HJBR Mar/Apr 2023

involved. They know the uniqueness of our markets. They know that LCMC Health is in a public-private partnership. They know the importance of LCMC Health and the work that they were already doing with LSU and Tulane. They know that, hey, LCMC Health was an organization that brought health- care back to New Orleans East, an area that was without it for nine years. They get to see, in some ways, into the detail. What we’re proud of is that they recognize that this was in the best interest of the public and approved the transaction. Editor I’m going to switch gears to a big- ger picture. What do you predict will be the top trends impacting the health- care industry this year, and how is LCMC Health managing those trends? Feirn I think the biggest challenge for all healthcare organizations right now is the cost structure, given the significant amount of inflation that we’ve all experienced caused by disruptions in the supply chain, etc., the shortages around workforce, and significant amounts of contract labor. I think healthcare systems, hospitals will need to be focused on the cost side of the equation and howwe can continue to evolve the care model to lower that cost. Whether that’s moving more toward AI, looking at the amount of labor that’s in our care model, how do we continue to shift more from inpatient to outpatient ... all that’s going to be needed to bring the cost side of the equation down. We at LCMC Health are focused on that. I think we certainly will see more personalization in healthcare, wider use of wearables and the continued expan- sion of technology to make the provision of care more efficient. We need to do that to continue to make it affordable. At LCMC Health, we are focused on work- force primarily because of the significant expense in contract labor we have. Frankly, we want those individuals to be part of our culture, be employed by us, and continue to build the culture that we think brings that little something extra in what we do. We also think it’s important for us to create relation- ships with our patients in the care that we provide. People want a connection to their healthcare provider, and we’re doing that through our values. Again, our values are repeatable; our employees gravitate toward them; they can say them. We bring heart and soul. We pro- vide a little something extra. That’s what makes us important. Editor Do you think there’s a difference in the heart and soul of a not-for-profit hos- pital versus a for-profit hospital? Feirn I think it’s about leadership and cul- ture, not a tax designation. Our leaders across our system, whether they’re our most senior leaders or all the way down to our directors, are part of the heart and soul of the organization, and describing the privi- lege that they have each and every day to help take care of the community is what builds heart and soul. I don’t think that a tax designation necessarily does. Now, with our nonprofit mission, our shareholders are the community. With that in mind, let’s go out and provide a great patient experience. Let’s provide great healthcare. We will then have the resources to continue to invest in our community because they’re our shareholder. Editor What do you think makes a great patient experience? Feirn The personalization — that personal connection between a care provider and the patient, knowing that there’s someone who cares and who will provide that little something extra to make it a different and a better experience. Editor In a utopian world, how would you draw the healthcare system in America? Feirn For us, in our vision, it’s really about creating overall wellness for a community. Wellness isn’t just patient care. Wellness is education. It’s care for all that you do. It’s making sure you have quality healthcare. Editor Do you think the industry will move to value-based health? Do you think an industry move to value-based health would be good for patients? Feirn The industry’s been moving to value- based healthcare over time. What’s chal- lenging is when not all payers are aligned around the same methodologies or incen- tives to create value. At the end of the day, value-based care is really about providing better access, increased quality, and bet- ter outcomes. To the extent we’re measur- ing them and moving in that direction and improving day after day, well, that’s certainly better for the patient. Editor How is LCMC Health addressing nursing shortages? Feirn One way we’re doing it is through a number of nurse workforce development pipelines through universities like Cham- berlain and LSU, where we can provide very meaningful tuition support and reimburse- ment for individuals with the commitment to come work for LCMC Health. Additional pipeline programs are in development with seven other healthcare schools across the state.. We’re going to continue to grow those programs. We’ll look for our first cohort of students coming from Chamberlain and LSU by the end of the year, and that’ll con- tinue to grow semester after semester. Ultimately, those other partnerships will do the same things to help grow the number of nurses we have employed. We’re going to need to continue to focus on it, because I don’t see it changing any time soon. I think that the estimates of the number of retirees in the next 10 years on the nursing side are significant. That’ll add to the challenges. I do think you’ll see a number of universities that will look to get into nursing schools. I have mentioned Tulane. Our partnership with DIALOGUE 16 MAR / APR 2023 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE