Orlando (Fla.) Health-Health Central Hospital’s four female leaders have a long history of working together at Orlando Health, and now, for the first time, they are leading the system’s community hospital based in Ocoee, Fla. Their diverse paths began in roles like nursing recruitment, dietetics and administrative support.
In the C-suite, CEO Maggie Bonko, COO Melissa Payne, CFO Jennifer Mojica and Chief Nursing Officer Louise Philp, BSN, RN, told Becker’s that their respective areas of responsibility frequently overlap when they are weighing investments, workforce needs and patient care.
“I don’t think that we have offices. I think we’re more like a one-office kind of C-suite,” Ms. Bonko said. “The communication between the four of us is just stellar, and we have such good relationships and we’re of like mind about caring for the community, because we know that’s our true north.”
Ms. Philp, who joined the leadership team in December, described the approach as one in which executives do not treat operational challenges as belonging solely to the leader whose title most closely aligns with them.
“The best way I can explain it is that our lanes are very blurry,” she said. “So if Melissa is up on one of my units dealing with a nursing issue, and they share things with her, that’s welcomed and supported.”
That approach comes into play when the hospital evaluates growth opportunities for the future. They shared the example of expanding pediatric care on campus versus growing their already established cardiology program.
For Ms. Bonko, those types of decisions raise a broader question about where limited investment dollars could have the greatest effect. She pointed to electrophysiology services as an area where Health Central sees greater demand in its market.
“You have one thing, which is a pro forma that says, wow, this could be a really good thing. And then you run into headwinds that say, but really, are those dollars now better spent in programs that you already have well developed?” she said. “For me, from my role perspective, that was wildly important to make sure that if we’re going to get dollars, that they’re spent where the community needs it the most.”
Ms. Mojica said financial considerations were one part of the discussion, along with what employees were hearing from patients and what leaders were seeing in the market.
“It’s really understanding what the team is hearing from the patients, what we’re seeing in the market, and what makes the most sense both financially and community-centric, and then as a team being able to come together, lay all of that out, have candid conversations and just really trust each other in the direction we’re going for what’s best for our patients and our community,” she said.
The same shared approach has extended to workforce challenges. Ms. Bonko said hospital leaders started by asking front-line employees where they were experiencing gaps, including in leadership.
“What our front-line team would tell you is all sheep need a shepherd, and we really need leadership to carry that banner,” she said.
Health Central has since filled its nursing leadership positions, as well as leadership roles in allied health and support services, according to Ms. Bonko. Ms. Philp said the nursing positions were filled more quickly than she expected, with a mix of internal and external candidates.
“There are challenges with developing nurses into leaders, especially coming off of an environment in hospitals that was quite stressful, and helping them to understand that it’s a growth pattern,” Ms. Philp said. “There’s still support and development at every layer they go. So here it was creating that environment.”
She said prospective leaders can see how members of the C-suite interact with one another and with employees throughout the hospital.
“As leaders, we’re in the units a lot. We’re approachable,” Ms. Philp said. “I don’t think any nurse in the building has a problem with talking to any one of us, and I think that has been what really has connected the team to us and into the leadership journey.”
The executives said preparing for the pressures healthcare is experiencing means developing people who can bring perspectives and skills they do not have themselves. Ms. Bonko said all four leaders spend time mentoring people inside and outside the organization, and she pointed to technology as one area in which younger employees can bring different experiences.
“For myself personally, I didn’t have the opportunity for computers until I was a senior in high school. So I’m not a digital native,” she said. “To have people that are digital natives, that grew up in a different environment, is just like diversity on your team.”
Ms. Payne said the team’s collaboration does not mean its members always agree.
“Not only do we support each other, but we also challenge each other, ask curious questions and make sure that we are all in it together,” she said.
For Ms. Philp, that approach is clearest when a problem surfaces that could easily be assigned to one executive.
“It never is projected as, this is a nursing problem, which it very well could be,” she said. “So that ability to come together, and it’s not a nursing problem, it’s not a finance problem, we all tackle it together, with a lot of trust and vulnerability in how we offer suggestions or solutions.”
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