Becker's Hospital Review

32 CEO / STRATEGY investments to create intuitive experiences within 'neighborhoods' where labs, imaging and treatments are built around the anticipated needs of our patients," said Richard J. Gray, MD, CEO of Mayo Clinic Arizona and vice president of Mayo Clinic. "is patient-centered approach extends beyond our campuses through programs like Mayo Clinic Care Hotel, Advanced Care at Home and Cancer Care Beyond Walls, in which we provide hospital-quality care to patients in the comfort of a home environment using advanced technology to monitor and communicate with them." Damond W. Boatwright, president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield, Ill., is also investing in technology to improve patient satisfaction and the digital experience platforms across the continuum of care. He is zeroing in on how patients interact with HSHS from the moment they begin searching for services to receiving care and billing process. "We want to create an exceptional care experience for everyone who entrusts us with their health, and that means every encounter with HSHS must be positive," he said. "We have seen significant operational improvements in key departments, such as ensuring our ED patients are seen quickly, and, if necessary, admitted on a timely basis." e ED has also been a target for Craig Kent, MD, CEO of UVA Health and executive vice president of health affairs at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. e health system recently transformed the ED using a quality improvement model to rework patient flow. "is has had a profound impact on reducing crowding in our waiting room, shortening overall wait times and enhancing patient safety and satisfaction, all while accommodating steady increases in patient volume," said Dr. Kent. UVA Health had opened a new 80-bed emergency department at the flagship academic medical center in 2019, but it wasn't fully optimized throughout the pandemic. It also wasn't equipped for the patient surge over the last four years. Dr. Kent saw the need for a complete patient flow restructure. "We have adopted an acuity and specialty-based model, with a triage physician at intake to expedite care and accelerate testing," said Dr. Kent. "Patients are triaged by acuity. We introduced real- time patient flow leaders to preempt and resolve slowdowns. We have also implemented vertical care by replacing hospital beds with chairs for our low and middle acuity patients who visit emergency departments at all of our hospitals." UVA Health also created an admission holding unit as well to free space in the acute care areas for new patients at all hospitals. All emergency metrics improved aer the transformation, and ED volumes have been up 18% above budget in the last year. Chandra Chacon, president and CEO of Children's Nebraska in Omaha, is taking a different approach. "We are investing in our people. Our people want to deliver exceptional patient and family experiences, so we boost our success if we empower and enable them to do that. We are listening to our patients and families to define what an exceptional experience looks like. We are then aligning our teams and hyper-focusing our efforts on what matters to the people we serve," she said. Children's Nebraska is engaging providers through recognition, development and collaborative opportunities to lead care teams and develop the right experience for patients and families. n Meet the leader whose CEO career began at 23 By Madeline Ashley D oug McMillan, CEO of Cody (Wy.) Regional Health, is a true example of someone who wakes up every day and does what he loves. It started 41 years ago when he became CEO of Haxtun (Colo.) Hospital at age 23. "Looking back, it was a very humbling experience at 23 years old to go into your first hospital as a CEO," Mr. McMillan told Becker's. "I felt like I was probably about the youngest individual working at the hospital at the time." Prior to his first CEO role, Mr. McMillan received his undergraduate degree in hospital administration and did a six-month residency. Overall, he has served as CEO at four hospitals and has worked at Cody Regional Health for almost 28 years. But for Mr. McMillan, age was just a number. "The younger person brings a whole new perspective," he said. "They bring energy, they bring excitement. Regardless of age, I look for individuals that have a passion for what they want to do." It's this passion that helped him enter his first CEO role at Haxtun with a confidence and eagerness to learn from others. "My leadership style has always been … as a servant leader," he said. "I just like to think outside the box and surround myself with good leaders, because they're the ones that make the difference. If I can provide them with the tools and resources they need to carry out their jobs, I think we'll all be successful." With more than four decades of healthcare leadership experience under his belt, Mr. McMillan said workforce shortages continue to be one of the biggest challenges in the industry. Mr. McMillan praised Cody Regional's growth, expanding from around 18 providers when he first started to 50 today. Mr. McMillan pointed to relying on strong partnerships and valuing your employees as tools to combat ongoing staff shortages. "Communication [and] trust," he said. "Work closely with the staff and try to address those issues as a team versus an individual." When asked what's kept Mr. McMillan in the CEO role for more than four decades, his answer was simple: "I love my job." "To me, if I can make a difference in my position to others, and I have that opportunity every day to make a positive difference for physicians, community members, hospital staff [and], most importantly, patients, that's what drives me." n

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