What 76 health system execs will prioritize in the next 6 months

Becker's asked C-suite executives from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. to share their focus for the remainder of the year.

The 76 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker's Healthcare 12th Annual CEO+CFO Roundtable on Nov. 11-14, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

To learn more about this event, click here.

If you would like to join as a speaker or a reviewer, contact Mariah Muhammad at mmuhammad@beckershealthcare.com or agendateam@beckershealthcare.com. 

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Jessica Cole at jcole@beckershealthcare.com.

As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who will speak at our conference. The following are answers from our speakers at the event.

Question: What is your focus for the second half of the year?

Jim Molloy. Executive Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer of Ochsner Health (New Orleans): Throughout the remainder of 2024, our focus will be on leveraging digital innovation to improve patient access and further enhancing our workplace environment for our employees. These objectives will be achieved through strategic technology investments aimed at optimizing processes. Additionally, we are refining our data dashboards to not only track progress but also enhance our value based care programs, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making. Key areas such as revenue-cycle management and contracting will remain pivotal points of concentration in our ongoing efforts.

Maneesh Goyal. COO of Mayo Clinic Platform at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): At Mayo Clinic Platform, we will continue to focus our energies and efforts to positively impact patient care, to reach a broader array of healthcare providers — from academic research organizations to community health systems around the world, and we will continue to enable innovators who are creating new ways to diagnose, treat and care for patients ranging from pharmaceuticals, devices, and technology and services.

Leong Koh, MD. President and CEO of Northwest Permanente (Portland, Ore.): One major focus will be the opening this fall of a new Center for Black Health and Wellness in Portland, Oregon, with the goal of delivering culturally competent care for our Black members. Equity is one of Kaiser Permanente's founding principles and is one of our Northwest Permanente medical group's values. 

We continue to explore strategies to eliminate the health disparities that persist in our communities. Our value-based, integrated healthcare approach embraces medical evidence, and data tells us our Black patients have lower screening rates for cancer, and higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. Data has also shown that a physician that looks like you and/or understands your culture/history has a significant positive impact on lifespan and adopting preventive practices. 

At the new center there will be an emphasis on screening and prevention, with a goal of increasing our cultural humility and spreading best practices across our community. Of course, the center is open to all Kaiser Permanente patients.

Craig Kent, MD. CEO of UVA Health (Charlottesville, Va.); Executive Vice President of Health Affairs at University of Virginia: At UVA Health, we are very focused now on recruiting talented leadership and expert researchers for the UVA Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology. Centered on the research, development, commercialization, and manufacturing of new cellular, gene, and immunotherapies, the Manning Institute will position UVA at the forefront of cutting-edge medicine and accelerate translational healthcare solutions. I am excited to bring on an inaugural executive director this fall and continue our search for premier principal investigators. Since breaking ground on the 350,000-square-foot cGMP building in 2023, we have already hired nearly 20 new principal investigators who will develop life-changing treatments. We have also secured a $30 million gift to create the Harrison Family Translational Research Center in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, to be housed in the Manning Institute, and appointed Dr. John Lukens as the Center's director. Additionally, Dr. Evan A. Scott, a preeminent scholar in biomedical engineering known for his work in nanotechnology, has been appointed to lead UVA's Institute for Nanoscale Scientific and Technological Advanced Research, which will play a key role in research at the Manning Institute. I am excited to continue our work to attract top talent and spread the word that we are here to revolutionize medicine. 

Peter Banko. President and CEO of Baystate Health (Springfield, Mass.): As a new CEO, I am on a listening tour with key stakeholders, practicing management by walking around, asking more questions than making statements, and adapting and harmonizing my leadership style for the organization and Western Massachusetts. The first 100 days are always high stakes and it will very well set the stage for Baystate Health for the next three to five years. The second half of the year is a time to find clarity and boldness. To align expectations as well as set the pace, tone, and direction. To adjust to the new culture, team, and dynamics.

Damond W. Boatwright. President and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System (Springfield, Ill.): Hospital Sisters Health System's fiscal year begins July 1, and HSHS has finalized our priority goals for the coming year. Of course, every strategic priority we pursue supports our Mission to provide health and healing to all who seek care from our ministries. Over the next six months, our primary focus is continuing our financial stewardship initiatives and innovating how we deliver shared services to our 13 hospitals and physician networks. We have already been carefully managing expenses so we can expand access to healthcare in the communities we serve across Illinois and Wisconsin. In addition, we are partnering with our leaders in corporate services to deliberately re-engineer how we provide system services so that work is efficient, affordable and more engaging for our colleagues. This includes significant investment in the latest digital health and patient experience platforms to reduce manual processes, achieve standardization where it makes sense and improve patient experience and satisfaction.

Christopher O'Connor. CEO of Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health: Teams across Yale New Haven Health are focused on accelerating performance improvement trends. Through the first three quarters of our fiscal year we achieved significant impact across all aspects of performance, especially quality and safety. We continue to drive toward operational excellence supported by a renewed performance improvement framework and the broad engagement of teams working together across our enterprise.

Gail Kosyla. CFO of Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health: During the second half of the year, our team is eagerly strategizing about our future. Our new fiscal year starts on October 1, so we are in active planning mode. I am working with our leadership to allocate and develop a capital plan that will maintain our organization's ability to deliver quality care and to ensure our growth according to our joint strategic plan with the Yale School of Medicine. Additionally, we are partnering with operational and clinical leadership to ensure that our turnaround efforts have been hardwired into our operations. Reflecting on our past achievements, we are geared up for another fruitful year

Bradley C. Bond. CFO of University Hospitals (Cleveland): For the second half of the year, my focus is helping the system optimize our EPIC installation by enhancing revenue capture and improving cash flow. To do this, we're putting in place a new Revenue Cabinet that will bring cross-functional teams together to enhance training, workflows, and processes at all organizational levels. Additionally, my team is spearheading our system's priority emphasis on cost management, where we will be putting in place an Expense Cabinet composed of senior leaders who will thoroughly review all expenses and find new ways to improve process flow and eliminate redundancies to enhance efficiency. We are also developing collaborations with major suppliers to improve our procurement process, ensuring better cost-efficiency and resource management across the board.

Peggy Duggan, MD. Executive Vice President, Chief Physician Executive and Chief Medical Officer of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: For the second half of the year, my focus will be my big "Why" and helping the rest of our academic health system do the same thing. Healthcare has been through incredible changes over the past five years and our systems continue to evolve. The pressure to produce and remain economically viable has become a major focus and sometimes supplants the real purpose of our work. This purpose includes helping our newer staff, who trained at a time when connection to patients was limited due to pandemic restrictions, as well as supporting our senior staff, who have traversed a changing climate of care. 

A crucial question to ask ourselves is, "Can we all stop for a few minutes every day and remind ourselves of our mission?" We are uniquely qualified and positioned to care for our fellow humans. If that does not give pause for a thoughtful discussion, what would? Let's stop and think, "What does my patient need today?" 

Each of us, from the president and CEO, and CFO strategy and quality to our managers and leaders at the front line to our MAs, RNs APPs and physicians, all have a role in care delivery — in accuracy, quality and experience. "What am I doing today, this week, this year to improve the care of our individual patients at every encounter?" No excuses — stop and remind yourself why and then reflect that in everything you do. 

