Latest / Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast / Alan Hathcock, CEO and Medical Director at Northern Colorado Hospitalists

Transcript

Alan Hathcock, CEO and Medical Director at Northern Colorado Hospitalists · Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast

• 0:05
  - This is the Becker's Healthcare Podcast, created
• 0:07
  by the team of Becker's Healthcare,
• 0:08
  a multimedia company devoted to the people
• 0:10
  who power us healthcare.
• 0:11
  Four new 15 minute episodes are released daily containing
• 0:14
  industry news analysis and thought leadership.
• 0:16
  From powerful healthcare decision makers Support our show
• 0:19
  by leaving it a five star rating and review on Apple Podcast
• 0:22
  or other platforms you use.
• 0:24
  It's a chance to tell us what you like about the show
• 0:25
  and act on your feedback.
• 0:27
  Thanks for listening. Now here's the episode.
• 0:30
  - This is Laura Dedo with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast.
• 0:33
  I'm thrilled today to be joined by Alan Cock,
• 0:36
  chief Executive Officer
• 0:37
  and medical director at Northern Colorado Hospitalists.
• 0:40
  Alan, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
• 0:43
  - It's a pleasure to be here, Laura. Thanks for having me
• 0:45
  - Now.
• 0:46
  I'm really excited for our discussion.
• 0:47
  I know there's a lot happening in healthcare and,
• 0:49
  and really it's a critical time right now to, uh,
• 0:51
  be looking ahead and making improvements
• 0:53
  and doing some really great things.
• 0:54
  But before we dive into our broader discussion,
• 0:58
  I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit more
• 0:59
  about yourself and your background.
• 1:01
  - Sure. So as you mentioned, uh, right now I'm the CEO
• 1:04
  and Medical Director of Northern Colorado Hospitalists
• 1:06
  as well as NCH Health Partners.
• 1:09
  Um, we're a large physician-owned independent regional
• 1:12
  hospital medicine and post-acute care, uh,
• 1:14
  group in northern Colorado.
• 1:16
  And we partner with University of Colorado Health Hospitals.
• 1:19
  Uh, I'm also the vice chief
• 1:21
  of staff at our level one trauma center medical center
• 1:23
  of the Rockies in Loveland.
• 1:25
  So I'm kind of wear a multitude of hats
• 1:27
  and internist by, by training.
• 1:29
  And then I've been practicing hospital medicine now
• 1:32
  for, for more than 10 years.
• 1:35
  - Got it. That's really great to hear
• 1:37
  and definitely exciting to, uh,
• 1:39
  just have all those different, um, aspects
• 1:42
  of the healthcare system represented in,
• 1:43
  in everything that you do.
• 1:45
  And, you know, when you look at where we're at today,
• 1:47
  what are some of your top priorities?
• 1:48
  What is really top of mind for you right now?
• 1:51
  - Well, I think, you know, one thing
• 1:53
  that we always are focused on I is, is patient care.
• 1:56
  I mean, you have to have that as kind of your,
• 1:59
  your cornerstone for any, any program,
• 2:02
  especially a physician owned and run group like ours.
• 2:06
  That's step one, always.
• 2:07
  And so I think, you know,
• 2:09
  during the pandemic there was a lot of, uh,
• 2:11
  really shaking up of the,
• 2:12
  the healthcare systems and processes.
• 2:15
  And, and I think one of the big things that a lot
• 2:17
  of folks are doing, both within in our group
• 2:20
  and then in healthcare systems at large is,
• 2:22
  is refocusing on trying
• 2:24
  to provide the highest quality of patient care.
• 2:26
  So, you know, looking at process refinement, things
• 2:29
  that need to change
• 2:30
  or adapt maybe, um, that's,
• 2:32
  that's always gonna be our priority.
• 2:33
  And I think, um, so that's sort of step one for me always.
• 2:37
  And I think step two for us
• 2:39
  or kind of our second priority, um, is still the idea that,
• 2:44
  that we, we have
• 2:45
  to focus on recruiting the best people and retaining them.
• 2:48
  Um, burnout is a huge issue still all throughout healthcare
• 2:52
  as, as you guys and Becker's are well aware.
