The CFO role isn't just about numbers. Right now, it involves a critical focus on connection-building and workforce growth, according to JoAnn Kunkel, CFO of New Orleans-based LCMC Health.
The health system is planning to reduce its reliance on travel workers, Ms. Kunkel told Becker's: an initiative that, if successful, could have a massive impact on savings.
"We have a huge opportunity right now with contract labor, we are really focused on reducing our usage of contract labor," Ms. Kunkel said. "I think especially in the New Orleans area, our ability to reduce the reliance and the cost has been a little bit slower."
One way LCMC Health is looking to reduce contract costs is by expanding its partnerships with nearby educational institutions. The system has partnered with New Orleans-based Tulane University on a nursing school that will be located on LCMC grounds, strengthening the pipeline of new graduates. The first cohort will begin in the fall of 2025.
The health system also went through the Request for Proposal process last fall to develop a healthcare professions pipeline. It invested in partnerships with other academic institutions in the area, offering healthcare students tuition support in exchange for a work commitment. Future nurses, respiratory therapists, surgery technicians, radiology technicians and lab technicians have benefitted from the program, which has 780 participants — 85 percent of whom aim to become nurses, a role in major shortage.
Ms. Kunkel and her team are also looking for ways to improve the experience for existing employees. LCMC Health recently invested in Workday to allow greater visibility into the workforce's needs and its capabilities to meet them. For example, if employees want to move around or advance their careers, and there is an opening at a different facility that might suit them, the program can facilitate the match.
"[Workforce] is definitely our top priority, not only in contract labor, but also in retaining the staff that we have," Ms. Kunkel said. "Making sure that we give them the tools they have to work at the top of their license, that they have the ability to grow and enhance their careers where they want to."