On April 6th, Keith will give a presentation on “Less Meetings, Better Communication and Execution – Improving Quality and Problem Resolution With Tiered Huddles (USC Verdugo Hills Hospital Part of Keck Medicine of USC)” 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 April 6-9, 2020 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Keith’s session, click here.
Question: How can hospitals reconcile the need to maintain inpatient volumes with the mission to keep people healthier and out of the hospital?
Keith Hobbs: Hospitals can reconcile these two by focusing on community outreach and engagement. This is the most critical element in making sure you have a broad reach and fulfill the mission of keeping patients healthier. Hosting health fairs, offering flu shots and informational sessions (what we call “Doc Talks”) at our hospital and in public community spaces, not only benefit patients when they are healthy but also build trust and confidence in our hospital for when they need to be cared for in a hospital setting. By welcoming the community to our hospital and providing introductions to our doctors and staff through other events, our hospital stays top of mind for patients when they need to seek care.
Q: What’s one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
KH: A lesson I learned early in my career was the importance of mentors. A mentor can provide wisdom and knowledge from their experiences and can help you see a bigger picture. There are numerous people in my life I consider mentors and no two are the same in their strengths and perspectives, and a couple of them are not even in the Healthcare sector. Mentors from industries outside of your own can help you keep an open mind to fresh approaches. Aside from their offering advice and experience, a mentor can be a way to exponentially grow your professional network and the people you have access to. Mentors serve as “connectors” and can offer introductions to others who can help you along your professional journey.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
KH: With the ever-changing healthcare climate, staying in the know and at the cutting edge is important. I stay both inspired and informed by keeping up with healthcare periodicals such as Becker’s. However, I find that many of the fresh ideas I hear come from my executive team. For me, diversity is one of the fundamentals aspects of a great team and also a built-in system for new perspectives and ideas. The problems we face in healthcare require creative problem solving daily. A diverse team is a key ingredient in creative thinking and a huge asset for me as a leader, and for our hospital.
Q: 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.)
KH: One of the persistent challenges in healthcare is securing sufficient numbers of clinical professionals. Historically, this problem has waxed and waned in a cyclical pattern of supply of clinical professionals, particularly registered nurses. Currently, demand for registered nurses and other clinical professionals is outpacing supply adding to the financial burden of hospital expense lines as clinicians demand increased compensation in a competitive market. Several factors contribute to the clinical professional supply and demand landscape. Factors include patients in hospitals who are simply sicker and go home earlier in a more vulnerable state thereby compressing the work demand for hospital caregivers. Sicker patients also lead to the concentration of need for advanced clinical skills by care providers. These factors result in a compression of workload demand for care of hospitalized patients as well as an increased level of advanced skills required. The balance of tolerance for novice to expert clinical professionals is shifting to the expert end of the continuum. However, with experienced clinical professionals leaving the industry due to retirement, burnout or other professional opportunities, the gap of skilled supply to demand is widening. Accelerating knowledge and skill acquisition for novice clinical professionals is a key challenge to ensuring adequate advanced clinical skills in the acute hospital setting.
Price Transparency in Hospitals and Health Systems —
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