• 2:54
  I mean, there's just statistic
• 2:55
  after statistic with, um, you know, physicians
• 2:58
  and healthcare providers that are, that are changing jobs,
• 3:01
  leaving the profession, et cetera.
• 3:02
  So that's probably our primary focus, um, outside
• 3:06
  of the clinical realm specifically, is
• 3:08
  how do we support our, our frontline providers?
• 3:11
  How do we support our physicians in this kind
• 3:14
  of peri pandemic era?
• 3:18
  - Absolutely. I think that's such an important point.
• 3:20
  And, and definitely, you know, when you look at, um,
• 3:22
  that aspect of being able to support providers
• 3:25
  and making sure that, you know, they're able to operate, um,
• 3:29
  in, in a way that's providing great patient care,
• 3:30
  but without putting too much trust on themselves or,
• 3:33
  or feeling burnt out.
• 3:34
  Um, is there anything that you've been able
• 3:36
  to do over the last few years
• 3:37
  that has really supported them in this space and,
• 3:40
  and yielded some great results?
• 3:42
  - Yeah, so I mean, I think, um, the,
• 3:45
  the pandemic really was a good mirror to look at at
• 3:48
  how you're doing things right.
• 3:49
  And we, I mean, luckily we've kept, uh,
• 3:52
  2.5% turnover rate in our organization even throughout the
• 3:56
  pandemic, which is extremely low.
• 3:58
  And that's really a testament to the fact that we, you know,
• 4:01
  we focus on all sorts of pieces
• 4:03
  of the physician retention puzzle.
• 4:05
  We, we've looked at just the environment of
• 4:08
  how the rooms are set up
• 4:09
  and that our work rooms, for example,
• 4:11
  do they really lend themselves, uh, in a way to,
• 4:14
  to allow collaboration,
• 4:16
  to allow collegiality kinda build that culture.
• 4:18
  And then our processes,
• 4:20
  just even from our day-to-Day workflow, you know,
• 4:22
  our clinical workflow, our scheduling processes,
• 4:25
  we've really looked at all those, how we,
• 4:27
  how we have services at the hospitals,
• 4:29
  how our admission cycles go, all those things
• 4:32
  or our part of, you know, de-stressing our, our physicians
• 4:36
  and sort of that, that, um, mental burden
• 4:39
  and that mental workload trying
• 4:41
  to make it as smooth as possible.
• 4:43
  And, uh, I think that shows you're investing in people.
• 4:46
  And so we've tried to say, Hey, look, what do you guys need?
• 4:49
  What, what do you think would be helpful to support you
• 4:52
  so you can sustain this career trajectory?
• 4:55
  And we've done some of those things.
• 4:56
  We actually implemented a sabbatical program
• 4:59
  that starts in January.
• 5:00
  So we kinda have a cycling sabbatical for, um,
• 5:04
  for the physician owners of our group, uh, you know,
• 5:07
  over the course of several years where people
• 5:09
  can have that time away.
• 5:11
  And I think that, that people need that after the pandemic.
• 5:13
  That's just kinda one specific benefit that we, we found
• 5:16
  that our, our group, uh, values quite a bit.
• 5:20
  There's obviously, you know, paternity leave, uh,
• 5:23
  looking at those type things,
• 5:25
  looking at all sorts of benefits programs.
• 5:26
  I think those are things we've really kind
• 5:28
  of turned over the rocks to see what we can do
• 5:31
  and improve upon to not only recruit physicians,
• 5:35
  but retain them once they're here.
• 5:37
  And so far it's been, it's been very helpful.
• 5:39
  Um, I think that's been the one aspect.
• 5:41
  And then from the leader side,
• 5:42
  really working on career development.
• 5:44
  You know, you need a deep leadership bench,
• 5:46
  and one thing we've been focused on is, you know,
• 5:49
  giving extra, extra financial support for people that go
• 5:52
  to leadership training programs and, and explore conferences
• 5:56
  and learn how to be a better leader for, uh,
• 6:00
  physician and provider groups.
• 6:02
  And that's, you know, pays dividends down the road
• 6:05
  because you have more
• 6:06
  and more people that can really help your clinical processes
• 6:09
  and help navigate some of the obvious, you know, challenges
• 6:12
  that happen all the time in healthcare.
