Becker's Hospital Review

73 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP The Corner Office: The Catholic Health Association's Sister Carol Keehan on Having the Courage to Question By Tamara Rosin F ew healthcare profes- sionals have played such a key role in the tremen- dous change that has touched every facet of the healthcare industry as Sister Carol Keehan. Sister Keehan is the ninth president and CEO of Washing- ton, D.C.-based Catholic Health Association of the United States, the largest group of nonprofit healthcare providers in the na- tion. In this role, which she has held since Oct. 2005, Sister Kee- han is responsible for all association operations, both at its St. Louis and Washington, D.C., offices. CHA is comprised of more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health fa- cilities in all 50 states. Sister Keehan has worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years. She began her career as a nurse and has a breadth of leadership experience, including influential roles in governance of a variety of healthcare, insurance and education- al organizations. Prior to joining CHA, Sister Keehan served as board chair of Ascension Health's Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola, Fla. Before that, she served for 15 years as president and CEO of Providence Hospital, which includes Carroll Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Washington, D.C. She previously served as a representative to the International Federation of Catholic Health Care Associations of the Pontifi- cal Council for Pastoral Health Care, and on the boards of Balti- more-based Catholic Relief Services, CHA, Catholic Health Part- ners in Cincinnati, St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, and several other hospitals and healthcare organizations. Sister Keehan, who earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from St. Joseph's College in Emmitsburg, Md., and a mas- ter of science degree in business administration from the Univer- sity of South Carolina in Columbia, has watched medicine evolve and new policies rise. She has demonstrated unwavering commit- ment to the mission of providing healthcare to everyone in need, and has been a steadfast advocate of the Affordable Care Act, de- spite staunch opposition from the U.S. bishops. She worked close- ly with President Barack Obama on his signature reform law and, due to her support, received one of the president's 21 pens used to sign the bill. Here, Sister Keehan took the time to answer Becker's Hospital Review's seven questions. What's one thing that really piques your interest in healthcare? What compels me most is the delivery system and finding ways to make it possible for everyone to get great and afford- able healthcare — to get more people into the delivery system without barriers at a quality level. What really piques my interest are advances in technology and science. To watch the changes in healthcare over the course of my career — as well as the treat- ment modalities we've improved and the things we've been able to eliminate — is just incredible. It's always wonderful to see something new come out because you've seen what's happened to people who have that problem. For instance, when people had cataracts, they only had cata- ract surgery when they were in really bad shape. Aer the surgery, it was so important that you didn't move when you were sleeping that people put sandbags at either side of their head. Now when you come in for the procedure, you walk in, walk out and just get some eyedrops. ere are no real restrictions. And you have in- credibly better outcomes today compared to in the past. Similarly, when I was younger, if someone had their gallblad- der taken out, the surgeon made a huge incision that crossed over numerous muscles. e patient needed tube draining for about a week, and they stayed in the hospital for six to eight days. ey felt miserable the whole time because even breathing affected the incision. It took forever to feel like yourself again and make sure you wouldn't hurt the area. Now when people get their gallbladder removed, they get just three little slits, the surgery is done robot- ically and they can go home the next day or even the same day. What do you enjoy most about Washington, D.C.? I would have to say it's the excitement of being at the nerve cen- ter of the world. At the same time, it's about being around a lot of people who are incredibly caring, competent and truly commit- ted to what they're doing. If you could eliminate one of the healthcare in- dustry's problems overnight, which would it be? e barriers to healthcare would be the biggest thing I would choose. And while there will always be complexity in clinical treatment, we've made the financing and delivery of care so incredibly complex and expensive that we waste way too much money on the financial systems and the delivery systems. If we

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