HJBR May/Jun 2024

DIALOGUE Editor What are the biggest challenges your independent hospital faces? Ragas The challenges of an independent hospital are typically the economies of scale that are brought by larger institutions and health systems around supply chain and sometimes workforce. We are blessed enough to be able to have enough scale and specialty as an independent hospital, and we are narrowly focused on only women and only the direct care related to women and infants. We are able to be successful as an independent hospital because our focus is so narrow and unique. Editor What do you think should happen to Medicaid in the state? Ragas Half of the citizens of Louisiana are on Medicaid, and it's going to continue to be the largest payer and provider of coverage in our state for the foreseeable future because of the demographics of our state; it's not going away. I think that we can only continue to try to be more proactive as an industry and work together, stronger, with the Louisiana Department of Health. The new LDH leadership that recently took office has been very proactive about improving Medicaid as a program in the state and has been very proactive thus far in reaching out to providers and asking for feedback on how to improve Medicaid to our citizens. Editor How would you define your leadership style? Ragas First, I believe in leading by example. I always lead by example in anything I do as a leader of our organization. Secondly, I'm going to treat people like I want to be treated. That's important. And finally, instilling a culture of excel- lence in any organization that I'm blessed enough to be able to lead. The culture of excellence involves several parts, including asking our leaders to serve as role models. We are accountable for our actions, and our success is measured by results. Each per- son contributes to innovation and continu- ous improvement. We focus on clear and precise communication, and our actions, words, attitudes, and priorities extend our mission and vision. So, we practice what we preach, and the culture of excellence is what makes us who we are. That culture of excel- lence is something that I hope is exhibited every day in my leadership style. Editor How has working at Woman's changed you? Ragas I think that working in healthcare for over two decades across our state and being able to come to a special place like Woman's has changed my perspective on all the different things that healthcare can bring to our state — the specialized focus of a defined population, our culture of excellence, and high outcomes that are as high as anywhere in the country. It has really shown me what we can do in our state and how good we can do if we've got the right focus, the right team, the right board, the right medical staff at the right time, and give them the resources they need to be successful. How it's changed me is to really be hyper- focused on being the best. And that's not in the capital region, that's not in the state of Louisiana, that's in our country. We've seen it over and over with our awards and recog- nitions from Newsweek to Forbes to Modern Healthcare . It can be done and our state; I think it can be better if we all focused on a premium level of outcomes and care pro- vided to our communities. Editor Thank you for your time. We wish you continued success. Ragas You are welcome, and thank you. n