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Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Kyle Benoit, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Bayhealth
00:18:16
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- [00:01]
A
This is Alan Condon, back with another episode of the Beckers CFO and Revenue Cycle Podcast. Delighted to welcome to the podcast today Kyle Benoist, who is executive Vice president and Chief operating officer at BayHealth. Kyle, a real pleasure to have you back on the podcast with us today. For those of our listeners who mightn't be as well acquainted with you or the work that you do as COO at BayHealth, do you mind giving us a little bit more information about your role and your background at the system?
- [00:31]
B
Absolutely, Ellen, and a pleasure to be here and thank you for having me join. I'm Kyle Benoit, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating officer at Bay Health. At Bay Health, we are headquartered in Dover, Delaware and we have two hospital sites, one in Dover and one down in Milford in Delaware in the southern part of the state. You know, little over a billion dollar in revenue, operating revenues, two freestanding ERs, numerous ambulatory styles throughout Kent and Sussex county of Bay Health. And I joined the team in just this past January and responsible for the strategic and operational elements throughout the entire system. So it's a pleasure to be able to have this conversation with you today.
- [01:09]
A
Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us. So coming up on your nearly one year anniversary as COO at BayHealth, no doubt a very challenging year for COOs, executive leaders like yourself, not just at BayHealth but across the board. With that said, so much still up in the air when we think about what might be coming down the pipeline 2026 regarding ACA, everything going on in the government right now. With that in mind, I think a good place to start and I'd love to hear from you on is kind of two or three key trends that you're paying closest attention to now as COO and why.
- [01:46]
B
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I always boil it down to you kind of focus on access to care continues to be a concern here in our region as well as across the country. The cost of care is definitely top of mind and that is definitely the main driver of what is happening at the federal and even state levels and then really the continuous improvement to focus on outcomes. And so when you look at access costs and outcomes, I always try to boil it down to how are you going to address those things and get the benefits out of those and improvements in those areas. And for me it comes down to people, people, people. At Bay Health, you know, you can have the nicest facilities and try to deploy all this respective equipment, but we're nothing without our people and we need to make sure that we're creating that attract and retain the best and the brightest across all disciplines, whether you're a direct care provider or not. We need all skill levels across the entire system to be successful, to improve access, lower cost, and improve the outcomes of care that we're delivering for our patients. So while those are always the trends, it really comes down to the people element. And we are working diligently and creatively to make sure that we have respect to pipelines with even down to the high school level and local and regional universities, to competitive pay presses, to practices, competitive benefits. But more importantly, is that cultural elements, because more often than not it comes down to, you know, who I work for, they might end whether I'm going to leave or stay. And so we are. That is always top of mind here at Bay Health is creating that great workplace environment.
- [03:17]
A
We hear healthcare across the board has got an access problem. To your point, whether you're a small, rural, critical assets hospital or you're an academic medical center, you know, across the country, we hear the access challenges that health systems are facing. For Bay Health in Delaware, how are you working to redefine access? Is it investing more in brick and mortar digital, expanding the workforce, or I take it a multifaceted approach, but love to kind of hear one bit deeper in terms of your operating model and expansion there?
- [03:49]
B
Yeah, so absolutely multifaceted approach. However, it. Because it's not always bricks and mortar, it's also optimizing our technology footprint. We're an epic organization and there's more we can do to optimize, really, truly put care in the hands of the patient and make it easy to use healthcare. It's not easy to use healthcare in this country and Bay Health is not immune to that. And the big focus and push that we're trying to make is how do we make it simple and easy utilizing the technology footprint framework we have in place. And what else do we need to add? Kind of the old adage of, you know, we're all wired to use Amazon, you know, the whole two clicks, it's on your doorstep. We need to model that in healthcare. And that's what we're focusing on doing at Bay Health. From a personnel standpoint, the individuals who care for patients. I'll call it the evolving care team, if you will. There's just not enough of one discipline, right? Not enough of one physicians or nurse practitioners or physicians assistants. How do we continue to evolve the care team, utilizing social workers and psychologists, pharmacists, pt, OT in concert with the physicians and nurse practitioner and physician assistants to make sure that we have enough of the evolving care team in the right areas, whether it's tele, whether it's in person to meet those growing needs of our patients. The population that we serve, Delaware is growing in Sussex county, our southern county of our state is one of the fastest growing counties in the country of retirees. And with that they have increased healthcare needs and acuity is increasing as well, which is why we are so hyper focused on making sure that we have a big focus on improving access to care, having the right components, the right care teams. Whether again it's tele or a brick and mortar facility, we're making some inroads. We still have a lot of work to do. No question, it's a mindset of yes, we're going to continue to recruit, but how do we do better with what we have? And that's why we're really leveraging our opportunity to optimize EPIC in particular, because to really put that care and make ease of access in the hands of the patient.
