Nancy Howell Agee serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Carilion Clinic.
On April 8th, Nancy will participate in a keynote interview at Becker's Hospital Review 11th 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 on April 6-9, 2020 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Nancy's session, click here.
Question: What, from your perspective, is the biggest challenge about the future of work for hospitals, and what can they do about it? (i.e. automation, desire for more flexibility, clinician shortages, etc.)
Nancy Howell Agee: Developing competency in the use of ‘big data’ is among our field’s biggest challenges. We have the ability now to capture and store millions of terabytes of data. Yet, we’re just scratching the surface. It’s the modern-day paradox: too much data, too little information. We have to be able to turn that data into insight – insight that allows us to redesign care to make a meaningful difference in our patients’ experience and their health…
- for prevention and early diagnosis
- for personalized medicine
- for population health
- for learning and discovery
Q: How can hospitals reconcile the need to maintain inpatient volumes with the mission to keep people healthier and out of the hospital?
NHA: We’re interpreting our mission of improving health more broadly these days, investing more than ever in programs outside of traditional health care. We’re partnering with community organizations on a wealth of wellness and prevention programs like a Fresh Foods Prescription Program and Community Health Workers. Yet there will always be a need for acute care. More than 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65 each day, and they’ll need our care as they age. We constantly work to balance the two aspects of our mission, as moving too quickly may not be financially sustainable. As with many things, it is all a matter of timing.
Q: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
NHA: Be your authentic self. You don’t have to be something you’re not to succeed. Management, first and foremost, is about caring for others and their personal growth. I ascribe to the style known as Servant Leadership that seeks to identify and meet the needs of colleagues, customers, and communities first.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
NHA: Connecting with peers is a great first step. Being a CEO can be a lonely place and it’s important to develop a support network of women and men who are living it right alongside you. Look outside of healthcare – we have much to learn from other industries. Too often, we look only at ourselves. Develop relationships in the manufacturing industry. Look at the finance industry, too.
Q: What do you see as the most exciting opportunity in healthcare right now?
NHA: There’s never been a more exciting time to be in health care. We have a unique opportunity to transform, to innovate, to make care better for our patients. That’s what I’m truly passionate about. We must find operational solutions to lower costs and improve effectiveness and find our niche in a field that now includes players like Amazon. For some, the break-neck speed of change is overwhelming. For others, it’s invigorating. I’m energized by what I see taking place at hospitals in communities across the country that have embraced technology. As long as we’re innovating and transforming to make care safer and more affordable, we are heading in the right direction.