Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Radical Accessibility: Expanding Healthcare Access and Capacity

Transcript

Radical Accessibility: Expanding Healthcare Access and Capacity · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  - This is Laura Dierdahl with the Becker Healthcare
• 0:02
  - podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
• 0:04
  - Mark Sperda, president and chief operating officer at
• 0:06
  - Hackensack Meridian Health. Mark, it's a pleasure to
• 0:08
  - have you on the podcast today. Pleasure to
• 0:10
  - be here, Laura. Thank you. Absolutely. Now I'm
• 0:12
  - excited for our conversation. I know, you guys
• 0:15
  - are doing a lot of things at Hackensack
• 0:17
  - Meridian. And so, we'll be able to highlight
• 0:20
  - some of the best and and then look
• 0:22
  - at your perspective on the future. But before
• 0:24
  - we dive in, can you tell me a
• 0:25
  - little bit more about yourself as well as,
• 0:28
  - the operating model there at Hackensack Meridian?
• 0:31
  - Sure. Yeah. I'm chief operating officer of our
• 0:34
  - Hackensack
• 0:35
  - Meridian Health System.
• 0:36
  - It's an 18 hospital system with 500 different,
• 0:40
  - locations of care, and we have, more than
• 0:42
  - 40,000,
• 0:43
  - team members that serve millions of New Jerseyans
• 0:45
  - each and every year.
• 0:47
  - You know, we have,
• 0:48
  - made significant investments in our, ambulatory
• 0:52
  - footprint.
• 0:53
  - We're we're servicing patients in, places and communities
• 0:57
  - that,
• 0:58
  - we had never dreamed of. But, I'm really
• 1:00
  - happy to be the provider of choice,
• 1:02
  - for
• 1:03
  - more than 6,000,000 New Jerseyans each and every
• 1:05
  - year.
• 1:07
  - Absolutely. I love that. And, you know, that's
• 1:08
  - such a important service that you're providing in
• 1:10
  - in region that you work in. So,
• 1:13
  - could you give us a quick state of
• 1:14
  - the union of the health system right now?
• 1:16
  - What's gone well this year, and what are
• 1:17
  - you focused on for the rest of 2026?
• 1:20
  - Sure. So, maybe I'll I'll talk a little
• 1:22
  - bit about the operating picture because that really
• 1:24
  - frames everything else. As I mentioned, largest, most
• 1:28
  - comprehensive,
• 1:29
  - health care system in the state of New
• 1:31
  - Jersey. We've really focused a lot on integration.
• 1:34
  - And,
• 1:35
  - you know, this is what really matters most
• 1:38
  - because every hour of,
• 1:40
  - improving throughput that we recover
• 1:43
  - is really capacity and our ability to provide
• 1:46
  - better access for, other patients that are waiting.
• 1:49
  - And we know that nationwide, utilization has,
• 1:52
  - actually skyrocketed
• 1:54
  - skyrocketed after the pandemic.
• 1:56
  - And, you know, New Jersey is no different.
• 1:59
  - Part of it's because of the aging population.
• 2:01
  - You know, the fact that one in in
• 2:04
  - five New Jerseyans,
• 2:05
  - are over the age of 65,
• 2:08
  - is is,
• 2:09
  - obviously
• 2:10
  - a significant focus for us.
• 2:12
  - And,
• 2:13
  - you know, our our position is that without
• 2:15
  - quality, you don't have anything. And, honestly, in
• 2:17
  - quality this year, all the outside validation has
• 2:20
  - really caught up with, the hard work that's
• 2:23
  - been taking place over the course of many
• 2:25
  - years. We've seen
• 2:27
  - with the CMS star ratings that, there's been
• 2:30
  - a significant progression
• 2:32
  - in each of our hospitals,
• 2:34
  - in terms of improvement, and our academic flagship,
• 2:37
  - Hackensack University Medical Center, has been a a
• 2:40
  - CMS five star now for, multiple years,
• 2:44
  - consecutively.
