Latest / Becker’s Healthcare -- Pediatric Leadership Podcast / Peter Baker, Senior Vice President and Administrator at Loma Linda University Children's Health

Transcript

Peter Baker, Senior Vice President and Administrator at Loma Linda University Children's Health · Becker’s Healthcare -- Pediatric Leadership Podcast

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  This is Chris Sosa with the Becker's Healthcare
• 1:16
  podcast.
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  I'm thrilled to be joined by Peter Baker,
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  senior vice president and administrator of Loma Linda
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  University Children's Hospital. Peter, thank you for joining
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  us today.
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  Thank you, Chris. Pleasure to be here.
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  Excellent. Could you please introduce yourself for
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  our listeners who do not know who you
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  are and tell us a bit about your
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  background? Yeah. I'd be happy to. Well, yeah,
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  I serve as the administrator and and and
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  and chief executive for the children's hospital here
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  at Loma Linda. We're about a 365
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  bed children's hospital located in Southern California,
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  serving about
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  a 5th of the land mass
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  of California.
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  And,
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  a little bit about myself,
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  I am am an attorney, by background,
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  and thought I wanted to go to into
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  law. But, you know, as I,
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  developed my own
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  pathway,
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  realized, you know, I really had a a
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  a a desire to get into business,
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  and actually found a lot of enjoyment and
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  satisfaction
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  in in building relationships and collaborations and really
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  finding ways to kind of engage communities.
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  And from that, I actually ventured into into
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  health care from that out of a random
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  interaction, with a health care executive.
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  And,
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  I've been on that path, for the last,
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  15, 20 years,
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  serving in various roles, mostly in business development.
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  Actually, it's where I I as I mentioned,
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  I I have a joy in in finding
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  ways to collaborate
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  and and build new services for for various
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  communities,
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  and and and collaborating with physicians and did
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  that for
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  a large portion of my career and then
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  got into running hospitals, ran a, a,
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  adult hospital,
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  at Loma Linda University Medical Center Marietta,
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  for about 6, 7 years. And then,
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  during that period, I got married,
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  and my wife is a pediatric
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  oncology nurse.
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  And, I was working at Loma Linda Children's.
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  And when the role came up, they said,
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  hey, Peter. You've got some family that's here,
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  and I think you do a great job
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  serving and end up being a great collaboration.
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  So I've been fortunate to to leave the
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  Children's Hospital here for the last 3 years,
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  and grateful for the opportunity to serve.
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  Peter, thank you so much for elaborating on
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  that. I am interested a little more in
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  this random interaction you have with a health
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  care
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  provider or person in the industry. Could you
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  describe a little bit more about that? Yeah.
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  I I, at the time, I was at
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  a wedding, and,
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  there was a CEO for,
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  Adventist Health, who I ended up meeting and
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  and talking with. And and
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  Adventist Health is a is kind of a
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  sister organization of Loma Linda.
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  And they introduced me to to to hospital
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  administration and,
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  thought I might be a good candidate,
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  to be part of their organization. Not something
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  that I thought about, and had a great
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  conversation about, you know, all the things that
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  go into health care, and really realized, you
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  know, that was that aligned with with who
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  I am as a as an individual and,
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  ended up being a better career path. And
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  they reached out a couple weeks later and
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  kinda got me plugged in, and the rest
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  is kinda history from there.
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  Wonderful. It sounds like you're very happy that
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  you landed at Loma Linda for sure. And
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  so in that context, what do you think
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  are your priorities for
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  not only yourself, but Loma Linda University Children's
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  in general?
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  Yeah. That's a great question,
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  Chris.
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  You know, for me, a big priority is
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  just access to pediatric services.
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  You know, there's some changes going on in
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  our industry,
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  particularly as it relates to pediatrics and OB,
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  services and maternity services at at,
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  in in health care.