- [05:49]
A
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think it's fascinating to kind of hear as healthcare becomes more. Consumerism becomes more endemic in healthcare, that shopping era of care that we're in at the moment, to your point, Amazon, two clicks, it's on your doorstep. One quick follow up on that regard. As it relates to epic, as it relates to processes and systems you're putting in place to make care more efficient for the patient or the slash consumer, what specifically what add ons or what kind of tools within EPIC will you feel really make healthcare more accessible, easier of access for the consumer and indeed providers as well? Any one bit deeper on that I'd love to hear. Before we jump to our next.
- [06:29]
B
Yeah, we need, we really need to push on the online scheduling, I'll say. And optimizing all components of my chart within EPIC to allow for open access scheduling for our patients rather than the historical model of you're getting an order and okay, you need to see the specialist or get this image done or physical therapy. Okay, I'm going to call wait on hold. Oh, the dates you give me doesn't work. Oh, I missed the callback, you know, and in time just, it's additive, right. And then it keeps booking out the ability to imagine say, okay, I got this order, it pops up on my phone, I go in, I can pick the slot that works for me and the site of care that works for me. We're doing that in a small fashion right now and we need to Optimize and grow. And when you look at the entire EPIC platform across the country, healthcare needs to do better at embracing that approach. I always go back to, you know, kiosk and you know, we piloted kiosk in healthcare. Oh. People don't seem to use it. They all still want to go to the check in person. Well, and most healthcare settings you walk into, especially on the outpatient side, you'll see two kiosks and maybe three, four people sitting at a desk. I always say, well, how'd the airline industry get people to use a kiosk? Because they have about 20 to 40 kiosks and only maybe one to two people at the desk. Right. And so it's just kind of like flipping the mindset a little bit. I read an interesting article. How does healthcare embrace more that innovator startup company mindset versus the historical mindset of healthcare? I think that's how we're really going to optimize and really embrace this consumerism mindset and be more successful at it.
- [07:59]
A
Yeah, no, I really appreciate the level of specificity and insight there into Bay Health and what you're focusing on. Shifting gears a little bit. Kyle. I think at the time of recording so much still up in the air when we think about the ACA subsidies and whatnot. But what we do know for certain as of July is with the one big beautiful bill act, Medicaid cuts coming down the pipeline in late 2026, 2020 27. I've heard some leaders say that they're hoping for some sort of mitigation of those cuts potentially next year when they see what happens in the primaries or whatnot. But as of now, we know they're definitive. That's what's coming down the pipeline. Bay Health, what specific scenarios have you modeled in that regard in terms of Medicaid cuts and which variables are proving most volatile in your, in your planning assumptions?
- [08:48]
B
I mean when you look at all the modeling that we're doing, there's no question going to cause an increase, a decrease in the amount of eligible people who are on Medicaid and increase in uninsured. And even when you look at, I know it's unknown at this time, but right now, operating under the assumption that the subsidies are going to go away for the exchanges, that's going to create an increase in uncompensated care. And so we are a not for profit community based hospital. That is going to mean probably an increase of activity in our er. We have to care for these patients as they walk through our door. So we are taking steps to again create more of we have a fast track kind of component for the lower acuity patients or er. We're looking to expand that. We're putting in a lot of more efficient processes in our flow of patients from the ER so that those that need to get an inpatient bed can get that in a much more expeditious fashion. And then those who are optimized on the inpatient setting can then move to the appropriate outpatient setting. So a lot of organizations are faced with this right now. What I'll say is healthcare has always had external headwinds, state, federal, there's all these challenges coming our way because again, healthcare, I think now what, 20% of the GDP in this country, just not a sustainable model. And to me it doesn't really matter what political party is in control. There's always going to be something coming at healthcare. So we need to be prepared. If anything, we need to find ways to be more efficient. Again, going back to my earlier comments, make care more accessible, lower the cost, improve outcomes and we can do that. It's just we're going to always have these challenges and I think rather than hope that, oh, maybe it'll go away, we need to find opportunities to lower the cost of care and still be accessible to our patients.
- [10:29]
A
Yeah. Which ties directly into my next question. In terms of you're preparing for what's coming down the pipeline. In terms of some of the process, you're focused on fast tracking some of those lower acuity patients to your expediting patients who need to get to an inpatient bed. No doubt some of those tools efficiencies you'd referenced earlier with EPIC will come into play in terms of helping to expand access where needed. But in terms of the other side of the coin, what is bayhealth doing to counterbalance some of those cuts that were coming down the pipeline? When we think about preserving that access and of course financial stability for systems like Bay Health, we know, I believe 30, 35% of hospitals on the nonprofit side still operating in a red, many still haven't returned back to pre pandemic margins. So in terms of counterbalance and some of those strategies, counterbalancing some of those cuts. Excuse me, would love to kind of hear your perspective on kind of any key areas you're focusing on.
