Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Amy Hart, CEO of Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Minnesota

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Amy Hart, CEO of Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Minnesota · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  - There's a small circle of people who truly
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  - understand what it takes to lead a health
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  - leaders are deliberate about where do they go
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  - to pressure test their thinking.
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  - Becker's fourteenth annual CEO and CFO roundtable
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  - brings together more than 1,500
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  - executive level attendees
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  - and nearly 400 speakers for four days built
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  - around growth, financial sustainability,
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  - workforce strategy, and the leadership questions that don't
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  - have easy answers.
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  - Join us November second through the fifth in
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  - Chicago.
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  - For the agenda and event details,
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  - visit beckershospitalreview.com
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  - and click on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
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  - Welcome to this episode of Leadership Unscripted, a
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  - Becker's health care podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your
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  - host, and I'm thrilled to be joined today
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  - by Amy Hart. She's CEO of Kiono Regional
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  - Medical Center in Minnesota.
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  - Amy, thank you for joining us today.
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  - Well, thank you, Chris.
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  - Yes. Well, so this podcast is all about
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  - your health care journey and what you've learned
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  - along the way. But before we get into
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  - that, would you please introduce yourself in a
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  - little bit more detail to our audience and
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  - give us a little bit more about Cuyuna
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  - Regional?
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  - Sure. So,
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  - I currently am the CEO of Cuyuna Regional
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  - Medical Center. Been here thirteen years. I was
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  - the COO prior.
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  - And, probably, if you think about my health
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  - care career journey,
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  - COO ing or operations was was my thing.
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  - Right? Cut my teeth actually in durable medical
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  - equipment
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  - and then into private
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  - clinics. And so kinda had that physician relationship.
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  - As you might hear me, talk about sometimes
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  - is that my undergraduate
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  - is actually in elementary
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  - education.
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  - And so kind of a interesting path,
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  - to get to where I am.
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  - And so,
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  - Kiana Regional is, a very unique organization.
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  - We believe that we're the largest,
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  - critical access hospital in the country. So if
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  - you're out there and you're bigger than me
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  - at 225,000,000
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  - net,
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  - a thousand employees,
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  - doing 11,000
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  - surgeries,
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  - with surgeons that all live in my community.
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  - And,
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  - you know, from all sorts of things you
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  - wouldn't think, happening in a 25 bed critical
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  - access hospital, please reach out because we would
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  - love to swap notes.
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  - So sometimes it gives us... Go go ahead.
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  - Oh, I was gonna say, please, you know,
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  - I... I'm just encouraging our our audience to
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  - take you up on that offer.
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  - Yep. So,
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  - sometimes that, is hard for us in the
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  - sense of
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  - when we talk strictly about rural health
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  - is, yes, we have a... You know, we're
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  - in a rural area, but our draw area
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  - is large,
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  - even though there are other hospitals in the
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  - area. So sometimes it's hard for us to
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  - do some comparisons
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  - with that.
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  - And then sometimes when you go to our
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  - conference and you say, well, hey. I'm from
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  - a rural,
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  - you know,
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  - hospital or critical access hospital,
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  - the bigs kinda pat you on the head
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  - and go there, there.
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  - You know? And so sometimes it's hard for
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  - us to be able to get the best
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  - metricses
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  - to be able to comparisons
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  - because we kinda live in kinda two different
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  - world.
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  - I hear you. But that said, as your...
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  - You mentioned there's a lot that you can
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  - share with each other and, you know, hopefully,
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  - that's the case moving forward. Absolutely.
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  - Well, Amy, as we
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  - look back on on your background,
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  - you mentioned your elementary education
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  - background in particular.
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  - But as you look back on where you've
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  - come from and how you've ended up as
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  - CEO of Cajon Regional, is there something that
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  - you can recall that you've learned outside of
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  - health care that you've now been able to
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  - apply to your career?
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  - Well, I think it is the elementary education
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  - part.
