Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Building a Destination Hospital Through Innovation, Workforce Investment and Specialty Growth with Timothy Layman, DNP

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Building a Destination Hospital Through Innovation, Workforce Investment and Specialty Growth with Timothy Layman, DNP · 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,
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  - and a workforce story that is still being
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  - written.
• 0:20
  - Eker's fourteenth annual CEO CFO roundtable brings together
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  - 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,
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  - 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
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  - a clear sense of where you stand and
• 0:42
  - what comes next.
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  - So join us November second through the fifth
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  - at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, and come
• 0:49
  - ready to do the hard thinking.
• 0:50
  - Register on our events page at beckershospitalreview.com
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  - by clicking on the events tab in the
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  - upper right.
• 0:58
  - This is Laura Dierdahl with the Becker's Healthcare
• 1:00
  - podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
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  - Timothy Lehman, president and chief administrative officer at
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  - Saint Mary's Hospital, part of Hospital Sisters Health
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  - System. Timothy, it's a pleasure to have you
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  - on the podcast today.
• 1:11
  - Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
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  - Absolutely. Now I'm excited for our conversation. I
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  - know we're gonna talk a lot about, some
• 1:17
  - of the great things you're doing at Saint
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  - Mary's Hospital and,
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  - dig into some of the things you're you're
• 1:22
  - looking forward to in the future as well.
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  - But before we dive into that conversation, can
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  - you tell us a little bit more about
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  - yourself and your background?
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  - Sure. So I've been a nurse now for
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  - coming up on twenty years.
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  - So, nursing is a second career for me.
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  - I became a nurse and realized very quickly
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  - that, there's a lot of work to do,
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  - not only in nursing and it but in
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  - health care as well. So I decided to
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  - go back to school, a bunch of different
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  - times and had the privilege of working for
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  - several different types of hospital based systems,
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  - for profit, not for profit, university based medicine,
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  - and private health care.
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  - I have the privilege of working,
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  - my way through clinical positions and leadership roles,
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  - and and, ultimately, I have landed where I
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  - am right now,
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  - working in a a an amazing role that
• 2:11
  - offers a glimpse into
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  - what what the future of health care looks
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  - like.
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  - That's fantastic to hear. And, you know, really
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  - cool to have that opportunity,
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  - to to, you know, explore the field and,
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  - like you said, have the nursing background as
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  - well as the leadership and lots of health
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  - care administration too. So that's great to hear.
• 2:30
  - And could you give us a quick state
• 2:32
  - of the union for,
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  - Saint Mary's Hospital?
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  - What has gone well this year and what
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  - do you really focus on for the rest
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  - of 2026?
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  - Absolutely.
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  - So 2026
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  - has been
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  - a transformational
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  - year for HSHS Saint Mary's Hospital.
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  - We're halfway through one of the most significant
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  - modernization
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  - projects in our history,
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  - including the opening of our new center for
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  - advanced surgery.
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  - Our expanded procedural capacity and renovated patient, inpatient
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  - units,
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  - and upgraded infrastructure
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  - really positions us
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  - to serve the community,
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  - for decades to come. So while the facility
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  - aspect is exciting,
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  - I'm most proud of what our teams have
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  - accomplished operationally.
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  - We have continued to improve quality outcomes,
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  - the reduction of hospital acquired conditions,
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  - strengthened patient experience,
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  - and improved our emergency
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  - department throughput. And those results are just a
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  - reflection
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  - of the incredible team that is committed to
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  - our mission here at Saint Mary's.
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  - I think as we move
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  - through the remainder of 2026,
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  - our focus though is gonna shift from the
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  - building aspect as we continue there,
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  - to maximizing
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  - our potential.
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  - And
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  - and for us, that means growing surgical services,
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  - strengthening
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  - our physician partnerships,
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  - expanding
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  - access to care,
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  - improving our workforce stability, and ensuring
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  - every investment
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  - translates
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  - not only into better patient outcomes,
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  - but a stronger financial performance
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  - and position as well. So that goal is
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  - to
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  - guide and deliver exceptional care,
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  - while building a sustainable organization for the future.
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  - That makes a ton of sense. You know?
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  - And it's really important. I I love the
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  - focus not only on the,
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  - quality and outcomes
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  - as well as the efficiency of moving patients
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  - to the hospital, but then too just being
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  - able to have modern facilities and, pour into
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  - the workforce as well. And so when you
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  - think of all of those things that are
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  - top of mind for for you,
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  - what really
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  - sticks out as being the the area where
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  - the the investment really is gonna make the
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  - biggest difference for those patient outcomes? How do
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  - you see,
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  - being able to navigate, I guess, so many
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  - different factors and changes happening at once?