Kenneth Waller. CEO of Norwalk (Conn.) Community Health Center: Norwalk CHC will focus on how to improve its economies of scale to continue advancing its overarching mission. In addition, we are strategizing to ensure the retention of an adequate workforce with an aim to improve and expand medical access for our community.

Mark Gridley. President and CEO of FHN Memorial Hospital (Freeport, Ill.): As we reflect on what went well in the first of the half of the year it is also a critical time to course correct on areas that may not be doing as well. We ask ourselves how we will adjust to either achieve our target goals or improve our performance to the best of our ability. It is also a great time of year to encourage providers, leaders, and staff to work on their resiliency and reconnect to their 'healthcare why' so that we can have the energy to finish the year well and be prepared to start the next year strong.

Jean Ann Larson, EdD. Chief Leadership Development Officer and Senior Associate Dean, Leadership Development, University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, UAB Health System (Birmingham): I am very excited for the second half of the year. We have new cohorts starting in several of our signature leadership development programs.

• The UAB Medicine Institute for Leaders for mid to senior level leaders
• Momentum in Medicine at UAB – a leadership development program for senior female leaders
• The High Performing Care Collaborate for intact clinical unit leaders, e.g., a physician, a nurse and other allied professional
• The Emerging Leaders Course for professionals who aspire to a leadership role
• We also have programs for junior female faculty, mid level faculty, and chief residents.

It is an energizing time when we meet leaders at all levels who are motivated to improve their leadership skills and help UAB Medicine sustain its success. Also, we are in the process of acquiring the assets of a former alliance partner which will allow us to work with even more leaders across the much larger organization.

John W. Gachago. Executive Director, Institute of Telehealth and Digital Innovation at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Lubbock): My focus is on developing a digital front door to improve access to care, execute remote patient monitoring across our patient population, and implement responsible artificial intelligence for our school of medicine. These projects are being executed with a view to improving access to care, improving academics, and enhancing research.

Aiesha Ahmed, MD. Vice President of Population Health, Vice President and Chief of Neuroscience at Corewell Health West (Grand Rapids and Southfield, Mich.): While there are several areas of focus for the second half of this year, the most critical one is proactive planning for 2025 which requires teams to think innovatively given all the challenges (burnout, staffing shortage, demand for access etc.) that we face today in our macro-economic environment. Therefore, a very important endeavor for the rest of the year is the commitment to team building and leadership development. 

Creating time, space and allocating resources for professional /leadership development helps us create change agents. These individuals from all levels of leadership (established and emerging) can explain the 'why' through systems thinking approach and their influence (formal or informal), thus impacting the promotion of the desired culture that supports the organization to continue to move forward. This investment in team development is extremely necessary for capacity/competency building through improved retention and recruitment, allowing us to grow intentionally and together with a problem solving attitude.

Steven Sheris, MD. Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.): Our focus for the remainder of 2024 at Atlantic Health System continues to be on delivering access to care on the patient's terms, at the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost. We're expanding the footprint of our clinically integrated network to manage care across the continuum, emphasizing high-value care and superior outcomes, which continues to be a differentiator in our market. 

We're doubling down on 'smart growth,' utilizing our data analytics to inform our decisions on where and how to expand, and at the same time, making sure we are attuned to the equity of care. From a physician enterprise standpoint, we are using our data to deliver information to our clinicians at the point of care to make their decision-making more precise and personalized, driving that value proposition for the patient that's right in front of them.

Roberta Tinch. President, Vice President and Administrator of Inova Musculoskeletal Service Line at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital (Fairfax County, Va.): For the second half of the year, I am focused on two main things. First, I need to ensure that the teams are on track to execute our annual goals. We must understand where we stand, double down on approaches that yield success, and titrate processes where there are gaps to goal. I want to understand how I can support the leaders in strong execution. Secondly, in October, I will start working on new processes and infrastructure with the 2025 body of work in mind. I have found that the fourth quarter is the best time to start new work so that there is momentum going into the new fiscal year. 

Anthony Ashby. Interim President of CHI Health Immanuel (Omaha, Neb.): Our focus for the second half of the year will be to continue to build on our foundational W.I.G., Wildly Important Goal, to be the best place to work. The engagement, connection and fulfillment that our team gets from their jobs are fundamental to everything we do to provide high quality and safe outcomes for our patients and community as well as achieve a healthy margin. We continue to make tremendous strides in our recruitment and retention efforts over the past 2 years and we will remain focused on that momentum through enhanced leadership development and prioritizing our engagement essential practices. Many of us spend almost as much, or sometimes more, time with our co-workers than we do some of our family and friends and that time should be meaningful and impactful and it is our responsibility as leaders to ensure that for our workforce.

Giovanni Piedimonte, MD. Vice President of Research, Institutional Official, and Research Integrity Officer at Tulane University (New Orleans): I focus on continuing to build the future of intertwined biomedical research and clinical medicine and mastering the rapidly evolving technologies that will change healthcare access and delivery. In particular, I will continue my work in telehealth and precision medicine as ways to tailor specific treatments to individual patients depending on their genetic and epigenetic makeup and other unique traits. Profound changes will become necessary because demographics will drive them. A new generation of digitally savvy young people is demanding a new healthcare model, so the alternative to sitting for an hour in a doctor's waiting room may lie in telehealth or artificial intelligence-aided medicine. The future of medicine will also consider social and environmental factors for predicting and treating disease, areas which many researchers across multiple disciplines are currently exploring. 

Decades after decoding the genetic code, we are awakening to a more crucial health determinant- the patient's ZIP code. This code is a direct link to environmental influences such as indoor and outdoor pollution, unbalanced nutrition, and limited access to medical facilities due to lack of transportation. In essence, the health of large population segments is primarily dictated by socioeconomic conditions. The pressing challenge for the future of medicine is to minimize or eliminate these inequalities that currently place our healthcare index at a dismal 38th position, projected to plummet to the low 60s by 2050 despite being the most expensive in the world. Despite the whirlwind of technological change and new perspectives on poor health, however, I firmly believe that physicians' roles will remain pivotal. After all, humans will always be at the heart of healthcare. It is the way we deliver healthcare that is on the brink of a dramatic transformation, driven by the realization that the current system is fundamentally flawed and that progress cannot be halted. 

Theresa Martinez, DNP, RN. Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at La Rabida Children's Hospital (Chicago): Since our fiscal year begins in July, the focus for the first half is staff retention. As workforce turnover appears slightly settling, the goal is to identify trends resulting in resignations and how to improve. Developing strategies for staff safety, work-life balance, and formal leadership development are at the top. Most importantly, our priorities are identifying barriers to accessing care and developing strategies to mitigate those barriers.

Pooja Vyas, DO. Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BJC Christian Hospital (St. Louis): Clinical quality is a major focus for us in the second half of the year. We are making sure we keep the momentum going for our metrics, such as glycemic control and HAIs. Our providers and nurses are partnering closely to help improve fall and pressure injury rates. We are doing great work, and we now need to push the gas pedal a little more to keep going and end the year strong.

Michael Backus. President and CEO of Oswego Health (N.Y.): The second half of 2024 will be transformative for Oswego Health. We have begun our journey into robotic surgery in our OR and kick-started our first-floor transformation project, which will modernize our emergency department along with expanding our radiology offerings. All of these initiatives are helping us better our service offerings to patients and manage care in a local, convenient manner. In June, our leadership team reviewed our annual goals to measure progress and evaluate where we need to focus more acutely in the latter half of the year. Thankfully, we're on a productive pace toward implementing our three-year strategic plan with a five-year financial framework.

