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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Dr. Jay L. Robinson III on Culture, AI, and Redefining Care Delivery at Kaiser Permanente
00:12:47
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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.
- [00:32]
B
This is Scott Becker with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by one of the great leaders in our nation. I'm thrilled to be joined by Dr. Jay Robinson. Now, I've known Dr. Robinson for a long time, so you have to excuse my accolades, but I'm a huge fan. Dr. Robinson, can you take a moment and tell us about yourself and about the KP system and sort of. Then we'll talk about where you're most focused today, what trends you're watching, and a lot more.
- [00:58]
C
Great. But before I do that, Scott, it's really good to be back, and I want to congratulate you on the book. I'm so happy that you were able to complete that and just really, really thrill for you. Just wanted to make sure I said that. Up top. Yeah. I'm Jay Robinson, and I am the senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Sacramento and Kaiser South Sacramento. So that's two service areas in the KP system of Northern Cal and two hospitals. And just to give you a sense of scale, it's around 580,000 members that I have responsibility for and really proud of our system. You've heard me talk about our system, our integrated model. It fits in line with my background as a clinician, and it's how I think we should treat people. And I think it's a great model for health care. Really focused on prevention and wellness and really meeting patients where they are. So thrilled to be here with you and happy to represent kp.
- [02:02]
B
Well, thank you so much. And I've watched your career in leadership, and I love watching your leadership talk a little bit about when you look at this year, 2026, so many changes going on in healthcare and in the world. But what are you most focused on and excited about?
- [02:18]
C
Yeah, and, you know, I think it's easy to fall prey to what's going on politically and some of the changes there. I'm really focused on moving from strategy to execution and really focusing my team on execution in a couple of areas. About two or three areas. The first is really around workforce and you've heard me talk about this before. How do we leverage our teams? How do we get people working to the top of their scope, both in clinical and non clinical roles and making sure that our teams feel supported and connected to the mission. I still think that people are still continue to suffer from remnants of the pandemic and our teams more than ever need that support and that connection with mission. So that's one area that workforce support. The second, probably also not a surprise, is how we're using artificial intelligence or AI. And in KP we're using it already with our clinicians using ambient listening. It's been a real satisfier for clinicians, giving them more time. I was speaking with a physician yesterday who said it's giving him 20, 30, 40 minutes a day back to him. So really excited about the potential there. Looking to pilot some of that with our nursing teams. Potentially using ambient listening in patient rooms so that we can give our nurses more time at the bedside to connect with patients. While some of the charting can be done through using AI, we also use it with monitoring of high risk patients. So it's helping us to pick up patients before they deteriorate. So really looking at how we can even spread that, I'm even trying to use it with some employee sentiment analysis. So just a lot of potential with AI being out in California, kind of at the epicenter of that. We're always looking for use cases to spread that. And the last piece I'd say in terms of focus is around patient experience really not as a set of initiatives, but really as an operating model. And making sure that experience is everybody's responsibility. It's all hands on deck. It's not nursing, it's not physicians, but it's everyone associated with experience. Whether how you answer the phone, how you greet someone in the hallway, but just really making sure that for us that's a differentiator. So that patient experience is one that's top of mind for me. Thank you.
- [04:57]
B
And talk about your area that you oversee. Are you overseeing three hospitals currently or where are you at currently?
- [05:04]
C
Yeah, two hospitals, a total of a little over 450 beds between the two. When you look at the hospitals and the clinics that I have responsibility for, little north of 10,000 people, that kind of report up to me directly and indirectly. So it's a big operation. But we have a big presence here in the Sacramento area. If you take Sacramento and the adjoining city, that's Roseville, we have nearly a million Kaiser members in that Area, we'll soon hit a million, probably by 2030. And so making sure we have our assets aligned correctly, making sure we're creating the experience for those members is top of mind.
- [05:44]
B
That is remarkable. And when you think about when you get up in the morning, what do you look at as the number one thing you have to focus on each day? Is it a people thing? Is it a user experience situation?
- [05:57]
C
It's a people thing. We're in a people business and I really stay focused on culture and how we develop it. I know that I talk about culture every day and I'm sure my team gets tired of me talking about it, but I think there have been times when talks and discussions and management of culture was a nice to have. It's clearly a must have now. And so really making sure that everyone, no matter what their role is in the organization, knows how their role ties into our overall mission. So. So whether it's answering the phone or it's cleaning a room or a nurse or physician, whether it's changing light bulbs, everyone needs to understand how they connect to the mission. And a big part of my job is making sure we have a culture that supports that, that people feel as if their voices are heard and respected and that they have a say so in how they do the work.