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  In particular, our region, there's a lot of
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  community hospitals that are closing their pediatric services
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  and OB services. I heard of another one
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  just this week that is in our region
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  that's closing their
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  OB services. So for me,
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  you know, there's a there's a huge focus
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  on
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  giving the capacity
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  for pediatrics,
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  for have making sure we have enough OB
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  OB and pediatric beds to meet the demand
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  in our region,
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  as as more community hospitals,
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  focus more on on adult care services.
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  So that's one of the key priorities,
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  and really improving throughput and
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  responsiveness to community hospitals so that, you know,
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  they can, the the patients they need to
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  come to our hospital, we we are getting
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  them here very quickly. The second priority for
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  me,
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  is really kind of expanding new service lines.
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  Behavioral health and mental health,
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  is really a focus as well. More and
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  more
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  children,
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  especially through the COVID and the and the
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  pandemic,
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  recognize challenges as it relates to mental health.
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  They're really
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  exponentially
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  increased,
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  need for
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  inpatient and outpatient services
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  for these kids.
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  And especially in our market, you know, we
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  just see that as the fastest growing
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  inpatient need in our region. And it's really
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  sad. You know?
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  It's really sad to see that. Unfortunately, more
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  and more kids are being affected
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  by this.
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  But so we feel a huge desire to
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  expand it. We're building a new, what we
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  call a crisis stabilization
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  unit,
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  which is really to support
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  kids who come to our emergency and really
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  just need short term, you know, medications
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  or or just a quick
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  treatment versus an inpatient stay.
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  And so we're building that out as well
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  as we're building a new 49 bed
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  inpatient
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  behavioral health unit as well. So
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  those are some of the things we're doing
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  as well as just expanding our peds, services
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  to
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  accommodate, you know, some of the closures and
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  other things that's going on in our in
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  our region.
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  Peter, as you and your team ponder all
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  those priorities that you just laid out, how
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  how do you see the next 18 months
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  or so playing out in terms of meeting
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  the needs of the community and your own
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  organization?
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  Yeah. I know. That's a good that's a
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  that's a great question.
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  You know, one of the things we are
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  really focused on the 8 next 18 months
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  is is really access to to care in
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  the outpatient setting.
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  And so we're also gonna be growing that.
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  I'm I'm focusing on building a new specialty
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  care medical office building, about a 5 story
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  building where we're kind of consolidating all of
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  our specialty services is in in one place,
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  as well as finding ways to kinda reach
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  out all these different communities with pediatric
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  services.
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  Pediatric urgent cares,
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  outpatient clinics
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  is really gonna be something we're hoping to
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  open up more services in the next 18
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  months or so. So that's that's one.
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  I think we're also trying to find more
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  creative ways to work with our payers.
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  You know, in California,
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  payer dynamics
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  continue to change.
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  It's going from a fee for service
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  world to more of an HMO
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  world. And so,
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  finding ways to to align incentives and and
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  and support
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  that capitated model is is a key focus
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  of ours as well.
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  And then maybe the last thing is just
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  really a strong focus on advocacy.
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  You know, kind of the sad part of
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  pediatric,
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  is is just the lack of
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  physicians that are going into
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  pediatric subspecialists.
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  You know, across the nation,
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  only about 50%
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  of pediatric subspecialty
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  slots are being filled.
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  Unfortunately,
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  you know, physicians are choosing other
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  areas to go into,
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  for their training than pediatrics
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  and pediatric subspecialty services.
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  You know, a big aspect of that is
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  is reimbursement for physicians. And so really working
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  with, you know, our our states and federal
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  government on how do we make,
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  you
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  know, care, whether you're a pediatrician
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  or an adult practicing physician, equal.
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  And unfortunately, we're starting to see the the
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  fruits of,
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  unfortunately, lower reimbursement for
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  for, pediatricians,
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  playing out as just we just have less
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  providers.
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  And so we're hoping to see if we
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  can advocate stronger for that, tell the story
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  of, you know, the the huge need we
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  have in pediatrics
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  and why,
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  are we need to invest in that. So
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  that's that's a big focus of mine,
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  and our and our teams as well.
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  Peter, thank you for expounding on all that.