Shannon Cermak. Vice President of Ambulatory at Loyola Medicine (Maywood, Ill.): Access, access, access.We need to continue to make it easier for our patients to schedule visits and receive care when and how they want it. All while supporting our providers with appropriate staffing levels, correct scheduling — i.e. the right patients, right provider, right location, at the right time. To do this we need to leverage digital workflows that support quality care and decrease caregiver burnout. If we are able to reliably get our patients into the right care setting quickly we will reduce scheduling errors, clinic messages, no show rates, patient leakage and continuity of care issues. 

Mark Fratzke. COO of Alameda Health System (Oakland, Calif.): We just approved our FY2025 operating and capital budgets. We will be focusing on assuring we execute on all the revenue enhancements and expense reductions represented in our budget. We are also continuing to focus on the quality and safety of care we deliver for our patients to assure continued and improved trust our patients have in us as their healthcare provider.

Brian Peters. CEO of Michigan Health Hospital Association (Okemos): As an advocacy organization, every two years we need to be highly focused on an impending lame duck session. Actually, two – one at the state level with our state legislature, and one at the federal level with Congress. In both cases, the outcome of the November election will go a long way toward determining the relative intensity of these lame duck sessions, and which of our key issues will be “in play.” And in both cases, we need to use the coming months to strategize appropriately, and be ready to block proposals that would threaten patient access, and also be ready to take advantage of new political dynamics that present a window of opportunity to move beneficial legislation that was previously stalled in the process. 

Alan Fisher. CEO of Woodlawn Hospital (Rochester, Ind.): My focus remains consistent with the first half of the year; that is keeping your eye on the prize. As a critical access hospital that prize is providing high quality care in a safe, efficient manner and staying relevant to the community that is served. Our focus continues to be on other potential services and current services that are financially marginal.

Specifically, our second part of the year will focus on a new EMR implementation; meeting with legislators for the 2025 session focusing on maternity funding for rural communities; enhanced reimbursement methodologies; and looking for new service lines that make sense for a rural community.

Garrett A. South. Senior Leader of Patient Experience at Dignity Health, California Hospital Medical Center (Los Angeles): For the second half of the year, my focus is on rejuvenating our patient experience efforts with the same enthusiasm and resolve that come with the start of a new year. While it's the second half of the calendar year, it marks the first half of our fiscal year — a perfect opportunity to infuse our team with renewed energy and commitment.

Our goal is to spark joy in our patient experience initiatives by realigning our team around our goals/objectives and encouraging them to recommit to this work. In a time when caregiver burnout is prevalent across the healthcare industry, finding moments to recharge and re-energize our staff is essential. By fostering a culture of joy and dedication, we can enhance the well-being of our caregivers and improve the experiences of our patients and families.

Arshad K Rahim, MD. Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Population Health of Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): Hit or get close to our key (i.e. big dot) goals. We just completed a mid-year retreat to strategize and confirm mitigation plans for at-risk goals. These high priority goals include primary care engagement, accurate risk adjustment for our Medicare lives, reducing unnecessary acute utilization, and supporting the closing of quality care gaps. We need to best support all our providers, but especially our community (non-employed) CIN providers. 

Niobis Queiro. Interim Chief Strategy Officer of Nashville (Tenn.) General Hospital: I focus on the theory of 3 — focus on the top three with intention determination and resilient positive energy. My first of the three is: talentforce retention and upskilling. Whether we are speaking about the clinical staff or administrative staff we must curate a talentforce that is heard and skilled to manage and use the new technology advancements, resources, adaptive environments that supports critical thinking, technology enabled decision making, remote or hybrid work. We must address the burnout, silent quitting and disengagement with the mission and vision of the organization. Retention applies to our rock stars and the strong and steady that keep the wheels on the bus (they are quiet but reliable and consistent). 

As we bring in new technology we must re-educate our talentforce to have the skills to yield the anticipated performance and analytical wins of our new innovation. But most important to make our talentforce feel competent and true contributors to the care and goals of the organization. Many believe we can hire younger skilled, forward thinking talent and that would solve the problem. I say we must care for our current talent as we create opportunities to create new talent to join our continuously learning and high performance team. That means we must invest in learning for the internal team and partner with high learning organizations to create and develop your future talentforce. It is a multifaceted approach that is essential to survive.

The second area of focus is identifying use cases that outperform our current processes and our competitions. Example: Creating a telehealth nurse program that supports your ambulatory, urgent care, inpatient care, and nursing education program to name a few. Starting with solving one idea and growing it beyond the standard possibilities. Create use cases that address the needs and awareness of all dependent channels, departments and talent. Create a culture of solutioning and collaboration. What would happen if we create a network culture where our use cases are distributive solutions across verticals clinical and administrative. 

Third area is as a leader being an infuser of empathy, resiliency, perseverance and intentional action. Being the example by modeling high performance behavior to yield desired results, volunteering discretionary effort consistently, respecting and leveraging others and most importanting living in a curious mindset open to learning from all that is in your midst and beyond.

It is our choice to make our goals happen as we lean into our challenges courageously with the intent of self-awareness and willingness to change.

Susmita Pati, MD. Chief of Primary Care Pediatrics and Chief Medical Program Advisor, The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University (N.Y.): My focus for the second half of the year is to continue to collaboratively expand our opportunities to create an organizational culture that supports our workforce to grow and thrive while also delivering high quality, evidence-based, equitable care. I look forward to continuing to work with our multidisciplinary stakeholders and organizational leadership to enable individuals and teams to pursue their professional interests and find joy in their work. I am also keeping an eye on key trends in our healthcare landscape, including innovations in healthcare technologies and health equity.

Christine Stesney-Ridenour. COO of University of Toledo (Ohio) Medical Center: Four years ago, the hospital was 'up for sale' and a successful turnaround plan was implemented. The next six months include continued focus on improving high-impact quality indicators and refining efforts around coding, documentation and revenue cycle. These efforts have already improved patient care and increased case mix index. We are fortunate that improved performance has also allowed for an infusion of capital to expand services, this includes investigating the feasibility of a new OB service to better support the community.

Andrew Molosky. President and CEO of Chapters Health System (Temple Terrace, Fla.): As an organization so intently focused on innovation and employment exceptionalism, we try to see around any corner possible. Meaning the second half of our year is really about 2025 already. Selecting and welcoming those team members who will be central to our newest plans and programs coming online in 2025 is already underway while simultaneously laying the operational and cultural groundwork for our next set of strategic imperatives.

Ryan Calhoun. Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Connecticut Children's (Hartford): Our focus areas for the 2nd half of the year are advancing our home care strategy, continuing to execute our five year strategic plan while focusing on remaining nimble to market pressures. We have partnerships that are critical to advance as part of our strategic plan that have very important milestones that are coming up. In addition, we are really focused on continuing to optimize our operations and support our team members as we grow various services and complete our new $300 million-plus hospital campus expansion.

Ashwani Bhatia, MD. CEO of BayCare Clinic (Green Bay, Wis.): As a healthcare CEO in the second half of the year, my focus is on staff retention and training, especially as we approach our busiest times. This year, we experienced significant volume growth, and our goal is to sustain this momentum by meeting the demands of our patients and community while delivering superior outcomes. A primary concern is preventing staff burnout, which has been particularly challenging in the latter half of the year. To address this, we are working on creating better staffing schedules as we plan for the fourth quarter.

