Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Episode: Dr. Sriram Vissa, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs at SSM Health DePaul Hospital

Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Elizabeth Gregerson
Guest: Dr. Sriram Vissa

Episode Overview

This episode features a discussion with Dr. Sriram Vissa, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs at SSM Health DePaul Hospital in St. Louis. Dr. Vissa delves into the hospital’s recent achievements in care quality, efficiency, and patient flow, discusses the top challenges and priorities facing DePaul in 2026, and highlights strategic opportunities for growth. The conversation is rich with actionable insights, providing a candid look at the complexities and progress within a large community hospital.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to DePaul Hospital & Dr. Vissa’s Role

Timestamp: 01:11 – 02:15

• Dr. Vissa has been with DePaul Hospital for 21 years, serving in various leadership capacities.
• DePaul Hospital at a Glance:
  • 523-bed community hospital in North St. Louis County.
  • Serves ~20,000 inpatients per year, ~8,500 observation/recovery cases.
  • Only “Baby Friendly” Family Birthplace in North County.
  • Joint Commission designated Comprehensive Stroke Center.
  • Centers of excellence in bariatrics and orthopedic services.

2. Major Achievements of 2025

Timestamp: 02:40 – 06:02

• Key Success: Significant improvement in national benchmarks for safety and efficiency, measured in partnership with Vizient (competing among 198 large hospitals).
• Metrics Improved:
  • Top 5% nationally in safety.
  • Top 25% in efficiency and effectiveness of treatment.
  • Acute financial length of stay reduced from 5.5 to 4.8 days in 2025.

How Results Were Achieved:

• Multidisciplinary, team-based approach—hospitalists, care coordinators, therapists assigned consistently to floors.
• Enhanced multidisciplinary rounds and improved communication.
• Noon post-round “huddles” and escalation of same-day barriers to patient progression.
• Focus on early morning discharges to improve ED flow.
• Optimized EMR (Epic) utilization to predict and validate expected discharge dates:
  • Improved accuracy in discharge prediction from 70% to 80–85%.
• Outcomes: Safer patient transitions, lower hospital-acquired risks, expanded capacity, and quicker patient flow from ED.

“This was not just a finance project but a patient progression and care experience transformation.”
— Dr. Sriram Vissa [04:15]

3. 2026 Priorities and Persistent Challenges

Timestamp: 06:28 – 10:31

A. Continuing Length of Stay Improvements

• Setting even more ambitious goals for patient throughput and streamlined care.
• Tying multidisciplinary rounding, discharge practices, and escalation procedures to measurable financial & access benefits.
• Using freed-up capacity to accept more transfers, strengthening DePaul as a destination hospital.

B. Workforce Stabilization Efforts

• Focus on increasing core, dedicated staff over contingent or floating personnel.
• Building more unit/staff consistency to maintain cadence and standard work.

C. Biggest Operational Challenges:

1. Behavioral Health (BH) Bed Capacity & ED Boarding

   • Only 126 BH beds, with regional demand outstripping supply.
   • Average ED boarding times for behavioral health patients: 24–48 hours.
   • Initiatives:
     • Opening short-term BH areas to relieve ED pressure.
     • Embedding intake assessors in the ED for faster evaluations.
     • Real-time rounding and escalation procedures for quicker placement.
     • Exploring the addition of single-bed units to avoid capacity restrictions caused by behaviorally challenging patients.
   • Risks: Prolonged boarding increases safety concerns, including staff exposure to workplace violence and delays in care.

2. Mortality Reduction

   • Ongoing work on length of stay to impact mortality rates.
   • Strengthening palliative and hospice services for complex/end-of-life patients.

"The toughest operation challenge would be the intersection of limited behavioral health bed capacity and ED boarding."
— Dr. Sriram Vissa [08:14]

4. Opportunities for Strategic Growth

Timestamp: 11:09 – 12:20

• Destination Services: Expand DePaul’s reputation in stroke care and select surgical specialties, notably in bariatrics, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and vascular surgery.
• Maternal & Behavioral Health: Expand maternal health and behavioral health through clinic partnerships and innovations like BH urgent care.
• Primary Care Expansion: Grow provider network, increase access points, and develop anchored specialty networks.

"We really want to strengthen our position as a regional destination for stroke and select surgical specialties and gastroenterology…"
— Dr. Sriram Vissa [11:13]

5. Memorable Closing Reflections

Timestamp: 12:33 – 12:57

“Our job is simple to say and hard to do, which is to shorten time to value for patients. When we move care forward every hour through our length of stay work safely and compassionately, quality rises, access expands, and our community wins.”
— Dr. Sriram Vissa [12:33]

Notable Quotes

• On Teamwork and Transformation:
  "It wasn't just one team carrying the burden. We really looked at our multidisciplinary rounding systems, our teams, and created some changes in the way we manage our work every day."
  — Dr. Vissa [03:38]

• On BH Boarding as a Systemic Challenge:
  "Currently, our ED boarding time for such patients is about 24 to 48 hours. This creates unsafe conditions, also exposes our staff towards workplace violence..."
  — Dr. Vissa [08:36]

• On Growth Strategy:
  "With the clinic growth, new programs, and targeted provider recruitment, we want to rebuild our complex surgical capacity..."
  — Dr. Vissa [11:27]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• DePaul Hospital Overview: 01:11–02:15
• 2025 Achievements & How They Were Reached: 02:40–06:02
• 2026 Priorities: 06:28–07:56
• Challenges for 2026 (BH & Mortality): 08:13–10:31
• Growth Opportunities: 11:09–12:20
• Inspirational Conclusion: 12:33–12:57

This episode provides a candid and detailed look into leading change within a large health system. Dr. Vissa’s blend of data-driven results, real-world challenges, and strategic vision offers actionable insights for healthcare leaders everywhere.