Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1535973
28 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Why systems must 'deeply understand' today's evolving workforce By Madeline Ashley A s health systems continue to grapple with ongoing workforce challenges, healthcare leaders like Stacie Call, MSN, RN, CNO for Mercy Health – Loraine & Youngstown (Ohio), and her team have worked to cultivate a resilient and engaged workforce. Becker's connected with Ms. Call to discuss how implementing strategies that prioritize strategic partnerships, a listening culture and innovation can help not only address existing staff demands but lay the groundwork for a future-ready and sustainable healthcare workforce. Question: What have been the biggest challenges in addressing workforce retention? How have you overcome them? Stacie Call: One of the most significant challenges in addressing workforce retention has been navigating the ongoing impact of burnout, staffing shortages, and increased workloads—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers face unprecedented demands, leading to physical, emotional, and mental fatigue. Another challenge was ensuring competitive compensation and career development opportunities in a highly competitive labor market. To overcome these obstacles, we prioritized listening to associate feedback, investing in well-being initiatives, expanding flexible scheduling options, and enhancing clinical ladders and professional development pathways. ese strategies and efforts to foster a culture of recognition and belonging helped strengthen workforce engagement and retention. Q: As workforce demands evolve across the healthcare industry, how is Bon Secours Mercy Health working to keep up with the change and prepare for the future? SC: Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health proactively adapts to evolving workforce demands by embracing innovation, leveraging technology, and enhancing workforce development programs. e system has focused on building strategic academic partnerships to create strong pipelines for nursing and allied health professions. It is also investing in leadership development programs, workforce analytics, and AI-supported staffing tools to align talent with patient needs more effectively. To remain resilient, BSMH is designing more agile workforce models that support cross-training, team-based care, and hybrid work options where appropriate. e organization also prioritizes associated well-being and career growth as central elements of its future-ready workforce strategy. Q: What advice would you give to other health systems looking to improve recruitment and retention and reduce turnover to create a more stable workforce? SC: For health systems aiming to improve recruitment and retention, the most crucial advice is to deeply understand and respond to the evolving needs of your workforce. Start by fostering a culture of listening, seeking honest feedback, acting on what you hear, and continuously communicating how changes are being made. Competitive pay matters, but so do purpose, flexibility, support, and growth. e value of investing in your people through mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities cannot be overstated. Create a culture that values well-being and recognizes excellence. Also, build strong partnerships with academic institutions and look at workforce planning through a long-term lens. A stable, engaged workforce feels supported, seen, and invested in. n UPMC creates hospital outbreak detection platform By Mariah Taylor P ittsburgh-based UPMC infection preventionists and University of Pittsburgh scientists have collaborated to create an infectious disease detection platform to reduce infections. The Enhanced Detection System for Healthcare- Associated Transmission system uses genomic sequencing to analyze infectious disease samples from patients. If two or more patients have near-idenical strains of an infection, the platform flags the results for the infection prevention team to find the commonality and halt transmission, according to an April 28 system news release shared with Becker's. Genomic sequencing enables physicians to know whether two patients have the same infection, especially among patients who don't have an obvious link, such as staying in the same inpatient unit. The results of the study were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The program was run between November 2021 and October 2023 at Pittsburgh- based UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. The platform was credited with preventing 62 infections and five deaths, while netting nearly $700,000 in savings from infection treatment costs. "This isn't theoretical — this happened in a real hospital with real patients," lead author Alexander Sundermann, DrPH, assistant professor of infectious diseases in Pitt's School of Medicine, said in the release. "And it could easily be scaled. The more hospitals implement this practice, the more everyone benefits, not just by stopping previously undetected outbreaks within the walls of the hospital, but by finding medical device- or medication-linked outbreaks sweeping the nation." If healthcare facilities across the nation adopt EDS-HAT, a nationwide outbreak system could be created, the release said. n