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  I'm glad you mentioned some of the challenges
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  that you're facing in pediatrics right now with
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  respect to the subspecialists and not being enough
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  of them. Is there anything else in the
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  industry that's making you nervous right now?
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  Yeah. I,
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  I think just broadly
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  advocating for
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  pediatric
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  services and and care. In in California in
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  particular,
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  you know, we've historically had challenges,
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  with pediatric reimbursement.
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  It's been stagnated for the last
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  12 or 13 years.
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  You know, a lot of what we do
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  in pediatrics, unfortunately with the high inflation,
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  you know, continue to advocate for that. And
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  and unfortunately that stagnation,
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  as I mentioned, has caused a lot of
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  hospitals to close their OB and,
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  and pediatric services. And so, you know, just
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  really advocacy
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  around not only just the physician but the
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  the hospital wide
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  services,
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  for for for increased reimbursement that keeps up
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  with inflation is is a huge, huge focus
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  of ours and and and ensuring that will
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  allow
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  us to just continue to broaden
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  services throughout the region,
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  in pediatrics. So that's a big one.
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  And I think
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  I touched on it. Obviously, we're opening behavioral
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  health, but behavioral health for kids
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  is another area where we see a lot
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  of hospitals,
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  health care providers,
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  cutting services. You know,
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  unfortunately, the pandemic has really challenged hospitals.
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  And, you know, oftentimes,
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  you know, as we've mentioned, behavioral health is
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  one of those where you look at, you
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  know, what's essential and sometimes that isn't as
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  essential as some of the
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  other services you're providing. And
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  just making sure we have a strong
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  sustainable model,
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  for behavioral health because there's there's more and
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  more kids who are,
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  recognizing
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  their need for
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  for for treatment therapy,
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  and there's just not enough providers to go
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  around.
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  You know, when you try to get if
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  a child needs a psychiatrist, you try to
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  they come to our emergency department, you know,
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  oftentimes trying to to get them appointment,
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  you know, can be a 2 month or
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  longer
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  challenge. And that's just not acceptable.
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  You know, we got a child who's in
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  in a bit of an emergency. And so,
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  you know, ensuring we have,
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  you know, psychiatrists, therapists, psychologists
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  that and and individuals who wanna go into
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  that and and the ability to,
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  is really a critical
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  need we have, and and and advocating for
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  that is is a priority for for me.
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  And and hopefully, that results in less hospitalizations
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  in the end. You know? I think our
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  hope
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  is building out that outpatient means we get
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  we get less,
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  who end up coming to our ED because
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  there's nowhere else to turn.
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  So that's a that's another concerning area we
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  focus on.
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  On the other side of that coin, Peter,
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  what right now is making you excited that
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  to just to come to work every day
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  saying, yeah, we get to challenge
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  ourselves in meeting this goal, and we're going
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  to do it.
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  I, you know, I love working for a
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  children's hospital. You know, I think, for me,
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  you know,
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  it's a joy to come.
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  You know, it's for me, working in a
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  children's hospital,
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  the passion,
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  of the
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  of the clinicians,
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  the physicians, the nurses, the the clinical
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  the the clinical leaders here all just have
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  just a a a much higher level of
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  engagement and energy,
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  I find, than some of the other
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  opportunities I've had to work. And that just
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  brings joy to me when you're all focused
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  around really,
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  lifting up children, giving them the best environment
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  to get well,
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  and and seeing them progress. And so I
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  love coming in work to work. I love
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  working with the people I get to work
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  with. You know, I'm excited about the future.
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  Despite some of the challenges we've got, we
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  are growing significantly here at Loma Linda. You
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  know, we're bringing a lot more services to
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  this region, this community.
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  So I'm I I get really excited about
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  our expansion projects and our ability to
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  serve more, in our region.
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  And maybe the third thing I'm I I'm
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  incredibly,
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  impressed and excited about is new,
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  therapies that are being offered as particularly gene
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  therapies,
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  you know, illnesses.
