← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Hello and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. Today we're joined by Cody Walker, president of Baptist Health in North Little Rock. Cody, can you take a little bit to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Baptist House in North Little Rock?
- [00:13]
B
Yeah. Great to be here Jeremy. Thanks for having me. Like you said, I'm the president of Baptist Health Medical center in North Little rock. It's a 225 bed tertiary care center that's actually average the daily census of about 225 patients. So like many hospitals in the country, we've been laser focused on capacity optimization. At Baptist Health, we've been focused on improving the health of Arkansans by changing the way that healthcare is delivered for the past 100 years. Now, Baptist Health is a $2 billion annual revenue company with 2012 hospitals and over 100 points of ambulatory access in the state. We really strive to be a leader in innovation while making sure that our patients get the best care possible right here. Close to home.
- [01:08]
A
What trends are you currently paying attention to in healthcare?
- [01:12]
B
Currently, I'm paying really close attention to the rapid advancements in telehealth and really just all digital health solutions at large. In particular, I've spent a good amount of time strategizing around agenic triage and just automated care experiences in the ambulatory environment. These technologies really have the potential to improve access to care and enhance patient engagement, something we've struggled with for a really long time. And I'm also keeping a close eye on the evolving landscape of value based care models, figuring out how we can best align our services to deliver optimal outcomes and affordability for patients. And plus, we can't ignore any of the workforce challenges, especially workforce shortages. That's a big one for us. We are exploring every type of automation while investing heavily in the development of our most precious asset, our people.
- [02:23]
A
What would you say are your biggest accomplishments of you in the organization from the last, let's say couple years?
- [02:30]
B
Yeah, that's a great question. Personally, my focus has been pretty consistent throughout my career and it's a simple one and it's to help people. It all started for me as an ambulance dispatcher in a critical access hospital. Then I transitioned to a patient care tech in a nursing home and then to an ICU nurse. And as an ICU nurse, I was helping patients get back to the activities they enjoyed one patient at a time. But now as a hospital president, I see my role as helping people by eliminating barriers that improve access to our career. As a system, I'M really excited about our ongoing efforts to implement new technologies that enhance our existing hospital capacity. We've been on a journey, kind of like the Jim Collins BHAG concept, to become the most efficient, reliable and predictable health system in the country. And I know that that's a large aspiration, but. And over the last 18 months or so, like you asked, I'm really incredibly proud of our team's resilience and focus on capacity optimization. Because of this work as a system, We've seen a 6% increase in emissions. We've reduced ED boarding by 525 patients a month. There's been a significant increase in the number of discharges by 11am we talk about that hotel concept, check out 11 and check in at 3. And oftentimes that's the exact opposite in hospitals. So in 2023, we as a system were at 7% of our discharges leaving by 11. And just this past week, we surpassed our goal. 30% of our daily discharges leaving before 11. That's a significant improvement. Throughout the entire house, we've seen a 40% reduction in discharge processing times. We were at 135 minutes average when we started this journey from order to when the patient left. And now this past week, we were at 87 minutes average. That doesn't just happen overnight. That's. That is rallying an entire culture to focus on ways to eliminate waste. These improvements have created the equivalent capacity of an entire bed floor without having any capital outlay. Additional, because of the shifting culture, as a system, we've been able to give more than 23,000 hours of waste or unnecessary patient wait time back to our emergency departments. That's huge. That's the triple aim, quality, safety and service. We're able to achieve that we kind of hit all those buckets. Our leaders have navigated with success. A lot of the common obstacles experienced throughout our industry. That's probably what I'm most proud of. Health care is an infinite game, and though we've accomplished a lot recently, there's so much to improve on. And I'm really excited about where we're headed. I consider myself an eternal optimist. And so despite all of our challenges, everything that we face and the uncertainty even before us now, there's so much to be optimistic about, and we possess a lot of the intangibles to make access both smooth while promoting a great experience.