In finalizing our budget for next year, we are also concentrating on managing drug costs and identifying supply chain savings. Additionally, we are budgeting for appropriate increases in staffing to ensure we have the necessary resources to maintain high-quality care and meet our operational needs.

Matthew Love. President and CEO of Nicklaus Children's Health System (Miami): 2024 has been a year of implementation and growth for Nicklaus Children's Health System. Throughout the first half of the year, we prepared for the strategic execution of key organizational initiatives later in the year, such as the opening of our new 131,000-square-foot Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower. This state-of-the-art facility, which opens in late Q3, will bring the latest technology to our expert pediatric surgeons so that no family will have to leave Florida, even for the most complex surgical procedures. We are implementing new ways to expand access to our network of experts, and some of those initiatives will be completed before the end of this year. The goal is to give families easier access to expert pediatric care in their communities. Nicklaus Children's is the place where your child matters most which is why we're working hard to ensure we meet families where they are.

Steve Davis, MD. President and CEO of Cincinnati Children's: At Cincinnati Children's, we will continue a strategic focus on an organizationwide approach to utilizing artificial intelligence. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, we've been diligently laying the groundwork to ensure our efforts lead to long-term success and improvements in patient care.

Creating awareness and promoting the ethical implementation of AI is at the heart of our approach. We believe it's crucial to guide the rational use of AI and ensure that ethical considerations are always at the forefront. By doing so, we're setting the stage for responsible AI integration that truly enhances the care we already provide.

To date, we've already invested significantly in building a platform that underpins our AI initiatives, harnessing the power of data to drive insights that enhance decision-making and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Alongside this, we've established a multidisciplinary steering committee that has shaped our strategic plan and ensures that our AI projects align with our broader organizational goals and are coordinated across our health system. And, we've developed a curriculum aimed at fostering AI literacy and proficiency, which will be rolled out to all employees, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to leverage AI tools effectively and ethically.

Ebrahim Barkoudah, MD. System Chief and Regional Chief Medical Officer of Baystate Health (Springfield, Mass.): As chief medical officer, my focus for the latter half of the year is on delivering high-value care within a patient-centric model, financial optimization, and operational efficiency. Our objective is to harmonize financial health, operational excellence, and superior patient care, thereby enhancing outcomes for both patients and the organization.

• Developing a patient-centric model is fundamental. Personalized care plans, tailored to each patient's specific needs and preferences, will ensure the most appropriate and effective care. By increasing patient engagement through enhanced communication and education, we empower patients to take an active role in their own care, thereby improving satisfaction and health outcomes. Continuous improvement of the patient journey, from admission to discharge, will be a priority, with ongoing assessments to identify areas for enhancement.
• High-value care is central to our mission. Our patient-centric model ensures that all improvements directly target patient experience and outcomes. We will continually assess and enhance care delivery to ensure it is both effective and efficient, using quality metrics to track progress and make data-driven decisions. Promoting interdisciplinary collaboration will provide comprehensive and coordinated care, addressing all aspects of a patient's health for better overall outcomes.
• Financial optimization is paramount. We will implement cost management strategies to reduce unnecessary expenses without compromising care quality. Detailed analysis of current spending will identify areas for cost reduction without affecting patient outcomes. Enhancing our revenue cycle will improve billing processes and reimbursement rates, ensuring financial stability by minimizing payment delays and reducing errors, thereby improving cash flow. Efficient resource allocation will direct resources to high-impact areas to maximize returns, prioritizing initiatives that offer significant benefits — whether through improved patient outcomes, operational efficiency, or revenue generation.
• Operational efficiency is crucial. We will streamline processes by identifying and eliminating bottlenecks in clinical and administrative workflows. This involves examining current procedures and implementing best practices. Technology integration, leveraging AI and machine learning in our optimizations of clinical operations by predicting patient needs, optimizing scheduling, and streamlining administrative tasks, allowing staff to focus on direct patient care. Continuous staff training will ensure high productivity and efficiency, equipping staff to handle responsibilities and adapt to new technologies and processes.

Elizabeth Berter, RN, BSN. Senior Director of Clinical Practice and Chief Nursing Officer at TriHealth Physician Partners (Cincinnati): For the second half of the year, our focus will be on sustaining and advancing the improvements we've made in quality and performance metrics, particularly in reducing patient falls. We also have a concentrated effort on improving our patient engagement performance. TriHealth Physician Partners practices will be leveraging internal experts as coaches to hardwire behaviors that drive stronger performance.

Jochen Reiser, MD. President of University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston); CEO of UTMB Health: We will be focusing over the next several months to develop a transformational university and healthcare delivery strategic plan.

On the clinical health system side, we will expand our clinical cancer service and continue our efforts around quality of care and implementation of AI in care delivery and operations..

Muhammad Siddiqui. CIO of Reid Health (Richmond, Ind.): For the second half of the year, our focus at Reid Health Hospital is on enhancing operational efficiencies and patient care through strategic technological advancements. Key initiatives include the implementation of digital AI scribes for our providers, which will streamline documentation processes and allow for more patient-centered care. We are also introducing smart whiteboards in patient rooms to improve communication and information accessibility for both patients and caregivers.

Ultimately, our goal is to leverage technology to create a more efficient, patient-friendly environment while supporting our caregivers with the tools they need to deliver exceptional care.

Sylvia Radziszewski. COO of University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center (Ashland, Ohio): As a leader of a community-based hospital in a rural area, we will continue to focus on recruiting caregivers and providers who add to the cultural and generational diversity of our team. We know that wider perspectives can catalyze creative thinking about how we provide the best access and highest-quality care to our community.

We also will use our caregivers' ideas, as well as innovations in technology and AI, to enhance our telehealth specialty services, which we depend on in a rural county. And we will stay nimble in this ever-changing healthcare landscape, providing the services needed in the communities we serve, and using strategic initiatives to foster partnerships that will augment services that may not yet be available here.

Mark G. Moseley, MD. President of USF Tampa General Physicians; Executive Vice President of Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital: The second half of the fiscal year for me is always a time to focus, and to ensure attention to our performance compared to our strategic and operational goals. How are we performing? Where do we need to spend our limited time, energy, and focus? If we are not meeting our target in a particular area, what resources or leadership attention is required to change the outcome? It is really difficult to achieve everything we want without prioritizing and re-prioritizing our work intentionally. As leaders, we must be equally enthusiastic about telling our teams what NOT to do, to enable them to accomplish what the organization needs them to do. 

Vi-Anne Antrum. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Cone Health (Greensboro, N.C.): The focus for the second half of the year strategically at Cone Health will be our transition into Risant Health. We are very excited about this move that will allow us to accelerate our efforts around value-based care! Beyond that, we will be launching our Cone Health Strategic Vision 2030 work which will propel us to our desired future state. Operationally, we will remain focused on achieving our True North Metrics which include our work on margin, quality, health equity, and population health. We always challenge ourselves and our Board of Trustees approves these metrics each year. Together, these things allow us to win!