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  - Yes. So that navigation,
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  - being nimble
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  - and being someone that is routinely flexible in
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  - areas of uncertainty is
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  - absolutely
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  - necessary.
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  - I think that the health care workforce is
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  - singularly the largest focus
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  - for health care organizations
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  - and being able to sustain and create an
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  - environment
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  - where there is a focus on the human
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  - aspect and human potential
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  - around
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  - building the employee from an organizational standpoint and
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  - caring for patients,
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  - from that altruistic standpoint
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  - are extremely important.
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  - Got it. That that makes a lot of
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  - sense, you know, and it truly truly is
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  - part of, such an important mission for health
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  - care today. So I I know a lot
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  - happening, but I am curious too. What are
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  - some of the big headwinds that you have
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  - your eye on and that you've been preparing
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  - for?
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  - What are you doing right now and what's
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  - top of mind in in that space?
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  - So I think the biggest headwind,
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  - is the health care workforce.
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  - That is our single greatest challenge
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  - for facing hospitals nationwide.
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  - So while staffing has stabilized
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  - across the country,
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  - compared to several years ago, there was major
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  - disruption.
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  - We're entering a period where
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  - demographic trends and an aging workforce
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  - and fewer graduates
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  - are are creating
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  - pressure,
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  - for organizations across the country. At the same
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  - time, reimbursement
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  - continues
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  - to tighten,
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  - while the expectations placed on hospitals continues to
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  - grow.
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  - So health systems are being asked to do
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  - more with fewer resources,
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  - making operational excellence,
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  - not only more important, but a central focus
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  - for most executives.
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  - The organizations that will thrive are those that
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  - are able to embrace innovation and disruption,
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  - not by simply reducing costs, but redesigning the
• 6:53
  - way that we deliver care. So things like
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  - artificial intelligence, automation,
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  - predictive analytics, virtual care, all of those things
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  - are extremely important, and they're gonna play an
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  - important role in the future.
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  - And although technology itself won't replace caregivers ever,
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  - it can absolutely help remove or at least
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  - limit administrative burden so that clinicians
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  - spend more time doing what they do best
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  - and that is at the bedside
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  - caring for patients in a compassionate way.
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  - Absolutely. I I love that. And, you know,
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  - to to have some of those challenges that
• 7:27
  - you mentioned, I think, are are very,
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  - you know, a lot of a lot of
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  - hospital leaders across the country are experiencing those
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  - same same things with reimbursement in the workforce
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  - and more. So I I love your thoughts
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  - on being innovative, being able to stay nimble,
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  - and,
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  - incorporating technology into the organization.
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  - Is there
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  - something that you've done, to,
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  - I guess, promote that type of innovation within
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  - Saint Mary's or an example you can share
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  - with us of,
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  - innovation that's truly been able to shine?
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  - So I think it comes back to people
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  - closest to the work
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  - know best what they need and querying and
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  - talking with,
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  - not only our leaders, but talking with our
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  - staff who are closest to patient care,
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  - is probably
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  - the the singular best focus you can have
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  - for designing or redesigning
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  - a health system around
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  - how people visualize the future to be. When
• 8:26
  - asking staff, hey. How could we do this
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  - better? You would be surprised how many innovative
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  - ideas and thoughts come to mind.
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  - As a hospital system, HSHS,
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  - just underwent,
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  - a year of stewardship where our top champions
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  - were asked to provide ideas to the hospital
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  - system in ways to be excellent stewards
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  - of,
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  - of our craft. And a a lot of
• 8:51
  - amazing ideas came from that, ideas where, there
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  - were sharing resources, where,
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  - resources were able to be
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  - duplicated in other areas. So, certainly,
• 9:02
  - in the area of focus was getting information
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  - from the staff members in a way that
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  - makes sense and that we can translate that
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  - into something that works best. Oftentimes,
• 9:12
  - that innovative thought process comes from those closest
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  - to the work.
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  - I love that. What a great philosophy and
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  - especially important,
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  - for those clinicians and leaders who are on
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  - the front lines, how to be able to
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  - make a difference and and and see changes
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  - and then be able to do that. And
• 9:30
  - to that point, you know, where do you
• 9:32
  - see some of the best opportunities to grow
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  - in the next two to three years?
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  - So I think the greatest opportunity,
• 9:38
  - is to become, for us, a destination
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  - hospital
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  - for advanced specialty care
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  - regionally.
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  - So we've invested heavily in the infrastructure,
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  - which many health systems aren't investing in now.
