Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Marie Langley on Growth, Access and Medi-Cal Challenges in the High Desert

Transcript

Marie Langley on Growth, Access and Medi-Cal Challenges in the High Desert · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:02
  - The strategic agenda facing hospital and health system
• 0:04
  - leaders right now is not a short list.
• 0:07
  - Growth in a consolidating market, sustainable margins in
• 0:09
  - a reimbursement environment that rarely moves in your
• 0:12
  - favor,
• 0:12
  - a tech investment cycle that demands both urgency
• 0:15
  - and discipline,
• 0:16
  - and a workforce story that is still being
• 0:19
  - written.
• 0:20
  - Eker's fourteenth annual CEO CFO roundtable brings together
• 0:23
  - more than 1,500 executive level attendees and nearly
• 0:27
  - 400 speakers across four days of sessions that
• 0:30
  - are designed to help c suite leaders benchmark,
• 0:32
  - pressure test, and sharpen their priorities.
• 0:35
  - Not in the abstract, but against the real
• 0:37
  - decisions they'll face heading into the next year.
• 0:39
  - It's the kind of event you leave with
• 0:40
  - a clear sense of where you stand and
• 0:42
  - what comes next.
• 0:44
  - So join us November second through the fifth
• 0:46
  - at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago,
• 0:48
  - and come ready to do the hard thinking.
• 0:50
  - Register on our events page at beckershospitalreview.com
• 0:54
  - by clicking on the events tab in the
• 0:56
  - upper right.
• 0:58
  - This is Laura Diredell with the Becker's Healthcare
• 1:00
  - podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
• 1:02
  - Marie Langley, chief executive officer of Desert Valley
• 1:04
  - Medical Group and associate administrator for Desert Valley
• 1:07
  - Hospital. Marie, it's a pleasure to have you
• 1:09
  - on the podcast today. Wonderful. Thank you, Laura.
• 1:11
  - I appreciate your time as well.
• 1:13
  - Absolutely. Now I'm excited for our conversation. I
• 1:15
  - know we're gonna talk a lot about the
• 1:17
  - great things you're doing at Desert Valley as
• 1:19
  - well as how you're thinking about the future.
• 1:20
  - But before we dive in, can you tell
• 1:21
  - us just a little bit more about yourself
• 1:23
  - and your background?
• 1:25
  - Yes. Of course. I appreciate it. So, I
• 1:27
  - mean, obviously, I've been in the industry for
• 1:29
  - over twenty five years.
• 1:31
  - I have my,
• 1:32
  - master's in business,
• 1:35
  - and finance, and then I also have I've
• 1:37
  - been at Desert Valley for over ten years,
• 1:40
  - initially starting as the administrator
• 1:42
  - and then eventually becoming the chief executive officer.
• 1:46
  - But thrilled to be part of, Prime Healthcare,
• 1:49
  - which obviously Desert Valley is is affiliated with.
• 1:52
  - The company has seen a ton of growth
• 1:55
  - in the past decade, which has been exciting
• 1:57
  - to witness.
• 1:59
  - And I'm also a fellow for the American
• 2:01
  - College of Healthcare
• 2:02
  - executives.
• 2:03
  - That's fantastic to hear, and, you know, really
• 2:06
  - exciting place to be in healthcare today. So
• 2:08
  - could you give us a quick state of
• 2:10
  - the union for Desert Valley Medical Group and
• 2:12
  - Desert Valley Hospital?
• 2:14
  - What's going well this year, and what do
• 2:15
  - you focus on for the rest of 2026?
• 2:18
  - Yes. So one of the things I'm most
• 2:20
  - proud of is probably the collaboration between Desert
• 2:22
  - Valley Hospital and Desert
• 2:24
  - Valley Medical Group.
• 2:26
  - Our physicians,
• 2:27
  - leadership, and employees work well together
• 2:29
  - as one team, I think, with a shared
• 2:31
  - commitment to delivering that exceptional care.
• 2:34
  - Overall, this alignment has allowed us to expand
• 2:36
  - access to service, recruit specialists,
• 2:39
  - and ultimately achieve important,
• 2:41
  - quality recognitions.
• 2:43
  - For example,
• 2:44
  - the hospital most recently,
• 2:45
  - was recognized by the joint commission and received,
• 2:48
  - a heart failure certification
• 2:51
  - as well as the a hospital safety grade
• 2:53
  - from the LeapFrog group. And this actually makes
• 2:56
  - us the only hospital in the High Desert
• 2:58
  - area to receive an a.
• 3:02
  - Well, that's exciting to hear. And, you know,
• 3:03
  - really, what a great accomplishment
• 3:05
  - to have and especially knowing that you can
• 3:08
  - serve your patients so well.
• 3:10
  - So I wanted to look into the future
• 3:12
  - too. You know, where do you really see
• 3:14
  - some of those big headwinds, and and what
• 3:16
  - are you keeping your eye on and preparing
• 3:17
  - for?
• 3:19
  - Yeah. So we,
• 3:20
  - we are definitely
• 3:22
  - looking at growth and expansion.
• 3:25
  - We're in the process of planning to open
• 3:27
  - a new clinic,
• 3:29
  - in the High Desert,
• 3:30
  - and we also have recently added some new
• 3:33
  - specialists,
• 3:34
  - including cardiology
• 3:35
  - and then rheumatology,
• 3:38
  - is slated for the beginning or middle of
• 3:40
  - twenty twenty seven.
