Keneatha Johnson is the senior director of quality, safety and health policy at Naperville-based Illinois Hospital Association.
Ms. Johnson will serve on the panel "The Next Wave of Emergency Preparedness" at Becker's 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference on Nov. 7-10 in Chicago.
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Becker's Healthcare aims to foster peer-to-peer conversation between healthcare's brightest leaders and thinkers. In that vein, responses to our Speaker Series are published straight from interviewees. Here is what our speakers had to say.
Question: What is the smartest thing you've done in the last year to set your system up for success?
Keneatha Johnson: During the pandemic, we all learned that time is one of our greatest assets. I would spend much of my day jumping from one conference platform to the next, which made identifying priorities and time management critical. Deciding to shorten our team's group huddle to 30 minutes allowed us to get straight to the point and encouraged us to remain task oriented. Greater awareness of the power of time has driven engagement and productivity by encouraging more frequent and effective 15-minute chats and check-ins.
Q: What are you most excited about right now and what makes you nervous?
KJ: I'm excited to see the new wave of ideas that I know are coming, stemming from the lessons learned during the pandemic. We have so many opportunities within healthcare right now, such as expanding telemedicine, pursuing equity and inclusion initiatives, implementing policy changes to support patient care and access and encouraging investments in healthcare emergency response.
I'm nervous about succession planning following the "Great Resignation," which has already taken a tremendous toll on healthcare. I'm concerned about the loss of institutional knowledge and experience that could walk out the door if we don't ensure the next wave of healthcare leaders understand the challenges of the last two years. Our ability as a nation to withstand the next disaster or crisis is dependent on how we document this time in history. We must continue to bolster and foster relationships within our communities and with our government partners, so they understand the importance of investing in and supporting our healthcare workers and infrastructure.
Q: What will healthcare executives need to be effective leaders for the next five years?
KJ: The pandemic has shown us that traditional models of care and how we work can be expanded and modified to improve patient care and allow leaders to more nimbly and effectively respond to the challenges facing the hospital and healthcare community.