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  - I I used to kid
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  - back in the day,
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  - and this will probably age me, that the
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  - only thing difference between, you know,
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  - running health care and,
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  - you know, running
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  - the third grade
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  - was the bulletin boards.
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  - Okay.
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  - And now with quality and trying to make
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  - things interesting and understanding
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  - for people, you walk around all the hospitals
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  - and there's all these really cool bulletin boards,
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  - Right? If if we even call them that
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  - anymore,
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  - that show where's our progress. You know, where
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  - when I was student teaching in third grade,
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  - it was the progress from how you were
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  - reading.
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  - Mhmm. You know, were you making it to
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  - the moon, you know, in in your reading
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  - journey. And now we have that same in
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  - the quality journey. So I guess the outside
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  - is is that
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  - people
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  - want and need to be reminded of
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  - of the why. And I know we talk
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  - about that
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  - a lot as well as the, you know,
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  - that...
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  - Why we're in this crazy business.
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  - And I think from teaching, I'm I'm sure
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  - there's sometimes people who are teaching that go,
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  - why am I in this crazy business?
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  - Because it's it's a tough business, but it...
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  - You gotta look at the reward part.
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  - Well, when... Let's reflect on that a little
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  - bit. So
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  - what... When you look back on on a
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  - day...
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  - Let's put it this way. So when you've
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  - had a particularly
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  - busy
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  - or fruitful day, what does that look like
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  - for you, and what is the why for
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  - you?
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  - I think the the the why for me,
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  - particularly that, you know, I'm not a clinician.
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  - And I do also always say that I'm
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  - at... My contract says no blood. You know,
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  - that was that was never my thing. But
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  - I always described what I could do
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  - from an operational standpoint was always said I
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  - was the front end of the train,
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  - and my job was to clear the track
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  - so the people who are helping
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  - the patient, you know, directly
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  - don't have to mess with this administrative
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  - stuff.
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  - And, again, we're an independent
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  - hospital.
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  - We are not part of a system. So
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  - we have some of that
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  - advantage
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  - and disadvantage
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  - of being able to be, you know, pretty
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  - close to,
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  - that patient care,
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  - to be able to,
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  - you know, make those differences.
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  - So, Amy, as someone who's clearing the tracks
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  - in...
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  - At the the front of the train to
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  - use your metaphor there, so you're you're gonna
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  - have
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  - days when
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  - things are not so easy.
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  - But before we get to
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  - how you cope with those days, because I
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  - do wanna touch on that. Yep. What are
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  - you doing every day just to keep your
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  - own self healthy? Right? I mean, yes, you
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  - have to worry about your team. But when
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  - you're thinking about yourself, what do you do
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  - to keep yourself healthy? Physically, mentally, emotionally? What
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  - does that equation look like? Well... And I
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  - think that you you pinned it is that
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  - it's both emotionally and physically.
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  - And sometimes we forget that you have to
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  - do both.
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  - So...
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  - And I've not been as good at it
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  - lately, but I got really good at going
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  - to the gym. Yeah. And and so... And
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  - working with a trainer
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  - and taking the... You know,
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  - that that investment is
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  - worth
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  - it for me to have a personal trainer.
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  - And I also do massage,
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  - you know, and I I I invest
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  - that way in me.
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  - I think that
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  - you need something
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  - that helps you completely just
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  - unfocus.
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  - Because it seems like when I can unfocus,
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  - and maybe... And this is what I learned
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  - as I've also grown
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  - older in my career,
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  - is that you can't think about it all
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  - the time because it's always gonna be there.
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  - And so, you know, how do you have
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  - those little escapes?
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  - And for me, it's,
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  - it just seems sometimes... Because I am an
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  - operational person,
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  - it seems like you're always thinking about the
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  - next step, what's ahead, those kind of things.
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  - And so when I get to,
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  - kinda just piddle around in the yard
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  - or the house, you know, doing projects
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  - is I might have, you know, three or
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  - four different things going at a time
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  - and being able to just kind of let,
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  - you know,
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  - the the Beatles song is, you know, the
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  - fixing a hole. You know, just let... Letting
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  - your mind wander a little bit and,
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  - being able to do projects that you actually
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  - can see progress.
