At the Becker’s Healthcare 13th Annual Meeting in Chicago on April 3, a panel of leaders gathered to talk about the big trends and challenges in healthcare delivery. The panel included:
- Greg Till, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Providence
- Trevor G. Wright, MHA, Chief Executive Officer, Loma Linda University Health Hospitals
- Geoffrey M. Roche, MPA, Senior Vice President, National Health Care Practice and Workforce Partnerships, Core Education
- Erildo Zyka, Director, Strategy and Business Development, University of Iowa Health Care
- Theo Koury, MD, President, Vituity
Creating pathways into healthcare
A successful recruitment and retention strategy in healthcare must start with creating pathways into the industry through K-12 education. By focusing on education and technology to attract potential workers, healthcare systems can develop a diverse and skilled workforce. Additionally, career mobility opportunities within the industry can incentivize employees to stay and build their careers within the organization.
Investing in the workforce
The most important investment a healthcare system can make is in their workforce. This includes compensation, engagement, lifestyle changes and learning opportunities to attract and retain employees. By investing in training and education, healthcare workers can stay competitive with other cities and systems. It’s also important to streamline daily tasks and provide a supportive infrastructure. This can include hiring additional staff like MAs and CNAs and making care easier for caregivers to provide.
Empowering providers
Mr. Till mentioned that Providence is making a huge financial investment in its workforce, investing 300 million more to recruit, retain and reward caregivers. But to truly address the workforce issue, systems must also empower their providers. By giving them the ability to develop and implement their own solutions, healthcare organizations can increase engagement and collaboration while addressing the immediate workforce issue.
Prioritizing patient safety and quality
Patient safety and quality should always be the top priority for systems. To ensure this, leaders must prioritize it and boards must be diverse in their composition. While technology can be used to help the workforce, it can also be a distraction. By prioritizing patient safety and quality, healthcare organizations can deliver cost-effective and beneficial care.
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, healthcare organizations must adapt to stay competitive. By creating pathways into the industry, investing in their workforce, empowering providers, and prioritizing patient safety and quality, healthcare organizations can build a skilled and motivated workforce for the future.
