Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Stabilizing Operations and Workforce at Henry Ford Health with Emily Moorhead

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Stabilizing Operations and Workforce at Henry Ford Health with Emily Moorhead · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

0:01
This is where health care leadership comes together.
0:04
Becker's sixteenth annual meeting brings more than 3,500
0:07
hospital and health system executives and nearly 800
0:10
speakers to Chicago, April 13 through the sixteenth.
0:14
This year's event includes keynote conversations with Dallas
0:17
Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former president George
0:20
w Bush. For the agenda and event details,
0:22
visit beckershospitalreview.com
0:25
and click on the events tab in the
0:26
upper right. We're looking forward to hosting you
0:29
in Chicago.
0:31
This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
0:34
Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
0:36
Emily Moorhead, president of the Macomb Market at
0:38
Henry Ford Health. Emily, it's a pleasure to
0:40
have you on the podcast today. Thank you
0:42
so much, Laura. It's a pleasure being
0:44
here. Absolutely. Now this is an exciting, time
0:47
in health care right now. I know there's
0:49
a lot going on. I'm particularly looking forward
0:51
to our conversation because,
0:53
getting your perspective on some of the cool
0:54
things you're doing at Henry Ford as well
0:56
as
1:01
how you're thinking about the future will be,
1:01
really, really beneficial for our broader audience. But
1:01
before we dive in, can you tell us
1:03
just a little bit more about yourself and
1:04
the health system?
1:06
Yeah. I would love to. So I'm the
1:08
president of Henry Ford Macomb, as you stated,
1:11
which is a large tertiary hub within the
1:14
Henry Ford health system in Southeastern Michigan.
1:17
We're actually one of the fastest growing counties
1:21
in Michigan. So Macomb County actually has 11
1:24
people moving into the county
1:26
every single day.
1:28
So it's a very fast growing county.
1:31
It's the third largest in Michigan,
1:34
and we really have a
1:36
highly diverse population.
1:39
So the Macomb market, I'm responsible
1:42
for a full range of acute and ambulatory
1:45
services here.
1:47
And, I've been with the health system for,
1:50
gosh, it's been over six years now. I've
1:53
only been at the Macomb market and servicing
1:55
Macomb for the last six months.
1:58
Prior to that, I had the honor and
2:00
privilege of serving as the president of the
2:03
Jackson market in Jackson, Michigan,
2:05
which is more South Central Michigan,
2:09
but also with Henry Ford. So it's an
2:11
absolute pleasure. It's a wonderful organization, and it's
2:14
a a true honor to to have this
2:16
opportunity to serve this population.
2:19
That makes a lot of sense. And, you
2:20
know, it's, so incredible to have that kind
2:23
of community around you, and I can imagine
2:25
a lot of the folks,
2:26
living with the community and grow up there,
2:29
end up working at the hospital and caring
2:31
for their own neighbors and community members, which
2:33
is always such a special culture to be
2:35
able to build.
2:36
Oh, you you hit the nail on the
2:38
head. That is definitely something that is very
2:40
special.
2:42
Macomb seems although it's a little bit more
2:44
of an urban population than what I served
2:47
in Jackson, Michigan, which was a little bit
2:49
more rural,
2:51
similar culture,
2:52
like you said, where you have people that
2:55
are servicing
2:56
a a community that they live in and
2:58
they play in. And so it's their friends,
3:00
their neighbors,
3:02
and it it's really a tight knit team.
3:05
It's it's definitely not a job. It's more
3:07
of a calling.
3:09
Absolutely. And it's so is so much of
3:11
health care. Now when you think about the
3:13
last year or so, could you tell us
3:14
about an initiative that you led? What did
3:16
you do, and what were the results?
3:18
Oh, goodness. Yes.
3:20
You know, I think the most impactful initiative,
3:24
and it's it's not over. It's gonna be
3:26
continuing into 2026,
3:28
is really more on the operational
3:31
stabilization.
3:33
And I'm gonna add another one around workforce
3:35
stabilization
3:36
and and workforce sustainability.
3:39
We really do need to do a reset
3:42
in health care. We we have a lot
3:44
of burnout.
3:45
There's inconsistency.
3:47
I think
3:48
prior to us starting, we were talking a
3:50
little bit about all the headwinds that health
3:53
care is experiencing right now. And just that
3:56
lack of clarity around priorities,
4:00
is definitely something that I've I've had to
4:03
slow down to speed up, if you will,
4:05
in the last year where
4:08
we need to take a step back. We
4:09
really need to make sure that we're working
4:12
on the right things,
4:13
that
4:14
we're okay with saying, okay. We can't do
4:17
that right now. We're gonna put that on
4:19
the back burner so that we can really
4:21
stay focused
4:22
on the things that are really gonna make
4:24
an impact,
4:26
around staffing, throughput,
4:28
discharge processes,
4:30
and really creating that leadership
4:33
sustainability
4:34
and that leadership visibility,
4:36
so that frontline teams feel supported.
4:40
And, we can make sure that we stop
4:42
the the turnover rates,
4:45
that health care has been experiencing in recent
4:47
years and and really create more,
4:50
retention and cultures of belonging.
4:53
I love that. And I think it's so
4:54
critical to have that type of mindset when
4:57
you're thinking about the workforce and when there's
4:59
so many stressors out there today,
5:01
and especially
5:02
not only for clinicians and others when they're
5:05
thinking about caring for patients, but also just
5:07
knowing how much is changing about the workforce
5:09
and how work is done in the health
5:11
care space, I can imagine it's a lot
5:13
to take in. And so when you are
5:15
taking that lens and trying to build in
5:17
some additional,
5:19
ways to support the frontline teams and and,
5:22
stop some of the turnover,
5:24
how do you see yourselves doing that, or
5:26
what's been the most successful ways? You know,
5:28
how can you
5:29
obviously build the culture that you want, but
5:31
at the same time,
5:32
change
5:33
with the times and leveraging all the different
5:36
opportunities and possibilities to keep the right access
5:38
to care and quality and all those kinds
5:40
of things for patients?
5:42
Yeah. I I think really a focus on
5:44
metrics,
5:46
and making sure that we're heading in the
5:48
right direction
5:49
and being okay to even celebrate our failures.
5:52
Right? If if something's not working around our
5:56
throughput process, for example, we have to
5:59
be courageous
6:01
in our leadership,
6:02
from my level all the way down to
6:05
the supervisory
6:07
level
6:07
to take a step back and say, hold
6:09
on. Something's not working, and we're gonna have
6:12
to tweak that.
6:13
You know, I think the engagement and the
6:15
belonging scores has been a huge focus,
6:19
you know, not just in the last year,
6:21
but definitely
6:22
in the last year and and definitely into
6:24
2026.
6:25
Really slimming down those initiatives
6:27
and making sure that we're not jumping to
6:30
the next shiny thing, that we're not getting
6:32
too distracted with everything that's hitting us. It's
6:35
really easy to
6:37
get very busy. You'll see my air quotes,
6:40
if we're on video,
6:42
but not necessarily
6:44
making progress. That's why we need to have
6:47
clear measures
6:49
of outcomes,
6:50
and really making sure that there's clear ownership
6:53
as well.
6:55
There's nothing worse than when you think that
6:57
somebody's got the ball and is is running
6:59
towards,
7:01
some improvement opportunities. And then the next meeting
7:04
comes around and everybody's looking and and saying,
7:06
oh, yeah. We should do that. And and
7:08
nobody's actually owned it. So really making sure
7:10
that we're getting back to the basics of
7:13
who's owning what, how are we gonna measure
7:15
success,
7:16
and making sure that we're also circling back
7:18
and celebrating those successes. As minute as they
7:22
are, baby steps is still progress.
7:24
So we have to make sure that we're
7:26
celebrating the things that we're doing,
7:29
around the patient experience, around staff engagement,
7:32
really making sure that people are feeling supported,
7:36
and empowered
7:37
to stop the line, to say, hey. This
7:40
isn't working the way that we thought it
7:42
was going to, and that's okay, and let's
7:44
tweak along the way as we go.
7:47
I think we need to get more nimble
7:49
in health care, and that's something that we're
7:50
really working on here.
7:52
That makes a lot of sense, and I
7:54
appreciate you, you know, explaining that a little
7:56
bit further and helping us understand, you know,
7:58
how, you're you're thinking through these things and
8:01
what, is gonna make a difference for 2026.
8:03
And speaking of that, I know you mentioned
8:06
some big headwinds ahead.
8:08
Which ones are you most focused on? What
8:09
are your top priorities? How are you thinking
8:11
about the next year?
8:13
Yeah. I would say it kinda
8:15
boils down to three main things, or I
8:18
will boil it down to three main things,
8:20
which, you know, number one has to be
8:22
financial
8:23
sustainability.
8:24
The headwinds around
8:26
reimbursement trends and,
8:29
access and insurance,
8:32
accessibility,
8:34
health care navigation and access, we have to
8:36
be financially sustainable. So that's number one.
8:40
That workforce resilience
8:41
and in workforce retention,
8:44
we really need to make sure that we
8:47
have a stable workforce,
8:49
in the years ahead.
8:51
And then I would just say execution discipline,
8:54
really making sure that we have clear owners,
8:57
clear measures,
8:58
not too many initiatives that we're we're making
9:01
sure that we're prioritizing
9:03
appropriately.
9:04
You know, I think that
9:06
oftentimes
9:07
when we look at our cost models,
9:10
they're misaligned.
9:12
Labor and supply costs are continuing to rise,
9:15
and yet the reimbursement
9:17
lags.
9:18
And then, you know, patient
9:20
expectations are continuing
9:21
to change,
9:23
in the years ahead.
9:25
The the health care model
9:27
of the past of the traditionalist and the
9:30
baby boomer boomers is shifting,
9:34
with different expectations of our consumers, and and
9:37
we need to be nimble and
9:39
evolve with that.
9:41
Absolutely. And that's such a great point because
9:43
I think, you know, when you look at
9:44
the
9:45
side of it when,
9:47
you know, there's the patient
9:48
expectations, the health care consumer trying to understand
9:51
what this, you know, next generations of of
9:54
high consumers and their families, quite frankly, are
9:56
gonna want and need from their health care
9:58
space.
9:59
How do you make those evolutions,
10:02
match up within, you know, looking ahead, like,
10:05
to those plans, but then knowing kind of
10:07
the financial constraints that exist today and the
10:10
the potential challenges that are ahead,
10:13
and and just being smart about resource allocation.
10:15
I think that's one of the things that
10:17
comes up time and time and again when
10:18
I'm speaking with leaders. And so how do
10:21
you keep your teams grounded,
10:24
but also, you know, making sure that you're
10:26
not getting,
10:27
stuck into the past or or a place
10:29
where, you know, you're gonna be left behind,
10:32
as health care continues to evolve.
10:34
Yeah. Yeah. Gosh.
10:36
And I I think it's a it's a
10:38
big challenge,
10:40
and we're gonna have to
10:42
reassess
10:43
constantly because
10:45
driving
10:46
productivity
10:48
by asking to do more with less, it
10:51
it just isn't gonna work. And we're seeing
10:54
that, and that's why the high burnout and
10:56
the high turnover rates,
10:58
that we've been battling for years. So it's
11:01
really around smarter care models.
11:03
In my mind that we are consistently
11:07
reassessing
11:08
the way that we're doing the work,
11:10
This means everything from, do we have the
11:13
right skill set
11:15
in the right roles?
11:17
When we have attrition and retirements,
11:20
it's a wonderful time to take a step
11:21
back and say, instead of just replacing that
11:24
position as is,
11:26
do we need a different level?
11:28
Do we need an a
11:31
an advanced practice practitioner to replace a physician,
11:35
or do we need a physician to replace
11:37
the advanced practice practitioner,
11:40
because we're seeing different disease states or, an
11:43
aging population or different disparities of care.
11:47
I really think that we need to start
11:51
tackling
11:52
avoidable variation.
11:55
There's there's waste in health care.
11:57
We
11:59
need to make sure that we're being courageous
12:02
leaders,
12:03
in our organizations
12:04
and saying,
12:06
do we really need to be doing that
12:07
test every
12:09
day or every four hours?
12:11
Is there
12:13
different ways that we can be utilizing our
12:15
resources?
12:16
Is that test going to change the diagnosis
12:19
or the treatment plan?
12:21
And not just checking the box because we've
12:24
always done it. I think that we need
12:26
to be asking ourselves why
12:28
are we doing this,
12:30
who's doing the work,
12:32
and then, you know, making sure it's not
12:34
a popular thing for a hospital president to
12:37
say. But
12:38
we really want to make sure that people
12:41
are getting care in the right location,
12:44
which oftentimes, unless you're really sick and need
12:48
ICU care or surgery
12:50
or there's been a trauma,
12:52
we really need to be driving more access
12:54
to the outpatient world, which is the lower
12:57
cost
12:58
place to be getting your care anyway.
13:01
How do we start leveraging the home environment
13:04
more, leveraging technology with with telehealth,
13:08
opportunities
13:09
and,
13:10
mail order and people coming into the home
13:13
as opposed to having to have a lot
13:16
of expensive bricks and mortar.
13:19
That is fascinating to hear. And I think,
13:21
certainly, you know, kind of the age old
13:23
question,
13:24
especially in these days is you're trying to
13:26
figure out how to make the dollar stretch
13:28
more. You know, it it it almost seems
13:30
like,
13:32
just a huge challenge. And then looking at
13:34
quality of care too, how do you create
13:36
that access and create that experience that patients
13:39
want with the same quality,
13:41
you know,
13:42
in knowing that the payment might not match
13:44
up as it did when everything was in
13:45
the inpatient hospital. So I think that's so
13:48
critical and and a fascinating kind of,
13:51
you know,
13:52
thing that that hospital leaders are having to
13:54
deal with right now.
13:56
Mhmm. Absolutely.
13:57
Absolutely. And, you know, something that definitely comes
14:00
to mind or it's front and center because
14:03
earlier today,
14:04
we had a leadership forum where we were
14:09
it was it was more of a town
14:11
hall that was led by our emergency management
14:14
department,
14:15
really talking about what are the things that
14:17
keep you up at night. And a theme,
14:20
and this is something that definitely makes me
14:22
toss and turn at night, is around the
14:25
aggressive patient behaviors that we're seeing.
14:29
It is rare for a day to go
14:31
by on our safety huddle not to hear
14:34
about someone being hurt at work.
14:36
And those you should be never events.
14:40
It's never okay to be hurt at work,
14:43
whether that's a a physical
14:46
abuse or a verbal abuse or, god forbid,
14:50
a a a sexual abuse.
14:53
In our frontline workers
14:55
are in such a vulnerable space
14:58
right now,
14:59
and it's it's something that we heard all
15:02
departments,
15:03
all all units.
15:05
It's on the top of everybody's mind and
15:08
how to make sure that we're we're creating
15:11
that zero tolerance
15:13
environment.
15:14
Yes. The expectations of our patients are changing,
15:17
and
15:18
it's not okay that we're
15:20
allowing folks to continue to,
15:23
abuse the people that are caring for them.
15:27
That's such an excellent point and, you know,
15:29
very well said. A problem without an easy
15:31
solution, I know.
15:32
And, you know, speaking of that, what do
15:35
you think the hardest thing you'll have to
15:36
do in the coming year will be?
15:38
Well, I think definitely addressing that that safety
15:42
issue.
15:44
You know, I think we also
15:46
it it it's difficult decisions. That's what I'll
15:49
group it into,
15:50
because there's a lot in that.
15:53
But we have to be comfortable, and I
15:55
have to be comfortable making difficult, unpopular
15:59
decisions.
16:00
And that's everything from
16:02
adhering to
16:04
the administrative
16:05
discharge policy, for example,
16:08
in regard
16:10
to any unacceptable
16:11
behaviors from our patients.
16:13
We really need
16:15
to be able to be courageous and make
16:17
that difficult decision that unless coming in through
16:21
the ED,
16:22
unless a trauma,
16:24
that patients that have
16:26
a track record of abuse,
16:29
are going to have to
16:31
get help elsewhere.
16:33
I also think making sure that we're
16:36
saying, you know, it's we gotta stop doing
16:39
some things. And it's not because it's not
16:41
important.
16:43
It's because we have
16:45
to
16:46
prioritize
16:47
our time, our resources,
16:50
on things that are gonna give the biggest
16:52
impact.
16:53
Now that being said, we also need to
16:55
keep a a tally and a running list
16:57
of the things that need to be revisited
16:59
on a regular basis, but
17:01
I really think that
17:03
the difficult decisions,
17:06
challenging folks of we're not just gonna replace
17:09
this position because we've always had it. We're
17:11
not always going to
17:13
have to provide these services
17:16
at all of our locations. We're gonna have
17:19
to make some tough decisions
17:21
just because of the competency of our staff
17:23
too.
17:24
It's the right thing to do.
17:27
And then, you know, kinda in gauging
17:29
our
17:30
community,
17:31
I was meeting with some community leaders yesterday,
17:35
and one of the, it was a trusted
17:37
advisor group that I've set up and
17:40
different community leaders, political leaders, etcetera.
17:44
And one of the things that really struck
17:46
struck me in the conversation
17:48
was
17:49
just the lack of trust that people have
17:52
in health care today,
17:54
and how do we regain that trust of
17:57
our consumers
17:58
and the reputation
18:00
and making sure that people see us
18:03
as a
18:04
a service provider
18:05
and,
18:07
a a reliant
18:09
team, not somebody that,
18:12
is is being
18:13
untruthful
18:14
or,
18:16
telling you that you need to get surgery
18:17
when you don't really need surgery.
18:20
We really need to regain our trust of
18:23
our communities
18:24
that we are their partner in health.
18:26
Fascinating to hear. And, you know, I I
18:28
think it's such, so interesting to get that,
18:31
kind of,
18:33
community focus and community based. I think, you
18:35
know, when you talk about,
18:38
being in that position where you have to
18:39
potentially make cutbacks or do things that,
18:43
you know,
18:44
are not,
18:45
necessarily,
18:47
exciting for for the broader organization, but will
18:50
be better to build, you know, the foundation
18:52
for sustainability
18:53
moving forward.
18:54
How do you prepare leaders for that? What's
18:56
the kind of communication that you have to
18:58
do,
18:59
to get ready for those kinds of things,
19:02
and and try to make it go as
19:04
smoothly as possible even though it's a, you
19:06
know, a big challenge and and something that
19:08
so many hospitals and systems are facing today.
19:11
Yeah.
19:13
And I would say that
19:15
it comes down to culture,
19:18
and it comes down to
19:20
open
19:21
and candid and honest
19:24
conversation.
19:26
We need to make sure and here at
19:29
at Macomb, because I'm a new leader here,
19:32
people are getting to know me after six
19:35
months.
19:36
So there's been definitely a lot of storming
19:38
and norming, if you will, relationship
19:41
building,
19:42
both in large groups as well as small
19:44
groups, but also
19:46
cross
19:47
cross partnerships.
19:49
So making sure that
19:51
leaders of different units, different departments,
19:54
different environments,
19:56
the ambulatory world versus the hospital based world,
20:00
and hearing what their initiatives are. Because what
20:03
I love about health care and health care
20:05
operations is that everything is so
20:08
so linked,
20:09
and that you you can pull a string
20:12
or a lever in one area.
20:14
And if you're not being mindful and intentional,
20:17
it can cause a downstream,
20:20
either positive or negative impact on a different
20:23
department.
20:24
So we've really done a lot of work
20:26
around the transparency
20:28
of the things that we're working on.
20:30
It starts with executive leadership. My executive leadership
20:34
team and I, we
20:35
came together at the 2025,
20:39
established our
20:41
our vision for the future as well as
20:45
our intention for 2026,
20:47
the things that we're committed to
20:50
as a leadership team and how we're gonna
20:52
support them moving forward.
20:54
And, then, consequently,
20:57
we asked for each department
21:00
to also create a plan,
21:04
according to our strategic plan
21:06
of the initiatives that they're gonna focus on.
21:09
We challenged your each other on making sure
21:12
that there was not
21:13
500 different things on that list that were
21:16
really focused
21:17
and have measurable
21:19
outcomes and metrics that are gonna be looked
21:22
at, both leading indicators as well as the
21:24
lagging indicators,
21:26
so that we can make sure that we
21:29
all are aware
21:30
of the things that we're working on as
21:32
well as
21:34
engaging our frontline staff. It was really important
21:37
to me,
21:39
while we were developing our 2026
21:42
plan that staff knew
21:44
what was important to leadership, but also how
21:48
when they show up to work every day
21:50
and they're making their individual
21:52
contributions,
21:53
how that's leading
21:55
to the outcome measures that we're reporting out
21:59
on a monthly basis on our dashboards
22:02
so that they can say, you know, I
22:03
am making a difference.
22:05
I'll just tell you a quick story.
22:09
Yesterday,
22:10
it was the the best day of of
22:13
my week for sure.
22:15
I had an opportunity to job shadow with
22:18
food service.
22:20
So I I did a a couple hours
22:22
in the kitchen to see how
22:25
the dishes were washed and that the trays
22:27
were prepared.
22:29
I rolled silverware.
22:31
I I had the gear on. People started
22:33
to see me as just a trainee.
22:37
That's how I wanted to be treated.
22:39
And then I spent the rest of the
22:41
shift,
22:42
actually passing
22:43
trays to patients
22:45
and and following around,
22:48
one of our tray passers.
22:50
And then the the very end of the
22:52
shift, because all of the trays were passed,
22:54
we started to take dinner orders and
22:56
breakfast for the following day.
22:59
And I will tell you,
23:02
the woman that was training me, she looked
23:04
at me in the elevator, and she said,
23:06
I'm so nervous walking around with you because
23:11
you are so important, and I am not.
23:14
And I paused
23:16
because it felt like just such a a
23:19
punch to the stomach because I looked at
23:21
her and I gave her the biggest hug,
23:23
and I said,
23:24
you are one of the most important people
23:27
here.
23:28
And I just so very appreciate you, and
23:31
I don't want you to be nervous
23:33
because you
23:34
are making a difference in our patients' lives.
23:37
And I see the smile on
23:40
the faces that you're you're bringing in the
23:42
food, and you're making them
23:44
happy
23:45
and, nourished,
23:47
and they are getting to know you. And
23:49
she was just beaming, and she said, you
23:51
know, now that you say that, someone stopped
23:54
me in the grocery store the other day
23:56
and said, you brought me my food, and
23:58
I just wanna give you a hug. And
23:59
she said, I think you're right. I do
24:01
make a difference.
24:02
So I really think just
24:04
we we gotta make sure that our staff
24:07
are feeling loved and supported and
24:10
realize
24:11
the difference that they make each and every
24:13
day,
24:15
because it's the little things that are gonna
24:17
get us to the big things.
24:19
I love that story. I I I think
24:21
it's so illustrative of, you know, what it
24:24
takes in order to be actually at the
24:25
front lines, actually taking care of patients and
24:28
the little things that can make a big
24:29
difference as as people are going through whatever
24:32
health care journey they're going through, within the
24:35
hospital. So I I love that. And and,
24:37
certainly,
24:38
being able to keep that priority and make
24:40
sure that staff understands their role in the,
24:43
creating that experience and the outcomes for patients
24:46
is just incredible.
24:48
Before we wrap up here, I just wanted
24:49
to see, are there any other opportunities that
24:51
you're looking at for growth in the next
24:53
year or so?
24:55
Oh, absolutely.
24:56
With a growing county that I have the
24:59
opportunity to serve in, I have to be
25:01
looking at growth.
25:03
And we have an aging population
25:05
as well as a very mixed diverse population
25:08
in terms of socioeconomic
25:10
and ethnicity.
25:12
So we are looking at growth in in
25:15
lots of different areas,
25:17
particularly in the tertiary,
25:19
spaces,
25:21
more complex advanced care.
25:23
We're not just a community hospital. I think
25:26
that as we're looking at access,
25:30
opportunities
25:31
and what needs to be done in the
25:33
hospital,
25:34
we're really making sure that people have access
25:36
to those services close to home.
25:39
We are never gonna be a quaternary center.
25:41
That's what we have our downtown
25:44
hospitals for.
25:46
There are level ones.
25:48
They're doing the transplants.
25:50
But here at Macomb, we're really making sure
25:53
that we're focusing
25:54
on a lot of high complex surgeries.
25:57
Cardiac is a huge growth opportunity for us
26:00
as well as neurosurgery
26:02
and and spine care,
26:04
as well as, really making sure that people
26:07
have access to primary care.
26:09
I talked a little bit about variation in
26:11
the beginning of our talk.
26:13
I really think that the prevention
26:15
and moving the care up stream
26:18
is the wave of the future.
26:21
And I personally am not celebrating when my
26:24
ED volume is super, super high.
26:27
I'm actually asking the question of how many
26:30
of those ED visits could have actually been
26:33
seen in the primary care visits or,
26:36
could be going to a freestanding
26:38
ED or an urgent care. So we're really
26:41
looking at that information to make sure that
26:43
people aren't coming to the hospital unnecessarily.
26:47
So, really, that balance
26:49
of the growth
26:51
on the things that people need to be
26:53
in the four walls for and then the
26:55
decanting,
26:57
for those services that should be done elsewhere
27:00
is, is a huge focus area.
27:03
That's so helpful to understand. Emily, thank you
27:05
so much for joining us on the podcast
27:07
today. This has been, an incredible conversation. I
27:10
appreciate your candor and, you know, looking ahead
27:13
at some of the great opportunities as well
27:14
as challenges. So, thank you for your time.
27:17
I look forward to seeing you at our
27:18
annual meeting. I know you'll be speaking on
27:19
a panel in April, and it'll be exciting
27:21
to dig deeper into some of these themes
27:23
as well as, just be able to connect
27:25
with so many leaders from across the country.
27:27
So I'm excited to see you there.
27:29
Yes. I am looking forward to it as
27:31
well, Laura. I'll see you in April. Thank
27:33
you so much for the opportunity, and have
27:35
a great rest of your day.