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  - Because in our
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  - job,
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  - every day, the desk is not clear.
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  - The project
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  - is not done.
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  - The issue is not resolved,
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  - and you need every now and then to
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  - go check.
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  - It's done. So if I can do that
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  - with the...
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  - Okay. I cleaned out the junk drawer,
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  - if that's all I can get to that
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  - night, that some sense of accomplishment,
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  - or I got the lawn mowed or I...
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  - You know, whatever it is that I did,
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  - that's important. Also, there are times where you
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  - go home and, you know, for me,
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  - I I turn the music up.
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  - Right? And, whether it's whether it's in the
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  - car or whether it's at the house, fortunately,
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  - I have other no one besides two wiener
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  - dogs who are concerned about the noise
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  - Right. That, you know, that sometimes you get
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  - lost
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  - in that for a little bit, and then
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  - it helps me
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  - rejuvenate
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  - of
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  - why I'm doing the... What I'm doing.
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  - Amy, when you're blasting that music, is it
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  - The Beatles? Is it something else? Is it
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  - dependent on your mood? What exactly is on
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  - your playlist right now? Well, I'm a a
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  - very
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  - big David Bowie fan Hi.
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  - Including the tattoo. So,
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  - you know, a lot of people may not
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  - know that, and so that's probably it. However,
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  - my son,
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  - you know, plays guitar and,
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  - I would say,
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  - widen my,
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  - music interest
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  - Okay. To some of the newer music. And
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  - so it's a wide variety.
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  - I do... Back in the day when it
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  - was, you know, what's on my iPod,
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  - now it's what's on my playlist.
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  - Yeah. I'm sure there's some things on there
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  - that would make your mom blush.
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  - And so that's why it's in the headphones,
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  - you know, when you're working out or those
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  - kind of things. But it,
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  - it it it makes you,
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  - you know,
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  - get that kind of out of your system
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  - a bit.
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  - I would say on the potentially negative side
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  - or not negative, but
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  - the hard, hard side
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  - is as you... You know, they they they
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  - talk about this, but they don't necessarily...
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  - You don't know till you've been there, is
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  - as you rise through the ranks,
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  - it does become lonelier
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  - and lonelier and lonelier.
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  - Right? And I live in, technically, in a
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  - town of 2,600.
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  - And even going out to get dinner,
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  - you know, you know, if I'm getting something
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  - to go or whatever,
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  - is...
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  - I'm a known entity.
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  - And the good and the bad of that
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  - is people will come up to you and
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  - tell you about the wonderful experience they had,
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  - but they also will come up sometimes and
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  - say, you know, I have a problem with
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  - my bill.
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  - Or right now, it's like, why don't you
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  - have a shuttle service anymore,
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  - you know, for the parking lot? And being
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  - able to have that, and I don't have
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  - it resolved,
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  - is that
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  - true confidant
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  - that you can
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  - bounce
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  - those things, that real thought partner,
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  - whether it's internal,
• 12:03
  - external,
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  - to be able to
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  - just
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  - listen
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  - because that adds to the stress,
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  - especially in this crazy world of health care
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  - that we're living in right now. And like
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  - I said earlier in that reach out is
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  - what are you guys doing? You know, it's
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  - something that's very similar,
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  - to you.
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  - Yeah. I think to make the job feel
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  - a little bit less lonely. I'm sure it
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  - is a huge
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  - huge boon to to you not only you,
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  - but everyone that you're working with and your
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  - patients.
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  - Right. And I've I've I've... In some of
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  - my reading in some of the articles,
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  - I think there's a recent article,
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  - about
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  - why we're lonely at work.
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  - And it's not just
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  - the CEO.
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  - You know?
• 12:51
  - Some of the employee engagement surveys used to
• 12:54
  - phrase their question,
• 12:56
  - do you have a best friend at work?