• 2:45
  - And, also was, just recently with The US
• 2:48
  - News rankings released,
• 2:50
  - for the fourth year in a row, selected,
• 2:53
  - and earned
• 2:54
  - the distinction of the number one hospital, in
• 2:56
  - New Jersey by US News and World Report.
• 2:59
  - So,
• 3:00
  - it's also home to, the number one children's
• 3:02
  - hospital in New Jersey. So it's really, really,
• 3:06
  - important to us to focus our foundation
• 3:09
  - on quality
• 3:10
  - and establishing a high reliability culture. It's resulted
• 3:13
  - in our cancer program
• 3:16
  - being number one in New Jersey and, and
• 3:18
  - ranked thirty eighth nationally.
• 3:20
  - And,
• 3:21
  - many of our other,
• 3:22
  - hospitals have have also moved into high performing
• 3:25
  - rankings.
• 3:26
  - You know, it's foundational to what we do.
• 3:28
  - Quality is the product
• 3:30
  - of of our work, and,
• 3:32
  - we we just place a significant amount of
• 3:35
  - focus on that.
• 3:36
  - Got it. That makes a lot of sense,
• 3:38
  - and, you know, it's exciting to see,
• 3:40
  - the hospital being recognized by US News and
• 3:43
  - World Report and for the quality, especially, I
• 3:45
  - know that is not an easy achievement to
• 3:48
  - reach, and so congratulations
• 3:50
  - there. And,
• 3:51
  - when you think about
• 3:52
  - having,
• 3:53
  - the hospital and the whole health system really
• 3:55
  - operating
• 3:56
  - as a high quality system, what really gives
• 3:58
  - you the edge? How are you able to
• 4:00
  - achieve such great recognition and results?
• 4:03
  - I think it's it's
• 4:05
  - really bedrock
• 4:06
  - with the fact that, we are integrated. So
• 4:09
  - the things that we learn at one site,
• 4:12
  - and doesn't always have to be the academic
• 4:14
  - site. It could be a community hospital site.
• 4:17
  - We are laser focused on ensuring that those
• 4:20
  - learnings are spread throughout the network.
• 4:22
  - So integration is is a significant component of,
• 4:26
  - of our ability to
• 4:27
  - to scale the quality and and scale the
• 4:30
  - learnings that we've, we've been able to achieve.
• 4:33
  - That makes ton of sense. You know, and
• 4:35
  - it is so critical to having that type
• 4:37
  - of success within the health care space. Now
• 4:40
  - looking ahead,
• 4:41
  - what are some of the big headwinds you're
• 4:43
  - keeping your eye on as well, and what
• 4:44
  - are you preparing for?
• 4:46
  - So I'll give you two.
• 4:48
  - And the second one is the one that
• 4:49
  - keeps me up at night and and makes
• 4:51
  - me lose, lose some sleep. So the first
• 4:53
  - one's just continued downward pressure on costs. You
• 4:56
  - know, expenses,
• 4:58
  - continue to be a major concern for us,
• 5:01
  - and and that obviously impacts affordability, which remains
• 5:04
  - a a major issue. You know, the systems
• 5:07
  - that get through it are the ones that
• 5:08
  - take costs out of the back of the
• 5:11
  - house before they are forced to look at,
• 5:14
  - potentially program reductions
• 5:16
  - and impacting what play takes place at the
• 5:18
  - bedside. Because for for Hackensack Meridian, that's Sacrosanct.
• 5:22
  - And and we have really been working on
• 5:24
  - that for months,
• 5:26
  - not just in reaction to,
• 5:28
  - the impact of HR one and changes at
• 5:31
  - the federal level, but because it's the right
• 5:33
  - thing to do. It's the right thing for,
• 5:35
  - health systems to run as efficiently as possible
• 5:38
  - in order to be able to keep costs
• 5:40
  - down and,
• 5:42
  - hopefully,
• 5:43
  - improve the affordability
• 5:44
  - for all the communities that we serve.
• 5:47
  - The second one
• 5:48
  - is is harder.
• 5:50
  - And and, you know, it it's about access
• 5:53
  - to supply.
