Vi-Anne Antrum, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, serves as Senior Vice President and Associate Chief Nurse Executive for Cone Health.
On May 26th, Vi-Anne will serve on the panel "Improving Patient Satisfaction and Service Quality Through Healthcare IT" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place on May 24-26, 2021 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Vi-Anne'ssession, click here.
Question: What, from your perspective, is the biggest challenge about the future of work for hospitals, and what can they do about it? (i.e. automation, desire for more flexibility, clinician shortages, etc.)
Vi-Anne Antrum: Our biggest challenge for hospitals is determining how to right-size in today’s value-based environment. We should only be seeing the most critically ill patients in our large tertiary and quaternary care facilities with smaller community-based hospitals receiving some inpatient volumes. We should be solving for all other patients to be out in the ambulatory and community-based settings. After all, 99.5% of someone’s life is spent outside of the hospital. Hospitals are the biggest revenue generators in most health systems and most payers still reimburse on a largely fee-for-service basis. Financially, it does not make sense and it seems counter-intuitive to try and put yourself out of business. As payer models catch up, either through capitation or other models, and as other organizations move into the healthcare space, we will need to create smaller, more tech-savvy hospitals and build vast networks of care management and community partnerships. Organizations like Cone Health, an integrated care delivery system with an ACO, are finding ways to innovate their way to success in the market.
Q: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
VA: One of the best lessons I learned in my early career was to trust but verify. Doing so allows me to support my team by catching any unclear expectations early, promote accountability, and help people rise to the highest levels of success. Their success ultimately leads to the organization achieving its goals and people feel great when they are part of that.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
VA: I travel for fresh ideas and inspiration. It does not have to be far away. If I get stuck on something, I often take time to get to a different physical space which leads to a different mental space for me. I usually can see a clear way to proceed once that happens.