Becker's Hospital Review

62 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP the impacts these changes have on them, their practice and the people they take care of every day. is is a challenge — not only from a knowledge and understanding point of view — but from an engagement perspective as well. Every opportunity we have we utilize to educate our phy- sicians. We have hosted town hall meetings and retreats with physicians and presented them with continuous educational opportunities. One thing we have really invested in is physician leadership at various levels: from the physicians practicing with- in a single practice to overseeing multiple practices to being ad- ministratively involved and engaged in developing strategies and executing plans. We also have physicians on many of our boards. Additionally, we have formally invested in physician leadership development to not only create today's leaders but leaders of the future. e more they can be involved in the overall thought pro- cess and development of strategies, the better they will under- stand the changes before all of us and be more likely to engage their peers effectively. Q: What is unique about your market? What must you factor more into your strategy than you would if your organization were elsewhere in the country? IA: e healthcare environment is changing very rapidly, more rapidly in certain markets than others. Our market is one of those that has seen a significant amount of change — from a population health perspective, a managed care point of view, in terms of mergers and acquisitions and regarding physician em- ployment. Change is happening much quicker than most people expected to see it. at is one of the challenges that we have to keep in account from a strategy perspective. We need to look at the investments that would best serve our communities and the right investments for the future. e tradi- tional thought process of being hospital-based is, in our opinion, is not where our future lies. is is not to say that hospitals don't have to be extremely capable, efficient, effective and quality-fo- cused, but our ambulatory footprint, access and an EHR integra- tion strategy [are] extremely important. Developing a clinically integrated network of physicians and enhancing the continuum of care with other community partners is another piece of that strategy. ere has also been a lot of physician employment activity in our region, which creates a unique challenge from a strategy per- spective. While we do employ physicians, we also partner with physicians in the region. Almost 40 percent of the physicians in our network are affiliated physicians not employed by Mercy. We don't take a one-size-fits-all approach. We look at what makes sense and what will best suit the healthcare needs of our com- munity. e 2008 economic downturn had a significant impact on the market as well — from an economic and healthcare utili- zation perspective. As the economy stabilizes over the next few years, along with Medicaid expansion in the state, it will have an impact on access, healthcare utilization and ultimately outcomes. Q: Who is your role model? What is the most memo- rable piece of advice you've ever received? IA: Several people over the years have been role models in one way, shape or form, and help formed some parts of me on my journey of leadership. A couple of pieces of advice that have stood out: It's about the people, not the bricks and mortar. A mentor once told me, "e pinnacle of success is really pointed — don't sit there too long." And another thing that's stuck with me is the saying, "Make the right thing the easiest thing to do." Q: What do you see as the most pressing challenge for your health system in the next five years? IA: I think the same thing that's probably on top of everyone's list: understanding where the healthcare future lies and making sure we are heading there as an organization. We are not neces- sarily at the bleeding edge of where things are going, but we're certainly at the cutting edge. Making smart investments in the future, particularly in an ambulatory-focused strategy, is very important to population health and managing the continuum of care. Managing talent in the future is also extremely important. As the economy improves, talent will become scarce. ose who can manage it better will fare better. Lastly, we need to create a culture for the organization that is responsive to any changes in the environment and sets us up for success. Q: What are you most optimistic about? IA: Being a healthcare ministry that's been in Toledo for 160 years, I'm very optimistic about our mission and what we are trying to do. I'm optimistic about our vision of the future and how healthcare needs to meaningfully improve the health of the community. Our promise as an organization is to make healthcare easier, and to genuinely enjoy being of service to the people we serve so we may improve their health — mind, body and spirit. And most importantly, I'm very optimistic about our people. ey are what differentiate us as an organization. n 62 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

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