- [06:10]
A
Can you dive a little bit deeper into, you know, you talked about that excitement, but could you dive a little bit deeper into, you know, what's coming down the pipeline in healthcare in the future that you're particularly excited about?
- [06:23]
B
Yeah, you know, there's a lot of buzz around AI and I really think that in a lot of ways it's been applied maybe more ambitiously than what has been delivered to date. But for me, I'm excited about being able to leverage technology to further influence culture change in a lot of ways. In the past, culture change happened through a contact sport, and it's not necessarily entirely different, but we now have so many other tools to catalyst that to a whole nother level. And, you know, healthcare is not immune to having waste throughout its process, but there is an incredible amount of duplicative work and sometimes unnecessary work. And I think technology will allow us to perform at the top of our license, if you will. We say that a lot in clinical care, and I think that will be applied to even support roles because of what we are seeing come to life in the technology realm. I'm super excited and bullish on leveraging that, and we're starting to do some of that, and I'm really excited about where we're headed.
- [07:46]
A
What would you say the biggest piece of advice you'd have for a young leader in the healthcare space?
- [07:53]
B
You know, there's a few things I'd offer, and the first is to be maniacal about your data. All too often I see leaders making snap judgments on objectivity or emotion. Gut decisions can be good if you have the time, know your data. One of the first steps in having significant influence is to be informed. And for example, I'm kind of a lean junkie. And we as leaders have an incredible opportunity to eliminate waste within our industry. We've leveraged that data to put a spotlight on those opportunities and optimize our staff's precious time deleting those steps that are absolutely not of value so that our physical space that's extremely expensive can not only to build, but to maintain, can be used to create a better experience for patients. Another would be to build trust. And that's talked about a lot in leadership. And, you know, in other words, it's to prioritize your people and by people that could be an all inclusive, meaning your employees, medical staff, your community and your patients. Essentially do what you say and then exercise transparency. One I talk about a lot is, is mastering your role, no matter your compensation level. Be focused on creating value for your organization, essentially by how good you are at your job compared to what your remuneration is for it. Another is to embrace lifelong learning. Jeremy, you know that some of the brightest leaders in the world are in our sector. Healthcare arena is changing so fast. And to be successful, we've gotta be willing to be lifelong learners and be good at leading a culture of change. One that I really maybe didn't value as much as I do now in life is prioritizing my health. And I believe that as leaders, we're paid to do a lot of things well, but one in particular is to ask great questions. And to do that well, we need to be the best listeners. That requires mental clarity and helps one generate good ideas. You can't just do that on an empty tank. So whether it's sleep quality or blocking out time in your schedule to read or think or go on a walk, I mean one, recently I've begun using a continuous glucose monitor to track how my diet affects my blood glucose spikes change changing that depending on how that allows me to lead well, you know, mindfulness to improve self awareness. And I firmly believe that cared for people, care for people, and we have to start with self care. The last thing I'd say is just be patient. And that's a really broad, it could be a broad statement. And practically speaking, for example, is, you know, in everyday interactions, being patient can be exercised by listening. First. I tell people that I work with, you know, we got to be the best listener within our organization. We got to strive to do that in order, you know, in other words, just be genuinely curious what someone's telling you. I believe that each of us possess that same unique superpower, if you will, that it's the power of being quiet and being patient and actively listening. There's an incredible wealth of knowledge that can be acquired if you watch and listen where a conversation or group meeting goes. Using that silence strategically or just allowing for a pause can be a super weapon. Being patient also applies to changing culture. Be patient because the results will come if we remain focused. And then the last is be patient for your professional growth, whether you desire to move up in the organization. If you focus on mastering your role like I mentioned, that creates a clear value to the organization. It'll be really hard for that organization not to move you up and to greater levels of responsibility. But again, be patient. So it's be maniacal about data, build trust, master your role, embrace lifelong learning, prioritize your health and be patient. That would be my advice.
- [12:25]
A
Well, Cody, thank you so much today for joining us on the Becker's healthcare podcast. I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.
- [12:32]
B
Thank you for having me.