• 5:54
  - You know, our demand is strong. I talked
• 5:56
  - about, utilization,
• 5:58
  - being at all time highs,
• 6:00
  - and our brand is strong. So when you
• 6:02
  - have strong demand and you have a strong
• 6:04
  - brand,
• 6:05
  - that results in a lot of competition for
• 6:08
  - access.
• 6:08
  - And what we've learned is that a patient
• 6:10
  - who can't really get an appointment for six
• 6:12
  - weeks isn't gonna wait for us because we
• 6:15
  - wouldn't wait either. They go somewhere else. And,
• 6:18
  - sometimes they go someplace else and they don't,
• 6:21
  - have the opportunity to really experience and receive
• 6:23
  - the level of world class quality care that
• 6:26
  - Hackensack Meridian
• 6:27
  - provides, and and that's on us. You know,
• 6:30
  - we we might not ever get those patients
• 6:32
  - back. So the operational question I'm most focused
• 6:36
  - on is
• 6:37
  - throughput
• 6:38
  - and and providing,
• 6:40
  - expanding access.
• 6:42
  - How many net new appointments can we create
• 6:44
  - within our existing schedule without adding an additional
• 6:47
  - square foot? Our ambulatory expansion,
• 6:50
  - is is a really important strategy for us.
• 6:53
  - You know, earlier this year, we opened the
• 6:55
  - $200,000,000
• 6:56
  - health and wellness center at Metropark, which is
• 6:58
  - really
• 7:00
  - an incredible center. It's very unique because it
• 7:02
  - sits at a major transit hub, literally at
• 7:05
  - the Metropark
• 7:06
  - Train Station, which I think is the second
• 7:07
  - busiest transit hub in the in the state
• 7:10
  - of New Jersey. And it's really important for
• 7:12
  - us to be able to
• 7:14
  - provide access to care for Hackensack Meridian patients
• 7:17
  - within fifteen minutes of where they actually live
• 7:20
  - so they don't have to spend the half
• 7:22
  - day that they've historically spent in traveling to
• 7:25
  - care, waiting for care, and then traveling home
• 7:27
  - from care. So really important for us to
• 7:31
  - be able to provide,
• 7:33
  - you know, virtual access,
• 7:35
  - and asynchronous care, expand our remote monitoring capability
• 7:39
  - for chronic disease,
• 7:41
  - and and lean on our frontline and clinical
• 7:43
  - teams,
• 7:44
  - so that we're not so time consuming with
• 7:47
  - in person slots for something that could be
• 7:49
  - managed,
• 7:50
  - virtually and remotely.
• 7:52
  - That makes a lot of sense. And, you
• 7:53
  - know, it is really fascinating to see how,
• 7:56
  - these things are playing out, both elements that
• 7:58
  - you mentioned in thinking about the financial side
• 8:01
  - of things,
• 8:02
  - and how, you know, think about reimbursement, thinking
• 8:05
  - about cost, and and thinking about how to,
• 8:08
  - be sustainable in the future,
• 8:10
  - are is so important for across
• 8:12
  - the board. But then secondly,
• 8:14
  - that, utilization
• 8:15
  - and capacity
• 8:16
  - and making sure
• 8:18
  - the
• 8:19
  - community has access to care is another thing
• 8:21
  - I hear time and time again from executives.
• 8:23
  - And so, this strategy that you pointed out
• 8:25
  - in terms of being able to provide more
• 8:28
  - access to care both remote as well as,
• 8:30
  - being able to spread into new communities is
• 8:32
  - really fascinating. And when you look at,
• 8:35
  - having the resources
• 8:36
  - and ability to do that,
• 8:38
  - how do you really make sure you're allocating
• 8:40
  - the right time, effort, energy, and financial resources
• 8:43
  - too in order to expand,
• 8:45
  - the the access to care
• 8:47
  - and and really
• 8:48
  - ensure the entire system is working the way
• 8:50
  - it's supposed to.
• 8:52
  - So, you know, there's a there's a lot
• 8:53
  - of, discussion and and healthy debate about, you
• 8:57
  - know, where we should place limited capital investments.
