← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Dawn Rock-Tremble, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Encompass Health
00:12:00
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- [00:02]
A
This is where healthcare leadership comes together. Becker's 16th annual meeting brings more than 3,500 hospital and health system executives and nearly 800 speakers to Chicago, April 13th through the 16th. This year's event includes keynote conversations with Dallas Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and former President George W. Bush. For the agenda and event details, visit Beckershospitalreview.com and click on the Events tab in the upper right. We're looking forward to hosting you in Chicago.
- [00:33]
B
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Healthcare Podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by a brilliant leader. We're joined today by Dawn Rock Trimble. And dawn is Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Encompass Health. She's going to tell us about the trend she's watching, her career, and a lot more. Dawn. Dawn, can you take a moment and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Encompass Health?
- [00:59]
C
Absolutely. So, as you mentioned, I'm Dawn Rock Trimble. I have been with EnCompass Health for 10 years in this role as the SVP and Chief Compliance Officer. Encompass Health is the nation's largest owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. We've got 173 hospitals in 39 states and port Rico. We are publicly traded, and these are very specialized hospitals, helping people get back to the lives that they knew before accidents, traumatic brain injuries, anything that would require them to relearn some of your basic skills of daily living.
- [01:51]
B
Thank you. And, dawn, you've had this remarkable career. You spent time at Johns Hopkins, at Kaiser. You're a lawyer by background, a literally magnificent career. Take a moment before we talk about trends, where you're most focused right now. What's some of the advice that you would give to emerging leaders trying to have terrific careers? And I think you've been at Compass Health now for more than a decade, so you just. Fantastic. What advice would you give to emerging leaders?
- [02:21]
C
Well, there are two things I've had this question before and two things that I think really stick, and they were valuable to me. The first is networking. I can't say enough about the value of networking. Any and everything that I've ever gone through, there's never been a reason for me to reinvent the wheel, because there's someone out there who's been through whatever it is that I'm currently going through. And so I tell people, do not be afraid to pick people's brains. And I found that leaders generally want to help. And of course, I may be biased, but especially compliance professionals, because we live in a space of ambiguity. And so I have found that leaders have always been willing to talk through issues and to offer really good, sage advice on how to attack whatever problem you're facing. And beyond that, you never know what doors can be opened just from the value of networking. So I always tell people, try to meet as many leaders in your field as possible because they will be your most valuable asset. And I just talked about this a little bit. It's don't be afraid of ambiguity. It can be scary, especially when it's your job to make some decisions where nothing's ever black and white. And everyone, every lawyer will tell you that very few instances where things are very black and white, we live in a space of gray. And so learning to thrive in that space. I think ambiguity gives you an opportunity to create something out of nothing. And people tend to, they want the black and white. They want to be able to go to a statute or to go to some regulatory guideline and it tell you exactly what to do. But those instances are very rare, especially in my line of business. And so I tell people, don't be afraid, don't shy away from ambiguity. Look at it as an opportunity to develop a rule, a practice, a process, a law, what have you that others can follow behind you.
- [05:02]
B
Thank you so much. And talk about, in the world that you live in today, either the compliance world or the hospital world, what are some of the core trends that you're watching closely?
- [05:14]
C
Well, I would say like everyone else in healthcare these days, artificial intelligence is high on my list of things that you just can't escape. This truly is an example of if you can't beat them, join them. AI has truly just become inescapable. So we're examining ways that AI can provide value in a regulatory compliance space. I think because it's been largely unregulated and those existing regulations have been issued by various states, making consistency minimal at best. We compliance folks, those of us who live and breathe the structure that regulations bring, have been closely watching these industry trends and hope of either anticipating or perhaps getting out in front of some regulatory oversight. I don't think that I am the only compliance professional who thinks that some very stringent regulations are coming down the pipe. And so we just want to be prepared when it happens and to prepare for that. I've really been very closely watching the regulatory activity around AI in these various states.
- [06:40]
B
How do you see the evolution of AI and some of the compliance there? And how challenging will some of that be?
- [06:49]
C
I can't say how challenging it will be because we're in such we're in very early stages. I'm hoping that there will be some consistent regulations, meaning that regulations will come out at the federal level rather than each individual state having its own set of unique laws. But until that happens, the best thing we can do is watch trend what's happening at a state level in hopes that if and when federal regulations are issued, we're prepared to quickly implement or make any changes that we would need to comply with the federal regulations.
- [07:45]
B
Thank you. And you've had this remarkable career, remarkable leadership. Let me ask you this question, Duan. What's one thing that has stuck out to you in your career that's maybe excited you or surprised you, positive or negative? Tell us something that has stood out to you in your career.
- [08:05]
C
When I look back over all of these years, I am smart enough to know that I got into compliance when compliance was still very much in its infancy. And that allowed me to move up the food chain, for lack of a better term, fairly quickly. In hindsight, I wish that I had moved a little slower. Compliance is a very exciting field because it's, it borrows from so many other fields. So my, my background is in social work and you would be surprised at how often I tap some of my social work practices in this field that's largely legal and regulatory. There were things that I, that I had to adapt to, to very quickly that I wish I had taken a little more time to delve into. So I think the one thing that stands out, and I say this because I'm coming to the end of my career, that I wish I had just taken more time to marinate in some of those parts of the career rather than being focused on getting to the next level.
- [09:39]
B
I think that is such thoughtful advice and advice you don't hear that often. I think it's brilliant and fascinating. Thank you. Talk about, as we moved into 2026 and we're already here, what are you most focused on and excited about this year?
- [09:55]
C
Well, I think my response to that question will never change because it's the core of what I do. I'm always focused on changes in law that will impact our operations and figuring out how to implement them with minimal disruption. That's always the core focus of what I do. I think that is not going to change in these last 10 years of my career unless the career fundamentally changes itself. So that's always the focus. And with 173 hospitals and again in 39 states in Puerto Rico, those changes aren't just changes in federal law. We're thinking of changes in state law and how do you implement those and how do you continue to have some level of consistency in your operations when you operate in multiple states? So I think that's a. It's a focus, but it's also exciting. It is. How do you take this very. You take these laws and you operationalize them in a way that doesn't result in 39 different practices. That's the fun part of my job, I think.
- [11:24]
B
Just fantastic. Dawn, as a fellow lawyer, I feel your pain. I hear you. I love your focus. I love your career. Again, we're with Dawn Rock Trimble today, senior vice president and Chief compliance Officer at Encompass Health. They have hospitals in 39 states and Puerto Rico. An amazing company, an amazing leader. Dawn, thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us today on the Beckers Healthcare podcast. What a pleasure for me to get to visit with you.
- [11:53]
C
Well, thank you so much and thank you for having me.