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  - We've already done that. So now it's about
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  - growing the programs that matter most to the
• 9:58
  - community,
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  - expanding our surgical service line, strengthening our cardiovascular
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  - care, enhancing,
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  - neuroscience and orthopedic services, and continuing to recruit
• 10:10
  - amazing outstanding physicians
• 10:12
  - and advanced practice providers.
• 10:14
  - So I'm equally excited about leveraging technology to
• 10:18
  - improving that access, whether it's through telehealth,
• 10:22
  - a a AI enabled clinical support, or even
• 10:25
  - more personalized patient engagement.
• 10:27
  - We've got a unique opportunity
• 10:28
  - to make health care more convenient while improving
• 10:31
  - quality outcomes.
• 10:32
  - The growth for us isn't simply just about
• 10:35
  - adding volume. It's about creating a health system
• 10:38
  - that delivers a high value,
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  - better clinical outcome, exceptional patient experience
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  - every single time and that we can do
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  - it with long term financial sustainability.
• 10:49
  - That's the type of growth that benefits everyone.
• 10:53
  - Absolutely. I I love it. And, you know,
• 10:55
  - investing more in that clinical team, makes a
• 10:58
  - lot of sense and extremely
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  - exciting that you're bringing on more physicians, more
• 11:02
  - specialists, and members of the of the clinical
• 11:05
  - team to serve the patients. I know,
• 11:08
  - a lot happening within that space. So being
• 11:10
  - able to be in a position where you're
• 11:12
  - bringing in more physicians,
• 11:14
  - I I can imagine is is a great
• 11:16
  - place to be.
• 11:17
  - Very exciting.
• 11:18
  - Absolutely. Now before we wrap up, I'm curious,
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  - who do you admire as a leader from
• 11:23
  - really any industry and why?
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  - That was a tough question. I I think
• 11:28
  - one leader I admire is Sucha Nadella,
• 11:32
  - the CEO of Microsoft.
• 11:34
  - When he became CEO,
• 11:37
  - Microsoft was already a successful company.
• 11:39
  - But he fundamentally
• 11:41
  - changed
• 11:42
  - its culture. He shifted
• 11:44
  - the organization
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  - from one that is centered on competition
• 11:49
  - and knowing all the answers to one that
• 11:51
  - is focused on learning,
• 11:52
  - collaboration,
• 11:54
  - the innovation arm,
• 11:56
  - and empathy.
• 11:57
  - So under his leadership alone, Microsoft
• 11:59
  - has experienced remarkable growth while maintaining
• 12:03
  - a strong commitment to its purpose
• 12:06
  - and its people.
• 12:08
  - There's several lessons health care leaders, I think,
• 12:10
  - can take from that approach, and it's that
• 12:13
  - culture is a strategic advantage.
• 12:16
  - Innovation only succeeds when people feel empowered to
• 12:20
  - contribute.
• 12:21
  - And humility
• 12:22
  - and the willingness to learn, listen, and continuously
• 12:26
  - improve
• 12:27
  - is one of the most important leadership qualities
• 12:29
  - that somebody can have. So in health care,
• 12:31
  - our mission is slightly different, but the principles
• 12:33
  - remain the same. The best leaders create environments
• 12:37
  - where people feel valued, where innovation is
• 12:41
  - encouraged, and where decisions begin with the question,
• 12:45
  - how does this improve
• 12:46
  - the lives of the people we serve? And
• 12:48
  - so I think he
• 12:50
  - he really
• 12:51
  - he shows that,
• 12:53
  - in his very humanistic approach and his very
• 12:56
  - leader profile, which is what makes him incredibly
• 12:59
  - successful.
• 13:01
  - I love it. Timothy, thank you so much
• 13:03
  - for joining us on the podcast today. This
• 13:04
  - has been such a fun conversation.
• 13:06
  - Really learned a lot about Saint Mary's and,
• 13:09
  - you know, excellent to to have your perspective
• 13:11
  - on how to move forward. And,
• 13:13
  - you know, it was very, very exciting and
• 13:16
  - disruptive times in health care. So I appreciate
• 13:18
  - your perspective, and we look forward to seeing
• 13:20
  - you at our CEO CFO roundtable. I know
• 13:22
  - you'll be here in Chicago in November, speaking
• 13:25
  - on one of our panels. And so we'll
• 13:26
  - dig deeper into many of these themes, and
• 13:28
  - it'll just be great to see you in
• 13:29
  - person.
• 13:30
  - Alright. Look forward to meeting you as well,
• 13:32
  - and thanks for having me.