Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Qualenta Kivett, Executive Vice President and Chief People and Talent Officer at Tampa General Hospital

Transcript

Qualenta Kivett, Executive Vice President and Chief People and Talent Officer at Tampa General Hospital · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  This is Laura Dirdo with the Becker's Healthcare
• 0:02
  podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
• 0:04
  Valenta Kivett, executive vice president and chief people
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  and talent officer at Tampa General Hospital. Valenta,
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  it's a pleasure to have you on the
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  podcast today.
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  Laura, thank you so much for your time.
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  I'm happy to be here.
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  Absolutely. Now I'm excited for our conversation because
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  I know Tampa General is such a unique
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  organization.
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  A lot of innovative things happening, as well
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  as a place where, you know, so many
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  people love to to work and be. So
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  excited to talk with you. But before we
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  dive into the broader discussion, can you tell
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  me a little bit more about yourself as
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  well as Tampa General?
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  Absolutely. So Tampa General is our region's only
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  academic medical center. As you can imagine, we
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  are very busy, with a lot of specialties.
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  And
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  the health care that's provided here is high
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  quality,
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  safe, and innovative. And I think those together,
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  with the deep passion and dedication of our
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  team members is what really is our differentiator.
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  So we have specialty, subspecialties,
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  but our growth in not only the Tampa
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  Bay area, but throughout the state of Florida
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  and our partnerships,
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  not only nationally, but internationally
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  have really enabled us to
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  to approach some really cutting edge and leading
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  edge,
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  health care and care for our patients. So
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  I know that's that was all about, Tampa
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  General, but that's why I'm here is the
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  work that we do each and every day
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  that we're able to do. And my role
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  really focuses on, our team members
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  and ensuring that we're keeping our team members
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  as well as our supporting that patient,
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  focus
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  as we continue to grow and provide the
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  safest most innovative health care.
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  I love that. I I think it's so
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  critical to have that type of background and
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  and culture within the organization that truly cares
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  about the community and the the people they're
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  serving as well as the people within the
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  organization. So I'm curious, from your perspective in
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  in where you sit, as chief people and
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  talent officer, what are some of the trends
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  that you're walk watching currently? What's top of
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  mind for you?
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  There's so many things, but I'll try to
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  boil them down.
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  One of the
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  the
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  focus that we have is really understanding
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  what enables our team members to show up
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  each and every day, show up as their
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  authentic self, and provide the the safest
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  and best care, not only to our patients,
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  the families, the visitors, and each other.
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  And so what we try to do is
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  take a step back and understand what gets
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  in the way of that.
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  One of those things that we're watching, I
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  don't think this is a new trend, but
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  we do have some new trends that are
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  influencing this. So one of the things that
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  we are watching is how can we ensure
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  that our team members are able to work
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  at the top of their license and or
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  skill set.
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  What that means is what's getting in their
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  way, whether it's a process,
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  whether it's a technology,
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  whatever that is that's getting in their way,
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  what we're doing about that is really focusing
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  on
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  what are the barriers and how do we
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  remove those. So a good example of this
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  is ambient listening.
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  For our physicians and our clinics, we have
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  now ambient listening where a patient can come
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  in.
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  They have the the physician can look at,
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  be with the patient because that's why they
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  got into this industry.
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  And the ambient listening device will pull out
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  the key pieces of their discussion. Obviously, the
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  patient consents,
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  and then they're able to upload that directly
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  into our electronic medical record. The physician
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  gets to be present with the team member
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  or present with the patient, excuse me.
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  And after the patient visit, they're not spending
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  multiple hours
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  trying to take down all of the notes.
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  What they're doing is looking at the notes,
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  ensuring accuracy,
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  and being able to complete those in a
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  much more timely manner.
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  So that is one of the things that
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  we're doing, but we are also looking at
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  how does AI
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  complement the work that we're doing, whether administratively
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  or in the patient care setting.
