Jamie Swift, MSN, RN, serves as chief infection prevention officer and assistant vice president of infection prevention at Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health.
Ms. Swift will serve as a presenter for Ballad Health at Becker's 10th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the roundtable, which will take place in Chicago from Nov. 7-10, 2022.
To learn more about the conference and Ms. Swift's session, click here.
Becker's Healthcare aims to foster peer-to-peer conversation between healthcare's brightest leaders and thinkers. In that vein, responses to our Speaker Series are published straight from interviewees. Here is what our speakers had to say.
Question: What is the smartest thing you've done in the last year to set your system up for success?
Ms. Swift: The smartest thing I’ve done in the last year to set me up for success is surrounding myself with the right people. Our infection prevention team consists of an array of talent, from those holding their master’s degree in public health to RNs and LPNs to many CICs. Having the right team ensures that we tap into everyone’s strengths to produce the best results for our team and the health system as a whole.
Q: What are you most excited about right now and what makes you nervous?
JS: I think I’m most excited about the future of infection prevention. The pandemic has elevated the role of infection prevention not only in the healthcare industry but in private industry. I believe the opportunity for infection preventionists to truly impact the health of their community is greater than it’s ever been, and I look forward to seeing how our role continues to evolve and change over the next several years.
But I’m also most nervous about the impact of the pandemic, professionally and personally. The pandemic has left a lot of work for infection prevention to do to regain so much of the ground we lost in the prevention of hospital acquired infections. Pair that increased workload with the pure exhaustion many of us are feeling, I worry that our field will lose years of knowledge and experience as many infection preventionists have given their all and may seek a career change or early retirement.
Q: How are you thinking about growth and investments for the next year or two?
Ms. Swift: I think the best investment any healthcare system can make is investing into their teams. That investment comes in many forms. One of the things I hope to offer my team is continued support for professional growth through pursuit of certification and advanced degrees as well as attendance at regional and national conferences for networking and learning.
Q: What will healthcare executives need to be effective leaders for the next five years?
Ms. Swift: Healthcare executives have a difficult road ahead of them. The pandemic has impacted every single aspect of healthcare. At times, it feels we are almost starting over from scratch because the way we’ve always done things really no longer even exists. I think navigating these changes in the midst of the emotional toll left by the pandemic will require executives from across the country to come together to tackle the challenges that lie ahead for us all.
Q: How are you building resilient and diverse teams?
Ms. Swift: At the risk of sounding cliché, to build a resilient team I remind them often about the importance of self-care. The majority of people in healthcare are here because we care deeply about our patients, our fellow healthcare workers and our community. If we aren’t careful, we find ourselves neglecting our own rest and well-being. It’s important as a leader that I not only remind my team to take time off, to disconnect, to recharge, but that I model that behavior as well. So often we always have “one more thing” to do. The pandemic has proven that to have true resiliency, you must also know when to stop and give yourself and your team permission to take a breath.