Vi-Anne Antrum, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, serves as Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services for Olean General Hospital.
On April 4th, Vi-Anne 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 Vi-Anne's session, click here.
Question: What one strategic initiative will demand the most of your time and energy in 2019?
Vi-Anne Antrum: I am joining a new organization in a new role in 2019 so that will consume most of my time.
Q: Healthcare takes a lot of heat for not innovating quickly. What's your take on this?
VAA: I think some healthcare organizations do this better than others. Regulatory agencies play a factor in why innovation is a bit slower in healthcare. Some agencies have conflicting agendas around payment structures. Many organizations are willing to innovate but they need to be paid for value-based care impacts instead of volume-driven models.
Another reason is the fact that healthcare deals with human life. If we get it wrong, there are steep consequences. Ethically, healthcare organizations need to exercise some caution when innovating to prevent any harm. Organizational size and scope can be a factor in not innovating quickly. Smaller organizations and systems cannot afford to take as much risk or dedicate resources to innovation as larger organizations can. Most of them just do not have the scale to accomplish innovating on their own. I do think more non-healthcare organizations are entering this space which will undoubtedly spur innovation. Look at Apple, Amazon, and Walmart—they are changing the healthcare landscape.
Q: Tell us about the last meaningful interaction you had with a patient.
VAA: I went to visit a patient who was having some difficulty with her heart failure. Her entire family was there. After about 20 minutes of talking through her situation and plan of care, I leaned in close to her while holding her hand and she said, “You are a beautiful person. I know you are going to take good care of me.” It is wonderful to be able to impact someone at their most vulnerable and give them comfort knowing they are in good hands. Later that day when I went to the cafeteria, one of her visitors said, “You came to see me when I was in the hospital too. Look how good I’m doing.” You cannot quantify or adequately describe the feeling of pouring good into someone’s life and seeing the fruits of it. There is no better feeling!