Katie Lawrence, MHA, CMPE, serves as Director of Ambulatory Optimization and Integration for Prisma Health University Medical Group
Katie will speak at Becker's Healthcare ASC Virtual Event Part II. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the virtual event, which will take place on October 14-16, 2020.
To learn more about the conference and Lorraine's session, click here.
Question: In the long term, how do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will affect your ASC?
Katie Lawrence: I believe the pandemic has changed healthcare in general. It has helped patients and physicians/other providers to become more open to virtual care. It has brought to light the challenges that face our industry on a regular basis, and it has proven that we CAN pivot on very short notice to change ‘the way we’ve always done things’ in order to meet new challenges, opportunities, and environmental factors.
Q: How are you managing employee satisfaction and engagement during such a difficult time?
KL: Transparency and candor are key. Neither of those concepts means that leaders ought to be sharing everything they know or feel. But, demonstrating that you are human… “This scares me too. Here’s how I have been able to keep my fears under control…” goes a long way toward keeping team members engaged. “Calm is contagious” has become my tagline. Trying to maintain my own level of calm. Sharing what I can with team members as frequently as I’m able. We know that in the absence of actual information, people make up stories. It’s how our brains work. As leaders, the more we can keep employees (and our own leaders) up to date with the information we’re able to share, the less fear, story-making, and rumor generation there are.
I also think putting your actions where your words are is of tremendous value. If you know that your team is overworked or tired… jump in to do what you can to ease their day. Or, if you want them to ‘tune out’ of work at 5:00… make sure that you aren’t sending emails at 10 pm. Even ones that say “don’t read this until morning”. If you don’t want them to read it until morning, don’t hit Send until morning. Little acts of kindness and empathy go a very long way, especially in stressful times.
Q: What technologies and/or techniques are the biggest time and money savers for your ASC?
KL: Telemedicine has been the most impactful on our medical group.