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  And these are things that we're willing to
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  try and fail fast.
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  The other
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  I'll I'll pivot. The other pieces that we're
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  looking at is how can we support our
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  team members also
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  in their development
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  and growth. That continues to be an area
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  that has a lot of interest of our
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  team members
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  is how do they continue to develop in
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  not only patient care but in current technologies.
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  And so we have multiple ways that team
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  members can, whether it's tuition reimbursement, skills reimbursement,
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  classes through our USF and TGH people development
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  institute, which is a partnership that we have
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  that allow them to continue
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  to develop in a way that is most
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  meaningful
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  for them. So I'll stop there but those
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  are just a couple of the the trends
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  that we're watching is that we're seeing that
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  appetite for education
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  continue to grow
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  and we're strengthening those partnerships with
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  our the schools that are around us in
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  our programs.
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  And then the other example being, what is
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  the influence of AI to help our team
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  members show up,
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  and really be present with the patient, which
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  is how and why they got into the
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  the business to begin with.
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  I love that. And I think both of
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  those elements that you talked about, whether it's
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  that career development and hunger for additional knowledge
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  and continued learning or AI and how that
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  integrates into the workflow
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  and workforce is really critical today. I I'm
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  curious, you know, when you look at that
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  idea of that continued upscaling,
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  and what skills are gonna be needed for
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  the future plus,
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  AI
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  in how that, you know, is going to
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  be ever present as we move forward,
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  Is there anything that you're doing to prepare
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  or equip, the team
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  to have a different additional knowledge in AI?
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  Or where do you see some of the
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  areas that really are, spaces you want the
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  team to continue to lean into even more
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  as they're, having additional professional development at Grilled?
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  I have to start by saying that our
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  leader that really leads our AI component, doctor
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  Nish Patel, and our chief, information and technology
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  officer, Scott Arnold, have set up a really,
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  robust
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  governance
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  around AI to make sure that we are
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  looking at,
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  any type of technology, but specifically AI, the
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  the efficacy and ethics of what we're using.
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  So I think that's number one is that
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  there has to be confidence in the approach
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  that we're using. So that's number one. The
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  second piece is inviting our team members in
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  to bring some of this technology.
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  Our team members, we have through our innovation
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  and other avenues, ways for our team members
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  to bring up
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  what is a challenge to them, and then
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  most of times, many times, they're involved in
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  the solutioning of that. And so when we
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  involve the experts at the bedside or, you
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  know, at the computer screen, whatever their expertise
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  is,
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  that is going to bring us closer to
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  resolutions
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  and solutions that are going to be beneficial
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  for them.
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  And that allows us to really sit in
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  the seat of, is this something
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  that we can do? And if we can,
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  how do we get it done? We we
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  are leaning on the team member or the
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  person that brought it up to figure out
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  is this the solution that would be helpful
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  for them.
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  So I would say for us, those are
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  the two ways we're getting our team members
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  ready, and we're celebrating.
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  I know that that may sound a little
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  soft, but in celebrating those that are coming
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  up with different ways of doing things, it
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  doesn't always have to be technology,
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  but it's the celebration of doing something different
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  is something we have to embrace. The world
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  is changing around us. Health care has to
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  change too. So reminding people that it's okay
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  to disrupt
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  and celebrating that those disruptions.
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  That makes a lot of sense. I I
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  appreciate you digging a little bit deeper there.
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  Now what are you focused on and excited
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  about right now? Could you tell me a
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  little bit about some of the things that
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  are are really,
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  exciting and motivating for
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  you? Absolutely. So I think a lot of
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  the pieces of what we've done over the
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  the last several years,
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  Obviously, we you see the awards that we
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  have gotten in recognition from a patient care
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  perspective,
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  and
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  I see us leaning a lot more, continuing
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  to lead in that. So
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  getting more research and growing our research, growing
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  our partnerships across the state. So when you
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  ask me what am I excited about, there's
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  so many,
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  state. So when you ask me what am
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  I excited about, there's so many things but
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  it comes back to our ability to care
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  for the communities
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  in which we serve.
