In this special Speaker Series, Becker's Healthcare caught up with Jean Scallon, interim vice president of quality and innovation at Springstone, a behavioral health facility operator.
Ms. Scallon will speak on a panel at Becker's Hospital Review 7th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable titled "Creating healthcare leaders: Aligning development with strategy execution" at 12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12. Learn more about the event and register to attend in Chicago.
Question: What keeps you excited and motivated to come to work each day?
Jean Scallon: What keeps me excited and motivated to come to work each day is being able to change people's lives, whether that be consumers or employees, and that each day and moment is different.
Q: What major challenges, financial or otherwise, are affecting hospitals in the markets you serve? How is your hospital responding?
JS: The major challenge facing the industry I am in — behavioral health — is the current lack of funding for free standing behavioral health facilities to implement an EHR and get incentives to offset the cost like the acute care hospitals do.
Q: What is one of the most interesting healthcare industry changes you've observed in recent years?
JS: One of the most interesting healthcare industry changes I have seen is it is now OK to ask someone if they are suicidal, and we don't shame individuals and families for those who are suffering or who have died by suicide, especially since suicide deaths are surpassing most other illnesses across the nation.