• 3:42
  - But one of our biggest,
• 3:44
  - headwinds I think you mentioned,
• 3:46
  - something that we are trying to prepare for
• 3:48
  - and keep our eye on is the changes
• 3:51
  - to Medi Cal.
• 3:52
  - Obviously, that remains our greatest concern
• 3:54
  - as nearly 40% of our patient volume is
• 3:57
  - con is, covered through managed Medi Cal.
• 4:00
  - And while expanding access to care is critical,
• 4:03
  - that uncertainty
• 4:04
  - surrounding the funding and policy changes obviously presents
• 4:07
  - significant challenges.
• 4:10
  - Absolutely. I think that's something that's top of
• 4:12
  - mind from so many different leaders, especially looking
• 4:15
  - at how they can really understand some of
• 4:17
  - those changes coming down the pipe,
• 4:19
  - and what that means for the patients that
• 4:21
  - they serve and,
• 4:23
  - capacity as well. Now I I know you
• 4:25
  - mentioned growth. Could you talk a little bit
• 4:27
  - more about that? What are some of the
• 4:28
  - best opportunities in the next two or three
• 4:30
  - years?
• 4:31
  - Yeah. So our greatest opportunity for growth is
• 4:34
  - expanding our service lines and outpatient services.
• 4:37
  - And, I believe earlier I touched upon, cardiology
• 4:41
  - and rheumatology,
• 4:42
  - but recruiting is always a top priority for
• 4:44
  - us and can be challenging,
• 4:46
  - as we're located outside a large metropolitan area
• 4:49
  - such as Los Angeles.
• 4:50
  - However, we're always adding new specialists
• 4:53
  - and then we also recently celebrated our first
• 4:56
  - graduating class of internal medicine residents and are
• 4:59
  - proud that several have joined our medical group
• 5:02
  - and intend to remain in the community.
• 5:05
  - So the High Desert remains medically underserved with
• 5:07
  - nearly half a million residents and a shortage
• 5:10
  - of acute beds and specialists.
• 5:12
  - But in addition to expanding our outpatient specialty
• 5:15
  - services,
• 5:16
  - we do have expansion plans,
• 5:18
  - for our emergency department,
• 5:20
  - which will ultimately position us to meet the
• 5:22
  - health care needs of our community,
• 5:24
  - by increasing capacity and ultimately reducing wait times.
• 5:29
  - That makes a lot of sense. You know,
• 5:30
  - I I know it's important to be thoughtful
• 5:32
  - about those expansions of where you're,
• 5:34
  - you know, focusing resources and investment, growing, you
• 5:37
  - know, what is needed in the community as
• 5:39
  - well, just to make sure that you're able
• 5:42
  - to serve
• 5:43
  - the population in a smart and meaningful way.
• 5:46
  - Now before we wrap up here, I wanted
• 5:47
  - to ask about leadership too. Who is a
• 5:50
  - leader that you admire really from any industry
• 5:52
  - and why?
• 5:54
  - So, Laura, you know, I love this question.
• 5:56
  - And, honestly, there are many great leaders that
• 5:58
  - I admire,
• 5:59
  - especially those who not only identify important challenges,
• 6:03
  - but take meaningful action.
• 6:05
  - You know? And I'd be remiss if I
• 6:07
  - didn't mention doctor Preamretti,
• 6:08
  - who is our founder, chairman, and CEO of
• 6:10
  - Prime Healthcare.
• 6:12
  - He's someone I greatly admire because his leadership
• 6:15
  - extends beyond building hospitals.
• 6:17
  - And I think for those who don't, you
• 6:20
  - know, obviously know him personally,
• 6:22
  - but have seen the expansion of Prime Health
• 6:24
  - Care throughout the nation,
• 6:26
  - but his genuine commitment to investing in the
• 6:29
  - community he serves
• 6:31
  - and also his support of, education.
• 6:34
  - So, graduate medical education specifically,
• 6:37
  - he's expanded access to care and partnered with
• 6:40
  - local institutions
• 6:41
  - like our local Victor Valley College.
• 6:44
  - He supported their nursing program and ultimately, in
• 6:47
  - my opinion, understands that strengthening health care,
• 6:50
  - begins with the individuals
• 6:52
  - and investing in people.
• 6:55
  - I love it. That is really cool to
• 6:56
  - hear and definitely something that,
• 6:59
  - is important in the leader when you think
• 7:01
  - about how you can have that visionary,
• 7:03
  - approach and then really
• 7:05
  - empowering the folks you work with and invest
• 7:07
  - in in them in the community to make
• 7:09
  - a big difference.
• 7:10
  - Marie, thank you so much for joining us
• 7:11
  - on the podcast today. This has been a
• 7:13
  - really fun and informative discussion. I look forward
• 7:16
  - to connecting with you again soon and seeing
• 7:18
  - you as well at our upcoming
• 7:20
  - meetings. I know that you're often,
• 7:22
  - a part of the meetings that we have
• 7:24
  - in here in Chicago and will be at
• 7:26
  - the CEO, CEO of a roundtable as well,
• 7:29
  - speaking on a panel. So I I look
• 7:30
  - forward to seeing you there. Great. Thank you
• 7:32
  - so much, Laura. I appreciate everything, and I
• 7:35
  - wish you the best.