Baptist Health comprises nine hospitals and more than 400 care locations, including urgent care clinics, outpatient facilities, physician practices, outpatient diagnostic and surgery care centers, and home care, according to its LinkedIn page.
Becker’s connected with Gerard Colman, PhD, CEO of Baptist Health, to discuss how the system is investing in strategies such as career development programs and provider recruitment, and leveraging AI to enhance and expand access — particularly in rural communities — and ensure long-term growth and resilience.
Editor’s note: responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What do you feel is the largest challenge facing the healthcare industry? How is Baptist Health working to combat it?
Dr. Gerard Colman: The workforce shortage impacts various areas of the healthcare industry, including access to care, efficiency, cost and burnout — affecting both front-line workers and providers. Baptist Health addresses this through initiatives focused on employee engagement and career advancement, offering training to “grow our own” staff.
Systemwide, we have a Sacred Vocations program, which helps connect people back to purpose and aids in reducing burnout. In primary care, we are focused on recruiting providers and leveraging resources such as advanced practice clinicians to support primary care teams and meet patient needs. We are also committed to health equity, continuously understanding the changes this brings and exploring ways to minimize its impact, which will help improve the health of our communities.
Q: What are you most excited about at Baptist Health right now? How are you looking at growth over the next year?
GC: I’m most excited about our access strategy, which is focused on patient care innovations for the next generation of healthcare. For example, how we are utilizing AI in a responsible way to enhance patient care and improve access to quality care for rural and underserved communities. Our goals are to provide the right care, at the right time, and in the right place as we expand healthcare access and look for ways to offer care more quickly and efficiently. A key part of this is focusing on a patient-centered experience, as access to care is not only about availability but also about providing a seamless, compassionate experience that puts patients first.
Q What leadership principles do you think are most critical when directing organizations through industry challenges?
GC: It is critical for leaders not to lose focus on what’s most important, which is patient care and clinical excellence. This can be difficult, especially with an ever-changing healthcare landscape, but staying rooted in your organization’s values will provide consistent direction and organizational resiliency.
Q: How do you balance the need for financial sustainability with ensuring high-quality, patient-centered care?
GC: There is a strong correlation between higher quality of care and financial sustainability; the two are not mutually exclusive. When you prioritize high-quality care, you spend less time and money on rework of errors or inefficiencies. As a result, you provide more efficient care within acute and/or episodic treatment. Similarly, if you remain patient centered, you will create greater loyalty, which supports growth. High-quality, patient-centered care is connected to financial sustainability rather than being a counterbalance.
Additionally, creating transparency, such as sharing benchmarks, trends and comparative metrics around cost of care and quality are helpful to engage providers and caregivers. Establishing regular communication channels between supply chain and caregivers is also beneficial to improve reliability of supply service levels.