On March 31, Daveth Forbes-Thomas, MSN, RN, began serving as CEO of the NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney nursing home in New York City, located in the same Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up.
Ms. Forbes-Thomas spent six years at McKinney — as deputy executive director, director of quality management and patient experience officer — before stepping into the CEO role. During her time at McKinney, the nursing home earned five-star ratings across all four CMS care metrics — the only nursing home in New York City to do so, according to a March 19 news release from the health system.
She spoke to Becker’s about the lessons she has learned during her time at McKinney and what she sees for the nursing home’s future.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: You’ve spent nearly six years at McKinney, building out key programs like the Environment of Care and Quality Assurance Performance Improvement initiatives. How have those experiences shaped your leadership approach as you step into the CEO role?
Daveth Forbes-Thomas: Those were two of the proudest projects that I’ve worked on; those experiences will continue to help me.
For me, everything is based around QAPI because it forces you to look at structures, processes, teamwork and sustainability and ask, “What are the problems that we’re having? What are the underlying factors that are causing these problems? And how do we work on actually fixing them together?” It creates the blueprint to identify and analyze what we’re dealing with and the root causes.
I also know that even with the best processes and interventions, if you’re not consistently monitoring and holding people accountable, then you’re not going to be able to sustain it.
Our care program is pretty much cemented right now, because we have the formal structure and policies in place for our team. Establishing teamwork and structures is the foundation of how I lead, helping everyone know what they need to do.
Q: What were some of the most pivotal strategies or cultural shifts that helped McKinney achieve five-star ratings across all CMS metrics?
DFT: I’m really grateful and privileged to be working with NYC Health + Hospitals because the leadership believes in providing the resources that we need to get the job done, which makes a very big difference.
We have a very strong clinical team and support team in terms of nursing, medicine, rehab and the departments that support them, so that also makes a big difference.
We don’t ever “prepare” for a survey; we’re ready every day. If you put your policies and processes in place and you’re monitoring them and you’re doing the right thing every day, then you’re going to get good outcomes.
We also have a very strong education program through the whole system along with our “I CARE” values: Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence, which we recently added Kindness to. All of those things are what have helped us to get where we are. Now the plan is to maintain it and get even better.
Q: You mentioned the importance of leading by example. What does that look like in practice when supporting and uplifting staff in a long-term care environment?
DFT: Respect is number one on every level for me. There’s no hierarchy when it comes to respect. Everybody wants to be respected. Everybody wants to be validated. Kindness is universal. I know that might seem basic, but I demonstrate them because they are the foundation that you need in order to grow. It is also important as a leader to remember that everyone wants to be acknowledged so we praise openly and admonish privately.
I have an adage that I always say: “It takes all to win and one to lose.” I make rounds, I check in with the staff. When I check in with them, I genuinely ask, “How are you doing?” If there’s a concern, I actually follow up. If I’m on a unit when a call-bell rings and I can help, I don’t call somebody else. For me, that’s leading by example, and starting with the basics — respect and kindness.
Our health system has a very robust workforce development program and offers tremendous opportunities for growth. Taking advantage of these programs have contributed to my own professional and personal growth, so I am always encouraging staff to do the same. It’s a great feeling to facilitate growth.
Q: How does your personal connection to the neighborhood shape your vision for McKinney’s future?
DFT: I’m excited that I am here and feel so privileged to be serving the community that I was raised in.
Fortunately for me, McKinney has always been connected to the community. We have great relationships with our elected officials, the advisory board and a network of neighboring healthcare facilities. My goal is to build on those relationships and to enhance our outreach to the broader community.
My long-term vision for McKinney is for McKinney to be the facility of choice in this neighborhood. I know that we provide excellent care and we definitely have more resources than anywhere else, so there is no reason for us not to be the facility of choice. My goal is to make sure the community knows that when they do need this service, we’re the ones that come to mind.
Q: What are your top priorities at McKinney for the next 12 months?
DFT: As with any new role, it comes with a learning curve, so I’m still learning right now as we speak.
I plan to focus on ways to help staff with burnout. You’ve probably heard over and over about staff burnout and workforce shortages, especially when it comes to nursing. So staff wellness, recruitment and retention is a big focus. We also have a lot of facility upgrades going on.
Another one of our top priorities remains resident satisfaction. We solicit residents’ feedback on an ongoing basis throughout the year and are always planning performance improvement work around their feedback across disciplines.
