will successfully redefine the role? Many of the largest and most prominent health systems in the country saw CEO turnover over the past two years. With that, health systems lost decades of collective industry and institutional knowledge. eir tenure spanned across numerous milestones and headwinds, including input and compliance with the Affordable Care Act, the move from paper to digital records, and major mergers and labor strikes. e retiring CEOs had been top decision-makers as their organizations met the demands of COVID-19 and its consequences. ey set the tone and had final say in how forcefully their institutions condemned racism and what actions they took to address health inequities. To assume the role of health system CEO now comes with a different job description than it did when outgoing leaders assumed their posts. Many Americans may carry on daily life with little awareness as to who is at the top of their local hospital or health system. e pandemic challenged that status quo, throwing hospital leaders into the limelight as many Americans sought leadership, expertise and local voices to make sense of what could easily feel unsensible. e public saw hospital CEOs' faces, heard their voices and read their words more within the past two years than ever. In 2023, newly named CEOs and incoming leaders will assume greater responsibility in addition to a fragile workforce that may be more susceptible to any slight change in communication, transparency or security. ey will need to avoid white-collar ivory towers, and earn reputations as leaders who show up for their people in real, meaningful ways. Healthcare leaders who distance themselves from their workforce will only let the realistic, genuine servant leaders outshine them. In 2023, watch for the latter, emulate them and help up-and-comers get as much exposure to them as possible. n Trinity Health plans to institute virtual nurses across its 88 hospitals in 26 states By Giles Bruce L ivonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health plans to roll out virtual nurses at its hospitals around the state of Michigan — and nationwide. Trinity will debut them across Michigan soon after a successful pilot project at Trinity Health Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Mich., the Grand Rapids Business Journal reported Jan. 12. The health system also intends to launch them across its 88 hospitals in 26 states in the next 12 to 17 months, CEO Mike Slubowski told Becker's recently. The initiative includes a floor nurse, either a certified nursing assistant or licensed practical nurse, and a virtual, on-screen nurse working together to support patients in the face of staffing shortages. "We've seen that [virtual nurses] don't just fill in the gaps, they are actually able to proactively anticipate the needs for the patient as opposed to the patient or the family having to initiate those questions," Christie Sansom, vice president and transformation officer at Trinity Health, told the Business Journal. "That's really the incredible benefit of this team model." n

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