Becker's Hospital Review

15 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP cinderblock walls, and noise traveled easily. We've been able to address that as part of this project. On another front, we're trying to make investments in equipment and technologies to help retain our workforce, decrease burnout and increase retention. For example, we are currently evaluating artificial intelligence technologies. We have an AI steering committee to look at specific use cases and determine what we can do. If we can't increase the workforce for a specific need, maybe there's a way to use technology to decrease the demands of that job. For instance, we're looking into ambient listening technology to help with transcription for our providers. Hopefully, that will reduce aer-hours charting and weekend documentation, improve the quality of notes, and allow providers to focus more on face-to-face interactions with patients during visits. Q: How is your M&A strategy evolving to support your organization's long- term goals, and how do you determine which acquisitions will add the most value to your health system both operationally and culturally? HM: Being an independent, critical access hospital is a bit of a rare breed now. People used to say we were fiercely independent. I think now we say we're cautiously independent. We're always evaluating to ensure it makes sense for the future of our hospital. Cottage Hospital is 121 years old, and we need to figure out how to be here for another 120 years for our community. We evaluate strategically to make sure we're in a stable standing for our community. Does it make sense to stay independent? Are we taking full advantage of partnerships? At this point, we've prioritized strategic partnerships to help us provide services. For example, we work with an academic medical center for pathology and radiology, including aer-hours radiology coverage. at makes the most sense for us right now — leveraging strategic partnerships rather than pursuing a full acquisition. It's something we're constantly evaluating. Q: What strategic moves is your organization making to expand outpatient and ambulatory services, and how do you plan to balance this with maintaining inpatient care? HM: We're coming off the tail end of a conversion with our electronic health record. We're getting our outpatient clinics back to pre-conversion volume, but aer that, we're focusing on expanding services in other areas. We have a 10-bed acute geropsychiatric unit, and our hope is to expand into outpatient services for geriatric psych. We're exploring potential partnerships to make that happen. is makes sense for our community's demographics and addresses the behavioral health crisis in New Hampshire. It's something we see as critically important for patients transitioning out of our inpatient unit. Having an outpatient option would provide an essential step-down service. Q: What specific strategies will your health system deploy in the coming year to improve employee retention, particularly in critical front-line roles? HM: We're doing a lot to build relationships with potential future staff early on. For instance, we work with local high schools to offer healthcare experiences — not just clinical roles, but also areas like IT, medical records and coding. If you say "coding" to a 17-year-old, they'll probably think of something entirely different than healthcare. So we make sure they're aware of these roles and the opportunities available in healthcare. We also have strong partnerships with local nursing programs. Having nursing students do internships with us gives us the chance to get to know them, and they get to know us. It helps build a relationship before they're even employees, so they feel this is a place where they can grow. Internally, we're restructuring our nursing leadership hierarchy to create more entry- level leadership opportunities. We've had the same director-level positions for years, but it's been difficult for staff nurses to step into those roles. Creating a leadership ladder allows for growth and succession planning, which is critical for retention. We also focus on cross-training and matching employees to roles that align with their interests. For example, if a nurse wants to specialize in surgery, we invest in extended orientation and training to help them achieve that goal. We've always emphasized "growing our own" staff at Cottage Hospital. It's a concept that's gained buzz recently, but we've been doing it for years. I started here as an inpatient director before becoming CNO and then CEO. Our CFO started as an accountant. We've also worked with local high schools to create a licensed nursing assistant program. We've graduated several cohorts of nursing assistants, and it's a great way to develop relationships with students early on. We can offer them positions when they finish, and hopefully inspire them to continue their journey into LPN or RN programs. We're also evaluating the market to see what service lines we can bring to our community to address existing voids. We want to ensure our older population has access to the care they need here. Q: How are strategic partnerships with community organizations and other healthcare institutions shaping your efforts to address key challenges within your health system and drive long-term success? HM: Particularly in a rural setting like ours, it's important to support one another. For example, there's a federally qualified health center right across the street from us. It's a great partnership opportunity. We provide ancillary services they may need, and they serve as a referral center for our patients upon discharge if they choose not to use our rural health center. We're also collaborating with another critical access hospital in northern New Hampshire to conduct our community health needs assessment. It makes sense to partner because we're serving overlapping demographics. It reduces costs and ensures we're meeting shared community needs. We also rely on external partners for staffing and recruitment. Vendors and schools are vital partners for us — whether high schools or colleges. ese relationships are essential for recruitment and retention. n "Being an independent, critical access hospital is a bit of a rare breed now. People used to say we were fiercely independent. I think now we say we're cautiously independent." - Holly McCormack

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