J.R. Greene. Founder and Vice Chairman of Psychiatric Medical Care (Brentwood, Tenn.): We're focused on increasing access to behavioral health treatment and seeing an increased demand for virtual therapy across our clinical programs. More and more people have become comfortable talking with a therapist online and data proves that virtual therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy. We are analyzing this trend, especially in rural markets where many behavioral health patients face challenges making it to in-person therapy sessions. This clinical model could become the best way to deliver behavioral healthcare in rural communities based on continued data supporting the virtual therapist trend.

Alexa Kimball, MD. President and CEO of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston): We are concentrating on advocating for critical issues influenced by recent policy changes, such as physician fee schedule adjustments and the recent decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Chevron. These developments have a direct clinical and operational impact on our physicians as well as the healthcare industry at large. Therefore, we must engage proactively to ensure that the voices of providers and patients are heard, and that policies are shaped to support their needs. We recognize that these policy changes will result in significant shifts, and we care deeply about what that means for physicians. Understanding the importance of taking care of providers so they can take care of patients, we remain committed to addressing ongoing healthcare sector challenges like gender equity, burnout, and staffing shortages.

Claudia Eisenmann. President of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital (Fort Worth): Our focus on the second half of the year is in continuing to grow our volumes through access to meaningful and relevant programs and services, and by being a top quartile performer or better in all key metrics of service, quality, and clinical outcomes. This emphasis, coupled with our belief that exceptional relationships create the right atmosphere for exceptional results, has accounted for a 19% increase in our NPSR as compared to the same period last year. As we enter the last half of our fiscal year, our commitment to community and to one another is that we will not get distracted by our mid-year success. We will be disciplined in sticking to our high-growth operating principles, following them in a way that perpetuates our culture of purpose, accountability, and joy.

Anuj Vohra, DO. Chairman and Medical Director of Emergency Medicine at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital (Torrington, Conn.): My focus is ensuring we continue to offer the highest quality of care possible in the most cost effective way. We are also focused on improving patient flow and enhancing access to general and subspecialty services in our rural community.

Albert Wright. President and CEO of WVU Medicine (Morgantown, W.Va.): Like all health systems across the country, we are continuing to focus on the recruitment and retention of nurses in the face of the ongoing national nursing shortage. To that end, our human resources in conjunction with our system nursing leadership have come up with new and creative approaches to attract nurses to WVU Health System Hospitals, including our clinical advancement for professional excellence (CAPE) program for professional development; enhanced student loan assistance with a lifetime maximum of $26,250; the aspiring nurse program through which we partner with two-year schools of nursing to provide students with financial assistance in exchange for a commitment to working in one of our hospitals; partnering with the Education Alliance and local schools for our MedEd Program to educate high school students and provide them with hands-on learning that translates into a direct career path upon graduation; and the announcement of our plans to open our own two-year, hospital-based nursing diploma program. Our goal isn't just to be our state's largest employer; we want to be its best employer.

Adam Breslow, MD. President and CEO of Children's Primary Care Medical Group (San Diego): At CPCMG, our focus for the remainder of 2024 will be 'back to basics.' This will entail improving patient access, shoring up staffing shortages, continuing clinician and staff wellness initiatives, and meeting our quality metric goals. Nothing earth-shattering, but we'll try as best we can to get our own house in order before engaging in any further strategic initiatives.

Madeline Bell. President and CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: I'm excited to begin implementing CHOP' s new strategy, which focuses on reimagining pediatrics through innovation. As part of this strategy, we will continue to invest in the things that differentiate us — including cell and gene therapy and our unique clinical and research programs. We will also invest in initiatives that support our employees' well-being, reimagine how we provide care in the community, and use digital tools to transform how we work and how we care for patients. The healthcare industry is facing many headwinds, and this strategy was designed to help us overcome these challenges so we can continue to thrive in the future. 

Kenneth Sable, MD. Regional President of Southern Market at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.): For the second half of 2024, we continue to focus on physician recruitment and retention, as several key specialties remain challenged from an on-call perspective, including anesthesia, urology, gastroenterology, ENT, and several others. It appears that some private-equity backed specialties are backing away from hospital-based coverage and solely focusing on the higher reimbursing and more profitable ambulatory environment. 

We are also looking to accelerate our virtual care platforms, both in and out of the hospital setting. Virtual nursing, for example, is proving to be a significant value-add service in terms of quality and patient experience. And lastly, we continue to focus on opportunities around remote patient monitoring, as wearable and remote monitoring tools will continue to play a bigger role in managing chronic conditions and preventative care, while helping reduce readmissions and lowering the total cost of care.

Don Antonucci. CEO of Providence Health Plan (Portland, Ore.): As we enter the second half of the year, Providence Health Plan will continue to focus on five key pillars: access, affordability, quality, experience, and equity. We're intensifying our efforts to ensure these core areas are not just buzzwords, but tangible realities for members as we look toward 2025 and beyond. 

We're committed to expanding care availability, especially in underserved communities, while striving to keep costs manageable for all members, customers, and the communities we serve. We're also enhancing our quality initiatives and member experience, to improve outcomes and simplify healthcare navigation. 

Above all, we're reinforcing our commitment to equity, ensuring all members receive high-quality care. While it is a never-ending focus, we believe that meaningful progress in these areas is essential to fulfilling our mission and upholding the Promise of Providence Health Plan to our communities.

Sophia G. Holder. Executive Vice President and CFO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: As we continue to navigate the persistent financial headwinds impacting the healthcare industry, I will be working with other members of the CHOP team to strategically bolster CHOP's balance sheet to ensure the hospital's long-term financial sustainability. We will also focus on making sure our facilities remain state-of-the-art and are well-equipped to deliver the highest-quality care, and we will continue to refine our expense management and revenue optimization strategies. In addition, we will strengthen our revenue cycle processes, leverage technology to implement cost-saving initiatives, and use advanced analytics to gain real-time, actionable insights into CHOP's financial performance. 

Kathryn J. Martinez, MSN, RN. Executive Vice President, COO and CNO of FHN (Freeport, Ill.): In the second half of the year, our organization will be focusing on strategic planning. As an independent healthcare organization, it is essential that we remain agile and adaptable to the changing environment around us. Shifting demographics and payer mix bring both challenges and opportunities to the healthcare setting and the manner in which an organization responds will be critical for its future.

Shane Strum. President and CEO of Broward Health (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.): While it's the second half of the calendar year, it's the start of a new fiscal year for Broward Health. With that in mind, we have several growth strategies being deployed to further enhance convenient offerings for our community that will create access to care closer to home.

As the South Florida marketplace continues to grow, we must outpace demand for emergency services. Broward Health excels in trauma care and is already recognized for having one of the busiest emergency departments in the nation, which is why we are expanding our offerings through freestanding emergency departments. We have broken ground on one emergency department, cleared property to begin construction at a second site and finalized plans for a third location. 

We are also continuing to expand our graduate medical education program. Once again celebrating our largest class to date, we are committed to mitigating the anticipated physician shortages by training and educating future generations of physicians. As of July 1, Broward Health received funding through Florida's "Slots for Docs" initiative that helped fund 72 residents for a total class of almost 400 residents and fellows. By investing in our medical residents today, we are ensuring the clinical workforce in South Florida remains strong to support our patients well into the future.

Finally, we continue to plan for our expansion into academic medicine, making this a very exciting time for Broward Health and healthcare across South Florida.

