← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:00]
Scott Becker
This is Scott Becker with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by somebody who's as good at what they do as anybody in the country. We're joined today by Brian Peters. Brian serves as a chief executive officer of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association. He has just done an incredible job in that role. In that role of mixing the needs of large systems, small systems, rural systems, urban systems, and trying to make sure that they're all served well at a time of tremendous challenges, both in the state capitals and in D.C. is a really challenging role. Brian, do you mind taking a moment and introducing yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and about the Michigan Hospital Health System Association?
- [00:50]
Brian Peters
Well, absolutely, Scott, and thank you so much for the kind words and for having me on. I really appreciate all that you do. And, you know, the Michigan Health and Hospital association is a really remarkable organization. We've been around for a little over 100 years now, and as you know, it's very rare to see a state hospital association that has literally every single hospital and health system in the state inside the membership. We have every single member organization that's actively engaged with our organization. And I think that really is the strength of the mha, both in the public policy and advocacy domain, but certainly in everything else that we do as well. I've been very blessed to be at the MHA now for 35 years, the last 10 as CEO, and have had the opportunity to work with some really remarkable people, both on our staff and certainly on our governing board and throughout our membership as well. And I think we've become a really instrumental part of the healthcare ecosystem here in the state, in the region, and even across the country in some respects.
- [01:58]
Scott Becker
Let me do this for a moment. You know, you've done an incredible job. The American Hospital Associates took years to get to where you're at. And what I mean by that is, is as follows. Rick Pollack at the AHA is an incredible leader. He has done an incredible job in leading the aha. Prior to Rick, the AHA was a great organization, but it was just a little bit more divisive and a little bit more people felt they were serving one sort of system. Not systems, not every system. And Rick has done an incredible job in solving that and really feeling like that. The AHA is an ad for everybody throughout the entire hospital ecosystem. You've done this incredible job at the Michigan Hospital Health Association. Take a second, Brian. You know, we're such a challenging, interesting time for health systems. Tell us, what are the top issues that you're hearing about from your health systems currently.
- [02:55]
Brian Peters
Well, first of all, you know, I appreciate the commentary about Rick Pollack happens to be a very close friend of mine and a mentor. He's someone that has been at AHA even longer than I've been at mha and I had the good fortune of meeting him some 35 years ago when I was just an intern here in Michigan and have followed his career ever since. He's been, as I said, a mentor and someone that I've always looked up to. And, you know, we compare notes. I've had the great privilege since January 1st of this year to serve on the AHA Board of Trustees and work even more closely with Rick and his amazing team at aha. And we try to collaborate as much as we possibly can. And certainly given everything that's on the table right now in Washington, D.C. with the Specter of potential Medicaid cuts, we have been working more closely than ever. But really, to answer your question, what's on the mind of our members? I mean, it starts with advocacy. No question about it. As you alluded to accurately, we are very engaged here at the state level. Certainly we're working on the Medicaid budget here with the governor and the state legislature, certainly working to protect against the potential implementation of government mandated nurse staffing ratio legislation. We've successfully fended that off here for a number of years, certainly involved in 340B issues, involved in medical liability issues, and so that advocacy work continues. But you know, for the last few months it's really been all hands on deck at the federal level given what's happening there. And our members have a tremendous amount of anxiety when it comes to what could potentially happen with respect to Medicaid. But then, you know, once that shoe drops, is there going to be another shoe that drops related to site neutral payment and then potentially with 340B as well? So I would tell you that the level of uncertainty and anxiety is as high as I've ever seen it in our membership. But it's also a reason for hospital and health system leaders to seek that safe ground. And that safe ground is their association. Both MHA and aha. They know we're going to be in the foxhole with them. They know we're aligned in terms of their interests and we make that clear both in words and in actions. I think that's critically important.
- [05:21]
Scott Becker
Brian, I'll take you back one second here because you've done this incredible job for a very long time. I think you've been at The Michigan Hospital 30 years, which is incredible because you sound so young. Talk for a second about just how did you end up in this world of what you do?
- [05:37]
Brian Peters
Well, it's a really interesting and non traditional story. I was actually a sport fishing charter boat captain on Northern Lake Michigan, if you can believe it, while I was getting my Business Administration degree at Michigan State University. And one of my clients was a guy by the name of Spence Johnson, who was the longtime CEO here at mha. And we got to know each other through that sport fishing charter business. And when I was about to graduate from undergrad, he offered me an internship at mha, which I accepted, absolutely fell in love with the association, with the mission, the work that we do and our members, and never left. I certainly have cherished every minute of it. But I went back to grad school at his request and got a master's degree in Health Services Administration just down the road in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan, which was a wonderful experience. And, you know, I've been at MHA ever since, 35 years now, and really cherish every opportunity I have to work on the issues that our board lifts up and gives us this opportunity to tackle every single day. It's really quite remarkable.