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  And so as we care for the communities
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  in which we serve, we're also providing those
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  opportunities for team members to grow across the
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  state where they are
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  and also think about how they are leading
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  in the the functions in which they're performing.
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  So I would say there are two things
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  that I'm really excited about. Number one
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  is the work that we're continuing to do
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  in quality with our leader, doctor Peggy Duggan,
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  our chief medical executive.
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  Under
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  Doctor. Duggan's leadership we are really
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  continuing to advance in our quality
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  and bringing on partnerships
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  that are allowing our team members to understand
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  the behaviors
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  that really do influence that patient care and
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  safety and quality.
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  So, it's such a tight partnership that we
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  have,
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  that we're continuing to grow together
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  in developing competencies. So, that's one of the
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  big ones that's coming up are the core
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  competencies and behaviors
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  that we can point to that really lead
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  to that enhanced quality
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  and engagement.
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  So that's one.
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  The other that I'm really excited about,
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  I would say is continuing to celebrate our
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  team members. And that from a chief people
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  in town officer, I know seems a little
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  bit typical.
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  But the reason that is something that is
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  important to me is because
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  as things get more complex, we as humans
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  tend to
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  forget to celebrate, forget to uplift, forget to
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  acknowledge and recognize
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  those that
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  are doing great work around us. We get
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  there's a lot of pressures around us. If
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  we can continue to keep our team members
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  motivated,
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  recognizing their good work despite everything that's happening
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  around us,
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  that is really going to bring us back
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  to our core of why we're here. We
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  are people first, and we have to keep
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  people at the center, whatever the business is.
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  It's not just health care, but it is
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  necessary.
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  So we're actually bringing on a platform,
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  that we are excited about that not only
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  will patients be able to recognize our team
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  members,
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  but that's something that doesn't exist in our
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  in our platform today. We can make a
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  phone call.
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  We can go to the desk, but this
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  will actually be an electronic platform where our
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  patients and our visitors will be able to
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  acknowledge our team members, the great work that
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  they're doing,
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  and we will continue to have a platform.
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  We're actually moving our platform for team member
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  recognition
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  into the same platform. So it's one single
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  place that people can go and celebrate the
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  great work they're doing despite
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  the hard day that they may have whether
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  it's work related or not. So for me
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  those are two of the things. Again the
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  second one seems soft but when we look
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  at business models at what creates a successful
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  business,
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  when we put our team members first, when
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  we celebrate them,
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  they are more likely to stay. They're more
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  likely to provide that excellent customer care at
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  the front lines of our team members, our
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  customers, our patients, our visitors,
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  and that's something that I'm really excited that
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  we have not lost sight of, and we're
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  actually pouring more into that.
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  That's really cool to hear, and it seems
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  like such a great way to build the
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  kind of culture that you're looking for in
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  terms of having, you know, a team that
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  really cares about each other and cares about
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  the patients too. And I'm curious when you
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  talk about having that type of recognition or
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  making sure you're celebrating the wins, what are
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  some of the ways that you're able to
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  do that? What has been most effective in
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  making sure that the team feels recognized and
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  feels seen and feels like they're, actually, their
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  accomplishments are celebrated in the right way?
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  We I I would say like any other
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  organization, I have to start off with saying,
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  I think we can always get better, which
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  is what excites me about bringing on this
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  platform is that I do think it will
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  add an enhancement.
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  Today the way that we do this, I'll
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  provide a couple of examples. We start all
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  of our meetings with items of quality whether
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  it's department, divisional,
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  our leadership meetings, which are all all of
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  our leaders through the system. And items of
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  quality really
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  focuses on
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  celebrating the contributions
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  of individuals.
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  So I can stand up and share an
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  item of quality for anyone within the organization.