Rina Bansal, MD. President of Inova Alexandria Hospital; Senior Vice President of Inova Health System (Falls Church, Va.): Execution!!! As we head into the second half of the year, my team is well positioned to execute our strategic initiatives and deliver on the 2024 key performance indicators. With this year's theme focused on execution, we spent the first half of the year setting the stage, intentionally taking time to widely socialize the key initiatives, establishing alignment at every level of leadership including amongst frontline team members and lastly defining leading indicators for each of our key performance indicators. These are key foundational elements for successful execution and my team is ready to deliver.

Lynne Fiscus, MD. President and CEO of UNC Physicians Network (Durham, N.C.): The second half of the year, we will be focused on making the most of working together as a system to benefit our patients, teammates, and the communities we serve. Through our One UNC Health Forward Together Strategy, we will be implementing system processes for patient transfers, improved experience with accessing our clinicians, and the creation of system service lines. In addition, we are tackling a body of work around ease of practice and reducing administrative burden of practice- how do we free up more time for our clinicians to do what they do best- provide exceptional care to patients.

Theresa Dawson, DNP, MSN, RN. Chief Nursing Officer of Oaklawn Hospital (Marshall, Mich.): As I look to the second half of the year, my focus remains on patient experience and patient safety. Our goals in nursing are always to maintain our quality-of-care delivery. Overcoming the obstacles of staffing, supply chain issues, financial shortfalls and overall lack of civility with some recipients of care makes this a challenging endeavor. My effort will be on what I can control and creation of ways in which to support the front-line staff and help them be successful.

Zachary Lenert, MSN, RN. Vice President of Integrated Care Management at Sharp HealthCare (San Diego): Looking toward the second half of the year my colleagues and I are deeply invested in optimizing our human and structural resources to enhance the quality and efficiency of care. To achieve this greater emphasis is being placed on streamlining operations, eliminating unnecessary or duplicative work, communicating goals clearly, and ensuring care delivery remains patient-centric at all levels. 

Sharp HealthCare's Integrated Care Management division aims to establish robust internal controls that prevent resource duplication, promoting maximum utilization of internal capabilities and community partnerships. We are additionally prioritizing critical evaluation and implementation of emerging technologies. Innovations in artificial intelligence and virtual care support systems are revolutionizing the way we approach care delivery. Embedding new technology is enhancing patient care delivery, payer communication, and community collaboration. 

The integration of cutting-edge tools is being done thoughtfully, ensuring they complement and augment the human touch, not replace it. By doing so, we can maintain the trust and confidence of those we serve, while embracing the benefits that these new technologies have to offer.

Wendi Goodson-Celerin, DNP, APRN. Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive of Tampa General Hospital: For the second half of the year and beyond, a prime focus for our dedicated team at Tampa General will be to continue the crucial work necessary to redesign the role and scope of our nurse managers. Our objective is to take a phased and multifaceted approach to address all areas of our nurse managers' day-to-day activities, including their span of control, schedule and team structure. Additionally, as an innovative academic health system, we are focused on increased integration and efficiencies with the use of technology that will allow our nurse managers to streamline operations, help improve patient outcomes and maintain an optimal level of staff coordination. Ultimately, our nurse manager role redesign will allow our nurse managers the opportunity for career growth and ensure they have the time and necessary training to provide world-class care at the top of their license and enhance quality and safety. Accomplishing this redesign will ensure that support, resources and the scope of nurse managers' roles and responsibilities all align as they lead our nursing workforce in a demanding, complex and fast-paced health care environment. 

Jeff Myers. President and CEO of Hamilton Health Care System (Dalton, Ga.): Our focus is always about the patient, first and foremost. In December, we went live with Epic, and throughout the remainder of 2024, we will see the implementation evolving in ways that best support patient care and our pledge – Excellence. Every Person. Every Time. Additionally, we are continuously evaluating ways we can improve access to care for the communities we serve. We currently have 50+ access points and we will soon see that number increase, enhancing the fully-integrated care journey for our patients. Our two residency programs (internal medicine and family medicine) are also growing. We just welcomed yet another new class of some of the best and brightest resident physicians last month, further advancing medical care in our region. Again, everything we do is with a focus on our patients and these are just a few aspects of the second half of the year that work toward that goal.

Loudrige Jean-Philippe. COO of Palm Beach Health Network Physician Group at Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Dallas): My focus for the second half of the year is:

• Enhancing the quality of patient care through the adoption of new technologies such as AI-driven tools, refining care protocols, and ensuring patient safety
• Strengthening financial performance by optimizing billing processes and exploring new revenue streams
• Investing in staff training and development to ensure a high level of competency and morale within the team
• Improving patient satisfaction through better communication, reducing wait times, and offering more patient-centric services
• Building and maintaining strategic partnerships with other healthcare providers

Winnie Adams, RN, BSN, MSN. Chief Nursing Officer of Astria Sunnyside Hospital, Astria Health (Sunnyside, Wash.): Implementing sustainable workflows

• At Astria Sunnyside Hospital, I am focused on implementing sustainable workflows with each of my departments, including med/surg, ICU, labor and delivery, surgery, emergency, oncology, wound care, and home health. I do this by creating flexible schedules and by prioritizing the physical and mental health of my nursing staff, they are able to better focus on providing excellent care to our patients. With Astria Health's strong network of primary care physicians and specialists who help patients to understand and prioritize wellness, nurses must prioritize their own wellness too. I empower my staff to manage their health, take time off when they need to, and to collaborate with one another to better manage stress at work.

Recruitment

• I have created an immersive training program for new nurses which allows them to spend two weeks in each department where they are exposed to the specific needs of each discipline. Because this program allows new nursing graduates the opportunity to work alongside seasoned nurses in labor and delivery, surgery, emergency medicine, med/surgery/icu, home health and more, they are better prepared to choose a discipline at Astria Health. At the end of the program, nurses are encouraged to apply for one of our open positions. Not only does this program allow the new nurse to gain insight into each department, nurse units are able to evaluate the new grad for their team.

Christopher McLaughlin. System Operations Manager of Sinai Chicago: 