• 6:15
  So those are just some of the things that we've done
• 6:17
  to really focus on the physician retention
• 6:19
  and, and burnout piece.
• 6:23
  - I love that. I, I think those are such great ideas
• 6:25
  and certainly areas that not only help the physicians,
• 6:28
  but the organization at large.
• 6:29
  And speaking of that,
• 6:31
  how do you see Northern Colorado hospitalists, uh,
• 6:33
  evolving over the next two to three years or so?
• 6:37
  - Uh, you know, it's, uh, we're in a growing region.
• 6:39
  Um, Colorado in general is, uh,
• 6:42
  has always been a high growth the last few years.
• 6:44
  The pandemic accelerated that Northern Colorado
• 6:47
  where we work in the region, uh, is just a tremendous,
• 6:50
  uh, level of growth.
• 6:52
  And so what that really means for us is, well, how do we,
• 6:55
  how do we, um, up staff to meet that demand, uh,
• 6:59
  as our hospitals grow, uh, as our,
• 7:02
  as our patient population grows in different regions,
• 7:05
  and how do we focus on maintaining our culture
• 7:07
  through that growth and expansion?
• 7:08
  I think that's, uh, one thing
• 7:10
  that we are focused on right now.
• 7:12
  So that's a, a big part of it.
• 7:14
  And then another aspect in the next two to three years,
• 7:17
  and some of the groundwork that we've
• 7:20
  recently laid is looking at kind of new
• 7:22
  and innovative ways to care
• 7:23
  for patients along the spectrum of care.
• 7:25
  We really see there being a lot of gaps in care right now
• 7:29
  where the inpatient to outpatient setting.
• 7:31
  And so we actually established a post-acute care division,
• 7:35
  um, NCH Health partners, uh, over the summer
• 7:39
  and have launched in some skilled nursing facilities
• 7:42
  and acute rehab facilities around the area to help
• 7:44
  with these transitions of care to try
• 7:46
  and kind of, uh, bridge the connection for patients
• 7:49
  as they're, as they're moving, uh, into
• 7:52
  and out of the hospital
• 7:53
  and really ultimately try to prevent them from, from having
• 7:56
  to come back in the hospital, try to keep them healthy.
• 7:58
  Uh, and so that's a, a big program that we are,
• 8:01
  we're lifting right now.
• 8:02
  And so over the next two to three years,
• 8:03
  we'll be developing those transitions of care, um, trying
• 8:08
  to leverage some
• 8:09
  of the telemedicine opportunities and maybe even ai.
• 8:11
  I mean, we don't really know where AI's gonna go,
• 8:13
  but we, we all think it's gonna be a part
• 8:15
  of our life in tremendous ways.
• 8:17
  Uh, definitely over the next five years, probably closer
• 8:20
  to one to two years with the rate, uh,
• 8:22
  that things are changing and we're hopeful it's gonna
• 8:25
  help us with new processes that, that kind of alleviate some
• 8:28
  of the things I talked about earlier for
• 8:30
  our, our physicians.
• 8:32
  Um, maybe makes, makes, you know, one extra tool, uh,
• 8:35
  for either clinical decision making or,
• 8:37
  or helping with documentation, all the things that,
• 8:40
  that right now, um, take more time out of a provider's day,
• 8:45
  we think that may help streamline things.
• 8:46
  So we're looking at a lot of those,
• 8:48
  and I, I do think that each
• 8:49
  of those aspects are gonna be part of our,
• 8:51
  our two to three year plan.
• 8:55
  - Got it. That makes a lot of sense.
• 8:56
  You know, and, and really, uh, seems to tie nicely into the,
• 9:00
  the initiatives and projects you already have
• 9:02
  and thinking through, you know, um, that kind
• 9:05
  of digital transformation, how you're growing and developing
• 9:08
  and, and continue to be innovative.
• 9:09
  Um, what is it like for a, a leader, um, to, to kind
• 9:14
  of change that culture around that for, um,
• 9:16
  the other physicians that you work with in your team?
• 9:19
  Um, how do you make sure
• 9:21
  that everybody is looking at things in a new way, um,
• 9:23
  and really embracing whether it's technology
• 9:25
  or other processes, methods to become more efficient
• 9:29
  and effective at what they're doing?