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  - And they...
• 13:00
  - At least the company we use, had to
• 13:02
  - change that
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  - because
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  - people
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  - were saying, no. I don't. And so it's
• 13:07
  - more was, do you have someone you can
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  - go talk to,
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  - you know, that you feel comfortable enough to
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  - go talk to? But I think we're seeing
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  - that
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  - as we, you know, we talk about staffing
• 13:19
  - and all those kind of things and, you
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  - know, where you use your, you know, the
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  - dollars that you do have on engagement
• 13:27
  - is that people feel lonely.
• 13:31
  - For you, Amy, is it one person? Is
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  - it a group of people that you go
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  - to when you just need a a a
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  - sounding board or just any sort of reason
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  - to to talk to someone about, work or
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  - anything else?
• 13:42
  - Well, I think it also depends on what
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  - I wanna talk to them about. I mean,
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  - I... Yes. I have people who probably who
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  - are mostly
• 13:49
  - a lot of my peers
• 13:51
  - that have retired that
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  - it's frankly okay to talk to them and
• 13:55
  - and you have confidence that you can talk
• 13:58
  - to them.
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  - And,
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  - it's not that I'm totally selective, but if
• 14:03
  - I know that one person was the expert
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  - at,
• 14:08
  - you know, geriatric care and I've got a
• 14:10
  - geriatric care
• 14:12
  - problem,
• 14:13
  - you know, I might reach out to them
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  - and be able to say, you know,
• 14:19
  - you know, how did you handle this?
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  - Yeah.
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  - Well, I'm glad you're able to to not
• 14:24
  - feel so lonely sometimes. Yeah. Sometimes. Yes.
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  - So, Amy,
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  - you mentioned that you you came from a
• 14:33
  - different
• 14:34
  - place, at least originally, when you started out
• 14:36
  - in a mentoring education. Yep. You have been
• 14:39
  - in health care for for a good long
• 14:40
  - time now. Yep. Yes. Yep. So when you
• 14:42
  - look back on that, is there something that
• 14:44
  - you've learned about yourself from working in health
• 14:46
  - care?
• 14:47
  - Well, I don't mean it to sound like
• 14:49
  - this, but I guess I'm gonna say it.
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  - Is...
• 14:54
  - I I like... I do well. I I,
• 14:56
  - you know, I've adapted. I've,
• 14:58
  - I never would have thought, you know, in
• 15:00
  - career day in high school, you know, that
• 15:02
  - they would say someday you're gonna be a,
• 15:04
  - you know, a COO or a CEO of
• 15:07
  - a health system. I mean, that was so
• 15:09
  - far beyond
• 15:11
  - what careers were even out there to be
• 15:14
  - able to say, you know, and you're gonna
• 15:16
  - be successful at it. Or there's gonna be
• 15:19
  - days that you feel successful at it, you
• 15:21
  - know,
• 15:22
  - and and enjoy it and and find the
• 15:25
  - mission in it.
• 15:27
  - You know, that it's it's it's
• 15:29
  - it's not just a job.
• 15:31
  - And
• 15:33
  - and that's the thing I think that's surprising
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  - to me
• 15:36
  - that that I kinda flipped into that. You
• 15:39
  - know, sometimes when you think a door closes,
• 15:42
  - it's really a a, you know, whether they
• 15:44
  - say a window opening or something like that.
• 15:46
  - That is what they say. Yeah. And, you
• 15:48
  - know, looking back in in any career that
• 15:51
  - there are some things that you think, oh,
• 15:52
  - man, this is the end of the world
• 15:54
  - kind of thing.
• 15:56
  - And whether it's a reorganization
• 15:58
  - or something like that, and it really was
• 16:00
  - the best thing that ever happened to you.
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  - You know? And and so take those opportunities
• 16:06
  - and and, you know, really reflect on them.
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  - But, man, they they they sting,
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  - you know, at the beginning.
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  - That's human that's human nature. If it didn't
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  - sting, I would worry about somebody. You know?