• Sinai Chicago is a leading healthcare provider serving Chicago's most vulnerable population of patients, the surrounding communities, and is the largest safety-net hospital in Illinois. The population that is surrounding Sinai Chicago has, which almost seems impossible, a life expectancy that is 30 years less than those who are just a few zip codes up the road, such as Streeterville. Someone asked me, "why do you work there...?" For me, it is not just a job or a paycheck, but you go where you are called to serve. To help. 
• If one is passionate and committed in the noble pursuit of excellence within their chosen field, then I would say one has a moral obligation and an ethical duty to be of service and to always strive to be part of the solution, not the problem itself. Many people will never understand this, and the absolute joy it brings to help those who truly need it the most.
• Our fiscal year 2024 ended 6/30/24 and we are now halfway through the first month of fiscal year 2025. I look at this esteemed panel, that I am so gracious to be part of, and bringing in a system operations manager perspective I personally think is great idea, due to the fact that I am on the frontline with both non-clinical and clinical caregivers trying to problem solve, enhance quality, improve processes, all while being so very financially conscious. 
• Over the upcoming year, we will continue to invest and improve our technology to improve patient safety and quality outcomes. This comes by way of implementing and the continual efforts of enhancing our new Epic EMR, including a DaVinci Robot for outstanding surgeons, and implementation of our Simulation Lab at Mt. Sinai. Additionally, there have been incredible increases in patient satisfaction and quality scores with projects such as all new 25 signs for wayfinding that are bi-lingual for our Spanish speaking population and have arrows ensuring our patients and newer caregivers find their way through the hospital. That is just the first floor, and it is time to expand to the rest of the hospital. Another project I have been lucky to spearhead with a phenomenal team has been going through each of our three acute care sites, coordinating with facilities, engineering, maintenance, and EVS to completely redo the patient rooms to make it feel more inviting, clean, and overall provide the best possible stay a patient could have that has resulted in a 40.7% increase in patient satisfaction scores for hospital cleanliness. With the rooms being completely redone, we have launched another initiative utilizing volunteers and bringing small items such as stress balls, word searches, sunglasses, and many other options to also increase the satisfaction of the patient's stay. 
• We have an amazing group that rounds on the units to ensure 24/7 readiness and compliance to always strive to enhance our care given. Coupled with this team, we have formed a Regulatory Boot Camp to reeducate staff on new protocols, policies, and procedures. 
• Sinai has and continues to work hard at employee retention and satisfaction. We have an internal Leadership Institute where emerging leaders are nominated by their superiors to always ensure we have a pipeline of leaders that live and act through the Sinai Values day in, and day out. This has significantly helped with employee retention and satisfaction. Within the same vein, we are always cognizant of our expenses, so we want to strive for a high sense of belonging within the organization. Many of us have heard of DEI, but a new term is DEIB, or Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. The more you feel you belong, the greater impact you will have on everyone around you. 
• Lastly, we will continue to focus on strengthening our partnerships with local health systems, local government leaders, and guidance provided by our esteemed CEO, Dr. Ezike.
• Fiscal year 2025 just started, and I cannot wait to see where we go from here with the aforementioned projects in place, and new ones on the horizon. We, Sinai Chicago, will always focus on innovative care models, community engagement, all while continuing to expand services to reach our patients. It is an honor, a privilege, and a calling to be able to serve those who need it the most.

Michael Ugwueke. President and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (Memphis, Tenn.): My focus for the second half of the year is successful implementation of our Epic EHR, which will enable us to consolidate nine different EHRs to a singular system across our six hospitals, outpatient centers and our physician offices. This initiative has been in the works for the past 18 months and we are slated to go live on Oct. 5. There is nothing more important for our organization over the next several months than to ensure that our associates and providers are fully trained and ready to implement this new platform that will significantly enhance patient and provider experience. 

William Morice, MD, PhD. President and CEO of Mayo Clinic Laboratories/Mayo Collaborative Services (Rochester, Minn.): For the second half of the year, the focus of Mayo Clinic Laboratories will be to continue innovating and increasing the accessibility of diagnostics for patients. There are some macro industry trends, including ongoing lab consolidation in the U.S. and increased insourcing of diagnostics in international markets, which bear watching in this regard. Ultimately, we will maintain our focus on providing timely and accurate diagnostics and reinforcing the value that clinical laboratories bring to the healthcare systems they are in and the patients they serve.

Along the lines of innovation, availability, and value, we are also closely watching several key policy and reimbursement areas. Increased FDA oversight of laboratory-developed tests and its repercussions are ongoing. We are also monitoring the potential Congressional reauthorization of the pandemic All-Hazards and Preparedness Act (PAHPA) to anticipate how we could work together to help the country prepare for future pandemics. Additionally, changes in PAMA reimbursement policies are a critical focus, as they directly affect the financial viability of our critical laboratory services. By staying attuned to these developments, we can adapt swiftly and maintain our commitment to delivering advanced and reliable diagnostics to patients and physicians.

Tom Vasko. CEO of Newman Memorial Hospital (Shattuck, Okla.): As Newman enters the third quarter of the year, with volumes continuing to rise, our focus remains on serving our community with quality care exceeding standards and patient expectations. The third quarter is an optimization period, focusing on maximizing our 2024 strategic changes and capturing the intentions of those changes. Heavy focus on maximizing our service expansions, revenue cycle optimization, technology transformations and preparing for the upcoming Joint Commission survey. Our leadership team is working through state and federal healthcare policy, predicting impacts and shifts for the upcoming year. Lastly, as we close out a successful year we begin laying out the strategic roadmap for 2025 to ensure clarity, direction and certainty of continued success in a challenging sector of healthcare.

Jason M. Raidbard. Executive Administrator of Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UChicago Medicine and Biological Sciences: As we move into the latter half of the year, our ophthalmology department remains determined in our commitment to providing exceptional patient care, while advancing in the field through innovative practices and research. Our primary focus areas include:

• Enhancing Patient Experience: We aim to streamline our patient care processes to ensure a seamless and positive experience from initial consultation through treatment and follow-up care. This includes adopting new technologies, reducing wait times, and improving patient communication.
• Expanding Research Initiatives: Our department will continue to place a strong emphasis on expanding our research efforts. By participating in clinical trials and fostering a culture of innovation, we aim to contribute significantly to the development of new treatments and therapies for various eye conditions.
• Community Outreach and Education: We believe in the importance of educating our community about eye health. Our outreach programs will focus on raising awareness about preventable eye diseases and promoting regular eye examinations to ensure early detection and treatment.
• Expanding Faculty: To support our growth and maintain our high standards of care, we are focused on expanding our faculty and onboarding of new physicians. This will allow us to meet the increasing demand for our services. We will do so while ensuring our physicians are fully engaged in day-to-day operations and have a voice in our decision-making processes.
• Fostering an Inclusive Culture and Promoting DEI Initiatives: We are dedicated to creating a quality inclusive culture that engages our patients, physicians, and staff. This includes our ongoing efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within our organization, ensuring that our practices reflect our organization's mission, vision, and values.
• By concentrating on these areas, we strive to enhance the quality of care we provide in the second half of this year, as we continue to make significant strides in the field of ophthalmology.

Our dedicated team is excited about the opportunities ahead and remains committed to achieving excellence in all that we do.

Richard O. Davis, PhD. CEO of Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health: Following a challenging 2023, we've significantly bolstered our health system's financial stability in the first half of 2024. Looking ahead, our focus remains on sustaining this progress with a new long-range strategic plan, accelerating growth efforts, and transforming our care delivery model.

Central to this transformation is the upcoming launch of our Capacity Command Center, which aims to allocate resources more efficiently across our care network. This includes a centralized transfer center, transportation management, bed allocation, and staffing solutions. Complementing this initiative is the launch of a Clinical Command Center featuring virtual nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, and specialists.

We continue to innovate in care delivery through our partnership with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the success of our Health Care Idea Lab. This collaboration between RRH team members and RIT students produces human-centered design solutions to address health system challenges. These innovations evolve into ongoing research, developing prototypes implemented throughout our health system.

Finally, we remain committed to advancing quality and safety, with significant investments in team member engagement and retention, essential pillars of our clinical and operational excellence.

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD. President and CEO of Houston Methodist Physician Organization; Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of Houston Methodist: Physician and provider wellness is a top priority. Research shows those who are professionally fulfilled are less likely to experience burnout or prematurely leave the practice of medicine. They are also less likely to cause harm. At Houston Methodist, our patients are at the center of everything we do. To accomplish our most sacred privilege of taking care of them, we must care for their providers. 