• 9:00
  - And I think we've done a really, really
• 9:02
  - good job at balancing
• 9:04
  - the opportunity to, you know, modernize,
• 9:07
  - our bricks and mortar hospital based facilities.
• 9:10
  - As we know, there's a huge inpatient to
• 9:13
  - outpatient shift that's taking place, and a lot
• 9:16
  - of that's driven by advancements in medical science
• 9:18
  - and technology, but, you know, some of it
• 9:20
  - is is actually being, payer driven. So,
• 9:24
  - it's important for us to be able to
• 9:26
  - continue,
• 9:27
  - a lot of the core acute care that
• 9:29
  - is delivered,
• 9:30
  - at the hospital sites and have the the
• 9:33
  - clinicians,
• 9:34
  - have modernized
• 9:35
  - world class facilities in order to be able
• 9:37
  - to, deliver that care, but also to balance
• 9:41
  - that investment with investments in the ambulatory space,
• 9:44
  - and even leveraging
• 9:46
  - technology and AI
• 9:47
  - in, in the ambulatory space in order to
• 9:50
  - help us provide better access
• 9:52
  - out in the community, which is typically more
• 9:54
  - affordable
• 9:55
  - access to care
• 9:57
  - and and provide our communities with the ability
• 9:59
  - to, seek that care closer to where they
• 10:02
  - live.
• 10:03
  - Absolutely. That makes a ton of sense. And,
• 10:05
  - I I appreciate,
• 10:07
  - that thoughtful,
• 10:08
  - knowledge as to how you're thinking about things
• 10:10
  - and really looking at, you know, some of
• 10:12
  - those future challenges. Now I know there's a
• 10:14
  - lot of opportunities as well for growth. So
• 10:16
  - where are the spaces that you expect to
• 10:18
  - grow most in the next two to three
• 10:19
  - years or so?
• 10:21
  - Currently, in the ambulatory space,
• 10:23
  - you know, I think it's something that we've
• 10:26
  - agreed on calling radical accessibility.
• 10:30
  - And
• 10:31
  - I'll define that as removing every unnecessary
• 10:35
  - step between a person
• 10:37
  - recognizing and deciding that they need care
• 10:40
  - and when they actually receive that care.
• 10:42
  - And that really plays out in two ways.
• 10:45
  - You know, first, it's it's geographic.
• 10:48
  - We're building density,
• 10:50
  - where people already are, such as the transit
• 10:52
  - hub at Metropark,
• 10:54
  - retail corridors,
• 10:55
  - employer sites.
• 10:57
  - Metropark happens to be the the flagship,
• 11:00
  - for that model, but it's certainly replicable
• 11:02
  - in in many other areas,
• 11:04
  - and and we're evaluating a number of different
• 11:07
  - sites in in other communities.
• 11:10
  - Second is the modality. You know, what what
• 11:12
  - traditionally happens in an exam room doesn't always
• 11:15
  - require one.
• 11:17
  - That virtual asynchronous,
• 11:19
  - access and remote monitoring,
• 11:20
  - even for hospital at home, for patients that
• 11:23
  - are lower acuity,
• 11:24
  - they don't necessarily need all the,
• 11:27
  - specialties and and,
• 11:31
  - services that are in a hospital setting.
• 11:34
  - You know, that's that's not a convenience play.
• 11:36
  - It's certainly a capacity play for us to
• 11:39
  - be able to create more access, more capacity.
• 11:42
  - And it's how we actually serve,
• 11:45
  - our people while while adding more beds to
• 11:47
  - meet the future patient demands and expectations
• 11:50
  - that impacts the affordability issue. Underpinning all of
• 11:53
  - that
• 11:54
  - is we have to build our our own
• 11:56
  - workforce. We have a school of medicine, the
• 11:59
  - Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, which was the
• 12:01
  - first private medical school established in New Jersey
• 12:03
  - in over sixty years.
• 12:06
  - First class was welcomed in in 2018 and,
• 12:08
  - you know, we just graduated
• 12:10
  - our sixth class. So, you know, we're we're
• 12:13
  - putting a 150
• 12:14
  - plus.