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  - But, yeah, there's...
• 16:23
  - There's a good connect the dots there.
• 16:26
  - Amy, I don't think there's any, issue with
• 16:28
  - the way that you put that. I think
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  - it's it's relatable that maybe you came into
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  - this career
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  - and maybe had some doubts and that you
• 16:36
  - found, like, hey. There's something I really good
• 16:38
  - at and care about, that you ended up
• 16:40
  - here, you know, I think is is generally
• 16:43
  - a a positive experience,
• 16:45
  - for you.... Got into health care because at
• 16:47
  - the time, when I graduated from college, I
• 16:49
  - was married,
• 16:51
  - and there were no teaching jobs in the
• 16:53
  - small community in Iowa
• 16:56
  - that I needed to be in.
• 16:58
  - So it continued that, you know, not after
• 17:01
  - school job, but, you know, that college job.
• 17:04
  - Yeah. And it it started going from there.
• 17:07
  - Wow. Okay. You know? So...
• 17:10
  - And you've certainly adapted beautifully. So there's there's
• 17:13
  - that you can look back on.
• 17:15
  - Amy, along those lines, you talk about taking
• 17:18
  - opportunities as they present themselves.
• 17:21
  - I do wanna ask you,
• 17:23
  - lastly,
• 17:24
  - what is a risk that you've taken that
• 17:26
  - has paid off in particular?
• 17:28
  - Honestly, I think it was coming to Northern
• 17:31
  - Minnesota.
• 17:32
  - And what I mean by that that this
• 17:34
  - is the smallest town I've ever lived in.
• 17:36
  - Alright. Now granted, you know, I can drive
• 17:39
  - two hours south and everybody does, and I
• 17:41
  - can go to the place and, you know,
• 17:43
  - the restaurant. But I was in...
• 17:46
  - Although I grew up a lot in in
• 17:48
  - Iowa,
• 17:49
  - it was bigger town stuff. You know, I
• 17:51
  - moved to Saint Paul from Kansas City, but
• 17:54
  - from... To Saint Paul to here.
• 17:56
  - And so one, the risk is is physically
• 17:59
  - moving, especially when you have children to go,
• 18:01
  - okay. Up we go. And I... You know?
• 18:04
  - But, you know, to go,
• 18:07
  - can I possibly
• 18:10
  - get
• 18:11
  - that
• 18:13
  - nourishment for the soul
• 18:15
  - in a smaller community that was? Is more
• 18:18
  - geared to outdoor stuff? I I mean, I'm
• 18:21
  - not opposed to outdoor stuff, but Northern Minnesota
• 18:24
  - is different than Iowa,
• 18:25
  - you know, when it comes to,
• 18:27
  - or Kansas City when it comes to activities
• 18:30
  - and those types of things.
• 18:32
  - And so it was taking the risk of
• 18:34
  - coming here versus, you know, I was, at
• 18:36
  - the time, looking at a position in Chicago.
• 18:38
  - And, again, you think somebody was watching over
• 18:40
  - me,
• 18:42
  - you know,
• 18:43
  - in that. And so because we're independent
• 18:46
  - and there's so many things that we can
• 18:48
  - do here that we don't have to ask
• 18:51
  - the system
• 18:53
  - about. But there's a lot of responsibility
• 18:55
  - because it's
• 18:56
  - our shoulders that, you know, it falls on
• 18:59
  - if if if you're making the wrong decision.
• 19:02
  - So I really think that it was one
• 19:04
  - of the best things and risky
• 19:06
  - to, you know,
• 19:07
  - come to Northern Minnesota
• 19:09
  - by myself.
• 19:11
  - Well, Amy, thank you so much for this
• 19:13
  - delightful conversation and for all your cancer today.
• 19:16
  - I'm sure our audience is gonna learn a
• 19:17
  - ton just from listening to this, and I
• 19:19
  - cannot wait till our paths cross again. Okay.
• 19:22
  - I would look forward to it.
• 19:24
  - Thank you.