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  One of which that affects our community significantly
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  is sickle cell and these,
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  you know,
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  poor children, you know, have this blood disorder
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  that unfortunately is debilitating.
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  And there's new gene therapies that are just
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  hitting the market market that essentially,
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  allows
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  the
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  child to have, you know, infusions
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  that essentially,
• 14:44
  change their blood DNA and sickle cell to
• 14:48
  treat it and cure it. And so that
• 14:51
  new therapy, while quite expensive, is coming on
• 14:53
  the market. And these
• 14:55
  individuals and these these children and these, that
• 14:58
  have been affected by it, are gonna how
• 15:00
  a lot of them are gonna be cured.
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  So it's exciting to see that. We have
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  the same thing with leukemia.
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  Some of these gene therapies, in our in
• 15:08
  our situation, we started offering one that's called
• 15:11
  CAR T therapy where children with leukemia,
• 15:15
  you know, get their blood drawn.
• 15:17
  It goes back to a lab,
• 15:19
  and it gets reengineered
• 15:21
  to have the the,
• 15:23
  blood cells go and target,
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  the leukemia
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  blood cells,
• 15:28
  and destroy them so that the child is
• 15:30
  is cured. And then get and then that
• 15:33
  blood gets reinfused in them, and they're cured.
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  And so these gene therapies are a game
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  changer. You know, I dream of the day
• 15:41
  we may have we we would be able
• 15:43
  to close our our pediatric cancer unit, but
• 15:46
  it's really exciting and inspiring to see this
• 15:48
  and to see these these ailments that have
• 15:51
  affected children,
• 15:52
  have the potential to be going away. So
• 15:55
  those are some of the things that really
• 15:56
  excite me.
• 15:58
  Certainly, everyone will welcome a day when all
• 16:00
  the children's cancer centers could be closed, and,
• 16:02
  hopefully, that day is closer than we think.
• 16:04
  I mean, I'm glad you mentioned the therapies.
• 16:06
  I was just talking to Dan Fields over
• 16:08
  at CHOP, and he mentioned those as well.
• 16:10
  It's just really exciting
• 16:12
  what physicians and scientists were able to do
• 16:14
  on that front.
• 16:16
  Yeah. It's it's incredible. I mean, it's really
• 16:18
  incredible. I mean, it's an exciting time,
• 16:21
  to be able to be a part of
• 16:23
  this. You know?
• 16:24
  So,
• 16:25
  yeah, it's it's it's gonna make a big
• 16:28
  difference on in in kids.
• 16:30
  So we're we're thrilled.
• 16:32
  Lastly, Peter, is there anything else regarding pediatrics
• 16:36
  that you would like to see a brighter
• 16:37
  spotlight on?
• 16:39
  Yeah.
• 16:41
  I think just continuing
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  to advocate. You know? I think I've talked
• 16:45
  touched on this. You know? But
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  really just,
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  keeping forefront, you know, concerns around,
• 16:52
  you know, just reduction of of these services
• 16:55
  in in in the communities. And I I
• 16:57
  think I've talked a little about it, but
• 16:59
  it it it's certainly something that keeps me
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  concerned
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  at night is, you know, making sure our
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  kids have access to care.
• 17:06
  And
• 17:07
  hopefully as we kind of go through this,
• 17:08
  I'm I'm seeing some movement in California where,
• 17:11
  you know, it sounds like they're looking to
• 17:13
  to move some of their reimbursement to that
• 17:16
  has historically been underfunded
• 17:18
  towards
• 17:18
  centers that have OB services and maternity services,
• 17:22
  as well as pediatrics
• 17:24
  to offer more funding so that we can
• 17:26
  have access more access to care.
• 17:28
  So I think that just continues to be
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  a a big focus of ours and and
• 17:31
  advocacy. So
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  Peter, thank you for being so generous with
• 17:36
  your time and insights today. We absolutely cannot
• 17:38
  wait to share them with our audience, and
• 17:40
  we look forward to connecting with you again
• 17:41
  soon.
• 17:42
  Hey. Thanks, Chris. Great to be here.