In the first half of the year, our Professional Fulfillment and Experience team launched our Joy In Medicine Initiative (JIMI) and conducted a systemwide listening and learning tour. We asked our physicians and APPs three questions: 

1. What's going well? 
2. What makes a good day for you?
3. What gets in the way of a good day?

Our focus for the second half of the year is to create a wellness strategy using the empirical feedback from our successful and insightful tour and data from our physician well-being survey, which measures engagement, alignment, resilience, safety and diversity, and burnout. We're also hosting our inaugural JIMI symposium — Reimagining Joy and Purpose in Medicine — to advance the science of physician and provider professional fulfillment and highlight evidence-based practices that promote efficiency of practice, personal resilience, and a culture of wellness to support physician and provider well-being.

Kathy Healy-Collier. President and CEO of Mercy Anderson Hospital (Cincinnati): For the second half of the year, our primary focus is on enhancing our organizational culture, fostering employee engagement, and improving the patient experience. We continue to make significant strides in these areas and I can't wait to see all the progress we will make by the end of the year. We are also dedicated to reducing waste within our operations, ensuring we maintain the high-quality care our patients expect and deserve. By prioritizing these areas, we aim to create a more supportive environment for our staff and deliver exceptional healthcare services to our community.

Olusegun A. Ishmael, MD. COO and President of the Hospital Division at MetroHealth (Cleveland): Hard to believe we are at the midpoint of the year! Here's what I am focusing on for the second half of the year:

• Ensuring we meet and exceed our budgeted goals for this fiscal year.
• Improving our ambulatory access and creating more overall capacity within the system.
• Expanding present programs and developing new programs for 2025.
• Tracking our true workforce needs for the next year and staying ahead of any new needs.
• Improving our caregiver (employee) safety and security.
• With the recent local and national cyberattacks an enhanced focus on cybersecurity.
• Finally, keeping an eye on who is going to be the White House occupant over the next four years.

Mohammed Quadri, MD. Vice President Strategy for Academics, Research and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.): As the vice president of strategy for academics, research, and innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), I prioritize inclusivity and collaboration to drive healthcare trends and address unmet clinical needs rapidly. HMH fosters an environment where diverse perspectives contribute to a connected ecosystem, enabling real-time solutions for HMH patients.

Key focus areas include:

1. HMH Research and Innovation: Investments in precision medicine, digital health, big data, and blockchain technology will advance HMH healthcare and improve patient outcomes.
2. Addressing HMH Unmet Clinical Needs: HMH will leverage its inclusive environment and research capabilities to develop new treatments and interventions tailored to diverse HMH populations.
3. HMH Collaboration and Partnerships: Partnerships with industry, academia, and philanthropy will accelerate innovation and ensure equitable access to high-quality care within the HMH network.
4. Emerging Trends: I closely follow trends like VR, AR, IoT, and nanotechnology to anticipate future challenges and opportunities for HMH.

Beyond the above focus areas, other emerging trends worth following include:

• The Metaverse and Healthcare: Virtual world for remote consultations, medical training, and virtual surgery simulations.
• Quantum Computing in Healthcare: Breakthroughs in drug discovery, personalized medicine, and disease prediction.
• Synthetic Biology and Regenerative Medicine: Creation of new organs and tissues for transplantation, and personalized therapies.
• Climate Change and Health: Addressing the health consequences of extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
• The Future of Work in Healthcare: Innovative solutions to attract and retain healthcare workers.
• The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health: AI-powered tools for early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions.
• The Ethical Considerations of Emerging Technologies: Ensuring data privacy, addressing algorithmic bias, and preventing exacerbation of health disparities.

By staying informed about these emerging trends, HMH can continue to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation and address the evolving needs of their patients and communities.

Albert Villarin, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Informatics Officer of Nuvance Health (Danbury, Conn.): As the CMIO, my plan over the next six months is to integrate AI into our clinical, operational, health equity and research strategy to enhance efficiency and patient outcomes. We will implement AI-driven tools for predictive analytics in patient care, streamline administrative processes, and accelerate data analysis in research projects. This initiative aims to reduce manual workload, improve decision-making, and foster innovation across our organization. By leveraging AI, we are committed to advancing equitable healthcare delivery and achieving excellence in all aspects of our operations.

Geralda Xavier, MD. Chief Medical Officer of Hackettstown and Newton Medical Centers, Atlantic Health System (Morristown, N.J.): For the second half of the year, these are three key priorities.
1. Enhancing patient experience:

• Implement and support targeted initiatives to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.
• Foster a culture of empathy and responsiveness among staff.
• Utilize patient feedback to identify areas for improvement and track progress with regular assessments.

2. Improving team engagement:

• Develop and execute strategies to boost staff morale and engagement.
• Maximize our team member recognition programs.
• Continue leader rounding on team members across all disciplines to foster engagement.

3. Optimizing Fiscal Performance:

• Ensure efficient allocation and utilization of resources.
• Monitor and manage length of stay initiatives to achieve financial targets.
• Explore opportunities for cost savings without compromising the quality of care.

By focusing on these areas, we aim to create a more positive environment for both patients and staff, leading to better overall performance and outcomes for the hospital.

Wayne Gillis. CEO of Great Falls Hospital (Mont.): 

1. Staff Well-being and Retention:
   • Mental Health Support: Implement programs to support the mental health and well-being of staff.
   • Professional Development: Provide ongoing training and development opportunities to enhance skills and career growth.
   • Work-life Balance: Encourage policies and practices that promote work-life balance to reduce burnout.
2. Patient Care Quality and Safety:
   • Patient Experience: Focus on improving patient satisfaction and care experiences.
   • Infection Control: Continue to prioritize infection control measures to ensure patient and staff safety.
   • Clinical Outcomes: Implement initiatives to improve clinical outcomes and reduce readmissions.
3. Financial Stability and Efficiency:
   • Cost Management: Optimize supply chain and operational costs without compromising patient care.
   • Revenue Cycle Management: Improve billing processes and reduce claim denials to ensure steady cash flow.
   • Investment in Technology: Allocate resources to upgrade or implement new technologies that enhance operational efficiency.
4. Technology and Innovation:
   • Telehealth Expansion: Expand telehealth services to increase access to care and improve convenience for patients.
   • Data Analytics: Utilize data analytics to inform decision-making, predict trends, and improve patient outcomes.
   • Cybersecurity: Strengthen cybersecurity measures to protect patient data and hospital systems.
5. Community Engagement and Public Health:
   • Public Health Initiatives: Partner with local public health organizations to address community health needs and disparities.
   • Health Education: Provide health education and resources to the community to promote preventive care and healthy lifestyles.
   • Emergency Preparedness: Ensure readiness for potential public health emergencies or disasters.
6. Regulatory Compliance and Accreditation:
   • Compliance Programs: Strengthen compliance programs to adhere to regulatory requirements and standards.
   • Accreditation Preparation: Prepare for accreditation surveys and inspections to maintain or achieve higher standards of care.
7. Lean and Continuous Improvement:
   • Lean Methodologies: Implement Lean methodologies to streamline processes, reduce waste, and improve efficiency.
   • Employee Involvement: Engage employees at all levels in continuous improvement initiatives to foster a culture of innovation and accountability.
8. Sustainability and Environmental Health:
   • Green Initiatives: Implement sustainability practices to reduce the hospital's environmental footprint.
   • Energy Efficiency: Invest in energy-efficient systems and practices to reduce operational costs and promote environmental health.