• 9:31
  - That's a great question. I mean,
• 9:32
  change is hard for anyone.
• 9:34
  Change is exceptionally hard for physicians.
• 9:37
  Uh, it is something that we really message from the,
• 9:40
  from the get go from when we start recruiting
• 9:43
  people from the beginning.
• 9:44
  We talk about the need to flex and adapt.
• 9:46
  And I think people who've been through the pandemic know
• 9:49
  that more than ever that change is a part of healthcare.
• 9:53
  And being flexible is a part of healthcare.
• 9:55
  And I think if you really remind people of the why, uh,
• 9:59
  that you're doing the change, that's the key part, right?
• 10:01
  We know there's an underserved population, um, of, of
• 10:07
  aging people in northern Colorado that we can really help
• 10:12
  with their clinical care, keep them healthy, like I said.
• 10:15
  And I think when you, again, focus back on that, that,
• 10:18
  you know, fundamental cornerstone
• 10:19
  of high quality patient care
• 10:21
  and doing what's best for the patients, it's, it's easier
• 10:24
  to work through change management
• 10:26
  whenever everybody sees that, that common,
• 10:28
  that common thread, that common goal.
• 10:31
  And we work towards it.
• 10:32
  So it, you know, there's always change management.
• 10:34
  We like to use the Kotter model of change.
• 10:36
  It's a great one just to kind of plan change and messaging.
• 10:39
  And of course it takes multiple permutations
• 10:41
  and everybody adapts differently.
• 10:44
  But I think if you can really relay, uh, the why
• 10:48
  behind those changes and make sure you have the right
• 10:49
  stakeholders at the table, um,
• 10:51
  and that again falls to, uh, excellent leadership team, uh,
• 10:55
  who is ready for those initiatives,
• 10:57
  and you make sure that your processes are in place, I think
• 11:00
  that's really what can make change messaging
• 11:02
  successful, uh, for leaders.
• 11:06
  - I love that. Thank you so much for that advice.
• 11:08
  Now, before we wrap up here,
• 11:09
  I know you already talked a little bit about some
• 11:11
  of the changes you've made on staffing and retention.
• 11:14
  Is there anything else you'd like to talk through
• 11:15
  or share with us that's, uh, really been successful
• 11:18
  for you over the last year or so?
• 11:20
  - Yeah, so, um, the really, we've made a concerted effort to
• 11:24
  rethink care delivery.
• 11:26
  Um, as I mentioned, you know, I think
• 11:28
  that care delivery is changing
• 11:31
  and I think we have to make sure
• 11:32
  that we're open to new models.
• 11:34
  It can't always be in-person, uh, face-to-face care.
• 11:38
  And I think that's one thing that we're really trying
• 11:39
  to explore is how can we do it differently,
• 11:42
  more efficiently, um, in a way that serves the patients, uh,
• 11:47
  in a way that also can serve
• 11:48
  the providers, if that makes sense.
• 11:50
  So trying to, to extend your reach without having to always
• 11:55
  extend the physical manpower.
• 11:56
  And I think that's something that,
• 11:58
  that we're still working on, still trying
• 12:00
  to figure out in our post-acute division.
• 12:02
  Um, but I think that will be one, one piece, um, that,
• 12:07
  that I think is gonna, gonna continue
• 12:09
  to provide great results in the future for us.
• 12:11
  I hope.
• 12:13
  - I love it. Well, thank you Alan, so much
• 12:14
  for joining us on the podcast today.
• 12:16
  This has been really a fun and interesting conversation,
• 12:18
  and I look forward to connecting with you again soon.
• 12:20
  - Thanks so much, Laura. Uh, I would love to come back.
• 12:25
  - It's so important for leaders at the top of organizations
• 12:27
  to keep learning, stay sharp, grow their networks
• 12:30
  to help our audience better do this in a more simplified,
• 12:33
  personalized, and meaningful way.
• 12:35
  Becker's Healthcare has launched my bhc,
• 12:38
  it's your trusted Becker's healthcare experience
• 12:40
  and more with content, connections, events
• 12:42
  and learning opportunities.
• 12:44
  Join the community free
• 12:45
  of charge@www.my dot becker's hospital
• 12:49
  review.com and we'll see you there.