- [06:52]
Scott Becker
So I'm going to ask you two questions that come out of that or three, and then I'll actually make a positive comment. First is thank God that charter. If you're a Midwesterner, you'll know this song was not the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
- [07:06]
Brian Peters
That's right.
- [07:07]
Scott Becker
And hopefully you're familiar with the Gordon Whitefoot song, one of the great songs of all time. And that was a boat that crashed in Lake Michigan. The, the, the, the, the second thing is we're a huge believer of do whatever job you're doing great and don't be constantly looking for the next thing. And if you spend 80% of your time doing a great job at what you do, opportunities will open up, particularly if you're open and connect the dots. It sounds like you must have done a great job as a charter boat captain because you impress the CEO of the Michigan Hospital association, any career advisor that you'd like.
- [07:41]
Brian Peters
Well, absolutely. And I appreciate the kind words again. And you know, we have two teenage children and I tell them all the time that, you know, regardless of how many, you know, blessings you may have in terms of a skill set and intelligence, the one thing that no one can take away from you is your ability to be nice to people, to be a good friend and colleague and to build your network every single day, to take the opportunity to make a new friend, to make a new connection. And that's what I did with my charter service. It would have been very easy to just take people out fishing, take their money and wish them a nice day. But I really treated it as an opportunity every time I had a new customer on board to learn about them, to learn about their story and to stay in touch with them. And you know, by the end of my charter fishing career, I was very proud that I had such a very strong return customer business because people wanted to come back, but I was able to build that network. And I've really taken that lesson to heart. When it comes to the work at mha, we look at every single day as an opportunity to meet new people, to grow our network. And that's come to, to serve us very, very well over the years. And I think to advance the cause of our mission because we have such an extensive network of people with multiple talents. So whether you're a seasoned executive running an organization or whether you're, in our case, our teenage kids, I think that's a lesson everyone should take to heart.
- [09:22]
Scott Becker
But I think it's so much of why you've been so successful, this sort of view that you could learn from everything. You do great work, you can talk to everybody. You built your network. You weren't intentionally building your network to find a job. You're building your network as you were doing a good job. But this concept of sort of treating every customer pretty well and not treating like they don't matter is one of the reasons, over a 30 year period of time, we've done something that I don't think any other state association could brag about, that every single hospital in the state is a member. That's an amazing, amazing tribute to leadership in being helpful in moving the ball forward for everybody. I mean, so many leaders of associations spend so much time with the top 10 systems that drive the association revenues and don't, and by necessity or by choice, don't talk to the smaller systems. And you've done this incredible job of tying it all together and keeping all the constituents as happy as you can. I think it's really an amazing thing.
- [10:24]
Brian Peters
Well, I appreciate that. And you know, there's wisdom in that because I learned a lesson very early on in my MHA career. We had a CEO of a small independent rural hospital, one that didn't pay a lot in dues. And to your point, there might be the temptation to really spend your time and Energy on the big dues payers, the big systems. But it happened to be the case that the speaker of the House here in Michigan was from his district, was a rural Michigander himself. And the one and only hospital relationship he had was the CEO of this small rural independent hospital. And throughout that entire time period when that speaker of the House was in charge in Lansing in our state capitol, that relationship was incredibly important. And if we had not worked very, very hard to make sure that that rural hospital CEO valued the work that the Michigan Health and Hospital association did for him and his organization, if we had not worked very hard to develop that relationship, who knows, he might not have been an MHA member and he might not have been willing to engage in the political space in the way that he did, which turned out to be very, very beneficial for all rural Michiganders and everyone who relied on the healthcare ecosystem here. And so that was a lesson that resonated with me. It's one that is still true to this day. But I think even more importantly, it's the right thing to do. And I worked for a captain before I had my own business, before I became a captain myself. I was a first mate on a charter boat. And the captain on my first day out with a group asked me, do you know what our mission is today? I said, yes, to catch fish. He said, no, it's to make a friend. And he said, you know what? We may not catch any fish today, but if we make a friend, they'll come back. And I think that really powerful statement has stuck with me all these years. We can't always deliver the goods in the political space. We do a pretty good job. Our track record is pretty darn solid there. But you can't always deliver a winning outcome. If you've made a friend and they trust you and they understand that you gave their best effort, you're going to have a relationship that lasts. You're going to have 100% membership in the association. Good things are going to happen.
- [12:54]
Scott Becker
So I'm going to ask you a question because two of the most centered speakers I've had this last couple of weeks and just so clear and so thoughtful are yourself and Dr. Marshall Runge. So I guess I'll ask you two questions. Is there a monopoly on common sense coming out of the state of Michigan? And I don't mean that politically, because I have no take at all on the government or anything else, but is there a monopoly on common sense coming out of the out of Michigan? And the second thing is when you cheer in the Spartans play the Wolverines, where do your loyalties line up?