- [06:54]
B
Thank you. And you've got an operation that includes million person catchment area, about 10,000 people directing your operation. In terms of scan of leadership, when you think about scan of leadership, how many people do you directly visit with each day that are sort of like direct, if not reports, direct colleagues. And then how do you make sure that what you're trying to accomplish gets cascaded throughout the organization?
- [07:20]
C
That's a good question, and you put it very well. Because a lot of people don't report to me. You know, we have matrix organizations. So there are people who have dotted lines to me, dotted lines to other people. But you know, there's a singular focus on keeping our members at the center. But to give you a number, I have two teams at each of the hospitals with a set of chief operating officers. I have quality leaders, I have a finance officer. We do direct report rounding every day. And so I touch a lot of that team every day. But we, we huddle. We use a system of huddles to connect with each other, to make sure that we have what we need to be successful that day, to make sure that we are, that our teams feel supported and they have awareness of any situational impediments that may keep us from delivering the best work. Care we can. So it truly is. And you know me for a while, Scott, I treat it as a team sport. I really try to lift up every leader that's with me and help them evolve. But it's really, you know, if I had to say, if I had to describe my job, I'd say it's head coach. I view myself more the head coach than anything.
- [08:38]
B
What advice you give to emerging leaders? You've raised wonderful children who are emerging leaders. What advice would you give them? Emerging leaders. What advice would you give to your. Some of them nearly adult children.
- [08:51]
C
Yeah. Well, three things I'd focus on. One, to emerging leaders. Have rigor around work, life, harmony. I've seen so many people come into professional careers, and particularly in the healthcare, lose sight of balance and you see them lose their health degrade. And so making sure you have rigor around managing not just your professional life, but also your personal life and taking care of yourself. So that's one. Get close to the work you can't leave from a dashboard. You have to walk around. I jokingly say you have to walk in the basement of a hospital to get to understand what's going on. And so really get close to work. Again, manage by walking around. Go to the front lines and see how people are doing the work, making sure that they have what they need, listen to their problems. A lot of times when you rise in leadership, there can be filters under you that keep you from hearing exactly what's happening. So it's critical that you round and stay close to the work. And then I think the last thing I would say is stay curious. A quality I'm looking for in leaders is intellectual curiosity. Making sure that you're curious about problems. And not just about problems, but even about successes. You're always in a mode of learning, trying to iterate and get better. That's what our patients want and I think we should want that of ourselves. Making sure you keep that intellectual curiosity that you have wonderment about the work that helps you get better, that helps you improve in the service you deliver.
- [10:28]
B
Thank you so much. And I love all of that. I particularly love to stay close to the work. I always find that the further I get disconnected from the actual work that teammates are doing that people are doing, the less effective I am as a leader. I think there's some. Something so strong about that. You said it really well. You can't manage just looking at KPIs. They're important, but you got to be that plus close to the work to really understand where you can have an influence or where your people can make a difference and how they can thrive. Dr. Robinson I just love that. Anything else you'd like to share with the listeners today? Again, Dr. Jay Robinson, brilliant leader at Kaiser Permanente. Anything else you'd like to share?
- [11:07]
C
The last thing I'd like to share and something I'm really proud of, and it's probably two things. The first is I think we broke ground on a new hospital and it's going to redefine the look of Sacramento. And it's in the rail yards area of Sacramento. And I'm so excited about it. It'll be a new hospital, 310 beds, all electric. But beyond just being a new building, it's going to redefine healthcare in Sacramento for decades. And so really proud of being able to do that and watch that come to life and what it represents to our members and to this entire community. Really thrilled to be a part of that. The last thing I say that I'm really excited about is we're doing, you know, I just talked about building hospital. We're doing so many things to try to help patients avoid hospitalizations, whether it's acute care at home, whether it's, you know, directly admitting people to palliative care or SNFs from an emergency room. We have a mode of care called ambulatory treatment centers where it allows you to get a treatment that otherwise would have taken you to the hospital, but you get it done as an outpatient, looking for ways to avoid that hospitalization so that the hospital is safe for people who really have to be there. I'm so happy that we're leaning into that approach to care. I think our patients are happier about it and I know that's the best way model of care.
- [12:35]
B
Thank you so much. Remarkable what you're doing. Remarkable watching your career. Jay, thank you so much for joining us on the Beckers Healthcare podcast today. What a pleasure. Thank you so much.
- [12:44]
C
Thank you so much, Scott. Great to be here.