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  So that's fun. It is a cultural practice
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  that's embedded with us. We also have something
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  called a shout out site that was built
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  internally. That's what's part of what's moving to
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  our new platform,
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  with the patient
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  recognition.
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  But people can go there and also highlight
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  anyone across the system,
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  and a contribution that they've made. We have
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  DAISY awards, which is, our patients recognizing
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  our nursing teams. We have awards in different,
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  for our PCTs
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  as well, our patient care techs. So we
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  have a lot of different ways that we
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  do this,
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  and we just want to hear what's working
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  from our team and continue to get better.
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  And so that's what this evolution is to
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  the new platform.
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  That makes a ton of sense and, it
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  is really cool to to hear about.
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  Now I'm wondering before we wrap up here,
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  what advice would you give to evolving leaders
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  today? What do you really see as being
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  essential,
• 13:52
  for leaders in health care and really in
• 13:54
  general?
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  I would say that there are three
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  pieces that I would really,
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  encourage
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  and that I focus on as well, for
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  leaders to think about. It's number one, curiosity.
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  Leading with curiosity,
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  asking questions,
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  and ensuring that we understand
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  and we seek to understand before we get
• 14:17
  into problem solving. And I think that's something
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  that as leaders move through their careers,
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  we a lot of times move because we
• 14:24
  were really good at that front line. Right?
• 14:26
  And now we're at a different place in
• 14:28
  our careers,
• 14:29
  and it's so easy to go back to
• 14:31
  that. But starting with that curiosity,
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  regardless of where you are in your career,
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  I think it's number one.
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  The second one is
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  being open,
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  and I hate to overuse the word innovation,
• 14:45
  but being open to different ways of doing
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  things.
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  I've said this during this conversation and I
• 14:52
  will say it in many conversations,
• 14:54
  things are changing around us rapidly.
• 14:57
  We also have to be open to change,
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  and we cannot
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  continue to do the
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  things the way that we are doing them
• 15:06
  today.
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  With that said, we have to be willing
• 15:09
  to get curious and be innovative and really
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  pull on the voices of those around us
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  to make sure that we're not just coming
• 15:16
  up with bright ideas, but we're falling in
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  love with that problem and we're solving the
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  problem.
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  And then the last thing that I would
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  say, and these are in no particular order,
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  is
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  as we are being curious, as we're being
• 15:28
  innovative,
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  it's really that human centric function. One of
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  the things that AI cannot do yet is
• 15:35
  be trained, with that level of empathy
• 15:39
  that a human can provide.
• 15:41
  And when we think about the business that
• 15:43
  we're in, it's not a business, it's a
• 15:45
  passion. Right? It's a vocation. And so
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  how do we ensure that we are still
• 15:50
  available
• 15:51
  to provide human to human connection?
• 15:54
  And I think that's something that we're going
• 15:56
  to see a lot AI can do a
• 15:58
  lot of the work,
• 16:00
  that we're doing, it can do a lot
• 16:02
  of analysis, it can pull together powerpoints,
• 16:04
  it can't replace the connection of an individual.
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  And with loneliness
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  and the need to connect that every human
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  has,
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  that's going to be the third one that
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  I think it will be developing.
• 16:16
  If others are already looking at that that's
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  something that I we cannot underestimate the importance
• 16:22
  of that.
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  I love it. Qualitative, thank you so much
• 16:27
  for joining us on the podcast today. This
• 16:29
  has been such a fun conversation.
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  Truly, you know, learned a lot from you
• 16:33
  about how you're thinking about things and some
• 16:35
  of the exciting, things ahead of our Tampa
• 16:37
  general. So I appreciate that, and I I
• 16:39
  know we'll continue the conversation as well at
• 16:41
  the annual meeting in a few weeks since
• 16:42
  it'll be just such a pleasure to have
• 16:44
  you there and and see you and to
• 16:45
  be part of those conversations. So thank you.
• 16:49
  Thank you. I really appreciate it.