- [13:31]
Brian Peters
Well, great question. That is a hardball question right there, I have to tell you. But yeah, I appreciate the kind words about Michigan. Marshall Runge. Dr. Runge is a friend and has been a phenomenal leader at the University of Michigan. No question. So we do have a lot of Spartans and a lot of Wolverines in our membership. I have degrees from both universities, so I'm agnostic there. I play it right down the middle and support both and other fine universities that are producing doctors and nurses and all kinds of healthcare graduates that our hospitals and health systems are hiring every day. So we're blessed to have a wonderful higher education community to partner with our members. No question about it.
- [14:13]
Scott Becker
No, just absolutely fantastic. And I will actually take a spot on that one, as I always share. For the Spartans against the Wolverines, I don't have to be as political as you are because I don't really run the Michigan Hospital Association. I'm probably not as nice a person as you are either. Second is, I've had two daughters have gone to the University of Michigan and will. I love Ann Arbor and love the University of Michigan. I will never say go blue. I will never become a Michigan sports fan. It's like grew up. So, you know, as a rival or thinking we were a rival to them, they didn't think we were rival to them, but we did. But no. Thank you for that. Talk to us about, you know, two more quick subjects if you got time. Brian, what are you most focused on and excited about this year?
- [14:52]
Brian Peters
Well, you know, we talk about all of these challenges coming out of the political sphere, but I'm really excited about the future of health care because I think it's going to improve for all of us. I don't think that hospitals and other components of the healthcare ecosystem have been as focused as we could be and should be on what's best for the patient experience. And I know that that's top of mind right now for many of our leaders. I know they're looking at the emergence of new technologies and AI. They're certainly looking at the potential impact of disruptors. These are these well funded, very well connected organizations from outside the traditional healthcare sphere that certainly are looking at a $4 trillion annual healthcare spend that's only getting bigger because of our aging population and really trying to build a better mousetrap. I think our leaders are looking at that dynamic and saying, you know what, we have to do better. And we are. I think there are some really Exciting developments not only in terms of the implementation of new technologies, but new approaches as well, and thinking differently about how we go about the business of healthcare delivery and financing. So I'm one that is never going to be doom and gloom. I'm going to look at the challenges that we have and confront those head on as we have to. But you know what? I think there are some really exciting opportunities. Some of those, by the way, are in the safety and quality improvement space where the MHA now for 25 years has operated the Keystone center, which has really changed the game, I would say, in terms of hospital based safety and quality improvement. We've saved thousands and thousands of lives as a direct result. We have the clinical outcomes data to prove that. So that's an example of where I think we can do better and we're going to just.
- [16:46]
Scott Becker
Fantastic. One last question. I know we've already touched on this a little bit, but your best piece of advice for emerging leaders? Again, I'm always amazed at people that spent 34 years in the same organization. And I have two takes of that. Then I'm going to get back to the question. I promise my two takes on anybody that spent 34 years at the same organization. One is they have to be competent at what they do. Two is they have to be a good person and a nice person. And I'll tell you why I say that. If you're any one place for 34 years and you're not a nice person, sooner or later you're going to make an enemy that will crush you and get you out of the organization. So you spend 34 years someplace, you got to be good at what you do and you got to be a good person. But let me turn it back to you, Brian. What is best piece of advice for emerging leaders?
- [17:32]
Brian Peters
Well, you know, for that I'm going to turn to the great advice of my own father, who fortunately is still alive. We just got back from our annual father son fishing trip, as a matter of fact. But he retired some years ago as the CEO of a major health system himself. And so he came from this world. And one of the things that he told me is even, you know, from, from his perspective as the CEO of a health system, you'd better be treating the people that are scrubbing the toilets in the hospital exactly the same way you treat the chair of your board. Always and never forget that. And you know what, it comes back to that, that issue of how do you present yourself and are you a nice person? To your point, And I think I'M a nice person. I sure try to be. Every single day. We try to do great work. We try to work hard and focus on the right issues. At the end of the day, I try to build a network of people that I can legitimately call friends. And that takes some effort. It takes some doing. But that is advice I would give to anybody. Treat people with respect. Treat them as you would want to be treated yourself. I know that's simple. I know that's old fashioned, but, man, that goes a long way. It really does. And I would tell you the other advice is always look for an opportunity for personal growth, and that comes from your network. You know, I can't tell you how many people I've met that have a skill set or a background that's foreign to me, but dive into that and spend a day with them and pick their brain and get to learn through your network. That's just been incredibly powerful to me over the years, and I would share that insight with anyone.
- [19:16]
Scott Becker
Brian, what a fantastic pleasure to visit with you. If you do me one favor, don't tell Dr. Runge how much I cheer against Michigan sports. I'm a huge fan of Michigan medicine and of Michigan. And also, whatever you do, don't tell Rick how highly I spoke of him. And the biggest fan of what he's done with the. Aha. It's literally remarkable. And I'm a huge fan of what you've done with the mba. It's really fantastic. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you very, very.
- [19:42]
Brian Peters
Thank you. Thank you. This has been really fun and I appreciate the opportunity so much.