• 12:15
  - I think this year was a 160
• 12:17
  - some odd new physicians
• 12:19
  - out,
• 12:20
  - in the community
• 12:21
  - each and every year. And it's not just
• 12:23
  - physicians, it's it's nurses, it's other allied health
• 12:26
  - professionals,
• 12:28
  - surgical techs, you name it. You know, when
• 12:30
  - when you're facing a decade long labor headwind,
• 12:34
  - the most durable strategy is to stop competing
• 12:36
  - for talent and begin to create that talent.
• 12:39
  - I love that. That's amazing to hear. And,
• 12:41
  - you know, really, truly, it's cool to have
• 12:43
  - that opportunity,
• 12:45
  - to have I I love the term of
• 12:47
  - radical accessibility,
• 12:49
  - lip reading those spaces to educate the next
• 12:51
  - generation, and then truly, truly being in a
• 12:54
  - space where you're able to grow and develop,
• 12:56
  - was amazing.
• 12:57
  - Now before we wrap up here, I'm curious,
• 13:00
  - who is a leader that you admire really
• 13:01
  - from any industry and why?
• 13:04
  - So it's hard to say one any one
• 13:06
  - individual. There's been many, many great leaders, and
• 13:09
  - I've had many great mentors,
• 13:11
  - along the way.
• 13:12
  - I'd like to look at it from as
• 13:15
  - a leader,
• 13:16
  - I admire
• 13:17
  - the logistics
• 13:18
  - operators.
• 13:19
  - Health care is not delivering packages, but we
• 13:22
  - can learn a lot from organizations like, like
• 13:25
  - UPS and FedEx.
• 13:27
  - They have really figured out
• 13:29
  - that the customer doesn't care how complicated things
• 13:32
  - are. What's most meaningful to them is they
• 13:34
  - get their package
• 13:35
  - when they want it, or the the recipient
• 13:38
  - of a package they send gets it when
• 13:41
  - they need that recipient to get it. So
• 13:44
  - patients
• 13:45
  - want exactly that from us. You know, health
• 13:47
  - care's got a long way to go. Unfortunately,
• 13:49
  - health care, we we typically, as an industry,
• 13:52
  - are are slow learners, and then we're slow
• 13:54
  - adopters to
• 13:56
  - change and new technologies.
• 13:58
  - But I I think when we look at
• 14:00
  - accessibility,
• 14:01
  - we absolutely have to be able to leverage
• 14:03
  - what all those logistic operators have learned and
• 14:06
  - be able to
• 14:07
  - accept patients more quickly and more seamlessly.
• 14:10
  - We need to be able to care for
• 14:12
  - them more quickly and more seamlessly,
• 14:15
  - and we have to be able to provide
• 14:16
  - them with a much better experience because
• 14:18
  - what we,
• 14:20
  - unfortunately, often don't recognize
• 14:22
  - is the fact that people come to us
• 14:24
  - when they have to, not because they want
• 14:26
  - to. And I think the problem is that
• 14:29
  - the only thing that that patients actually come
• 14:32
  - to us for, which is, a happy and
• 14:35
  - a happy event and something they look forward
• 14:37
  - to, is when a child's being born. You
• 14:40
  - know? Other than that,
• 14:41
  - our our customers, our patients are, in pain
• 14:45
  - and they're anxious, and they don't necessarily wanna
• 14:48
  - be with us. So we need to be
• 14:49
  - able to make that as easy and seamless
• 14:52
  - as possible with the best possible experience that
• 14:56
  - they can have.
• 14:57
  - I love that. Mark, thank you so much
• 14:59
  - for joining us on the podcast today. This
• 15:01
  - has been such a fun conversation, really inspiring
• 15:03
  - to hear what you're doing at Hackensack Meridian,
• 15:05
  - and, you know, look forward to seeing you
• 15:07
  - as well at our CEO CFO roundtable. I
• 15:09
  - know you'll be speaking at one of our
• 15:10
  - panels, and it'll be great to catch up
• 15:12
  - with you there.
• 15:13
  - Appreciate it. Thanks so much, Laura, and I
• 15:15
  - enjoyed, our time together.