Jane Ferry, MD, serves as Chief Medical Officer and Vice President for Grand View Health.
On April 2nd, Dr. Ferry will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Quibulah's session, click here.
Question: Healthcare takes a lot of heat for not innovating quickly. What's your take on this?
Jane Ferry: Good health is at the core of what we want for ourselves, our families and our community. Innovation carries great promise and definite risk. These factors must be weighed on a daily basis as we forge ahead with novel concepts and approaches to how care is delivered. Speed can seldom be the sole driver unless the assessed risk of an innovation is outweighed by the perceived need in advancing treatment. And yet in all of this our goal must be the triple aim of improving the patient experience, o improving the health of populations; and reducing costs of care.
Q: Tell us about the last meaningful interaction you had with a patient.
JF: On New Year’s Eve in our emergency department, I had the honor of caring for a patient who had immigrated to our community from Bangladesh. As a result of complexities related to his insurance coverage, he and I had the opportunity to spend time together in the days and weeks to come, in an effort to ensure that he received the care he needed. Through our interactions I came to learn of his homeland, family, profession, hopes and dreams in coming to America. My friendship with this gentleman and his family has helped me understand on a personal level the challenges faced in journeys such as his. His example has taught me much in terms of patience, humility and kindness.
Q: Can you share some praise with us about people you work with? What does greatness look like to you when it comes to your team?
JF: My ‘team’ is a constant reminder of Jim Collin’s ‘Good to Great’ concept that if you have the right people on your bus, it doesn’t really matter which seat they are in. When an issue arises or the bus needs redirection they make it happen, and do so selflessly. Regardless of the size or complexity of the issue, they do the right thing, always reminding us of our mission in caring for the community.