- [11:26]
B
Yeah, no question. A lot of healthcare is still struggling. Fortunately for us, we are able to produce a margin so we can make the necessary investments back into our system in the form of equipment, personnel so that we can continue to meet the needs of our patients. But along those lines, a really big focused effort on supply chain and lowering the cost and standardizing vendors so that we can get, you know, the equipment we need at the best price point possible. We are, our GPO is premier and we've worked hard within the surpass program and are probably, I think at this point, the highest compliant organization have achieved the highest level of compliance within that program, which has generated a lot of cost savings for us without compromising the quality of the equipment. We have also a lot of work on pharmaceuticals. I mean, pharmaceuticals continue to be increasing costs as well as dealing with shortages. So we are a 340B organization. We're actually going to be. We have a retail pharmacy and rolling out a specialty pharmacy so that again, making sure that we have the meds we need at the best price point possible, but also finding some additional revenue streams to offset some of the, you know, reimbursement cuts that we're going to be experiencing. You know, we had all the Rite Aids close in our area. Right now we're the only 247 pharmacy in Kent County. And so we are fulfilling that need because a lot of the retail pharmacies no longer able to or have chosen not to. So you can see as like the evolving landscape of a hospital and their responsibilities. It's not no longer within the walls of the organization. It's also what's going on outside. So, you know, we're looking at cost savings when appropriate. We're looking at what are those new programs we need to launch, like our retail, especially pharmacy that can generate some revenue streams to offset those costs all around the idea of producing a margin that we can reduce. Can we continue to invest back in our organization to improve the care that we deliver?
- [13:23]
A
Where are the other opportunities for Bay Health? You'd mentioned the opportunity to diversify revenue streams, obviously at the retail pharmacy in light of some of those recent Rite Aid closures. Are there other opportunities on the horizon or that you potentially see in terms of Bay Health expanding into or maybe doubling down on to offset some of those cuts coming down the line?
- [13:42]
B
Yeah, we're really making an aggressive push on our physician base, which I think that's pretty standard for a lot of organizations at this juncture, which will allow us to again prove access, but also generate some of those higher, you know, generate more of those much needed but also higher margin procedures so that we can make that take those margins and invest back. So again, a big focus too is on our ambulatory footprint. We have a good strong footprint now, but we know we need to do more. And it's not going to be those typical, maybe mega big ambulatory centers. It could be more, smaller, more nimble, like a walking clinic in certain areas. It could be just on the ambulatory footprint, deploying more effective tele components as well so that we get more bang for our buck and the resources that we're deploying. So, and, and we've also, through the years have developed partnerships. We, we know that sometimes there's other people who can do it better than us that we need to partner with versus on our own. So, Reese, in the past couple years we have developed a strong partnership with Pam Rehab. We have three joint ventures with them. We are working with an organization like Bayada on our home health. So again, just looking at those areas to diversifying revenue streams, but also knowing that sometimes you don't have to do it yourself, you can do it in partnership. And again, it's been tremendous for our patients with those partnerships. So at Bay Health, again, we're always innovating, trying to be nimble, trying to move quickly and adapt to the, the evolving culture environment that we work in.
- [15:09]
A
Yeah, no, I certainly we've talked quite a bit about the challenges, but I think you touched on there a lot of the exciting opportunities in terms of diversifying revenue, expanding outpatient home health and whatnot. Is there anything else you'd like to highlight, Kyle, in terms of areas that you're most excited about when you think about the future of Bay Health?
- [15:28]
B
Yeah, first and foremost, I love what I do for a living, you know, and it's been tremendous being at Bay Health and in Delaware. When I joined Bay Health in January, I was also moving to an entirely new state, my family and I. And so it's a tremendous organization that is doing so many great things now, but has so many amazing things on the horizon. And what I try to encourage our team members here at Bay Health is, yes, there's always going to be challenges in health care. Health care has always had external headwinds, internal headwinds that they've had to deal with. But health care is a calling, in my opinion. And whether you're a direct care provider or not, we have a responsibility to meet the needs of those of our patients that we serve. And we're going to do, we're doing that at Bay Health and we're going to continue to do that better, faster and stronger as we go into the future, despite some of the challenges that we face ahead.
- [16:15]
A
So no doubt haven't met a chief operating officer like yourself who hasn't relished some of the challenges that they're coming up against. So certainly appreciate that response. And the last question I have for you, Kyle, before you let me go, you touched on this a little bit. Maybe just to expand and maybe hear a little bit more when you think about 2026 into 2027, next 12 or 24 months or so. Love to kind of hear a little bit more, a little bit deeper on the key areas that you're thinking about growth. Yeah.
- [16:45]
B
So first and foremost, we are actually kicking off and it'll happen officially start in 2026 and be well underway in 2027 on a very significant master facility plan across our entire continuum. So one clearly completely transforming our Dover location and then expanding at our Milford location down in Sussex County. So from a, from a physical plant standpoint, we have a lot of plans both to evolve and update our inpatient and ambulatory settings across our entire care delivery area. But with that, again, I'm most excited about a lot of what we talked about today and how we're going to leverage and optimize technology, how we're going to continue to grow our team member base because you can have all this great facilities, beautiful facilities, but there's nothing without the great people. And we, we have laid out Our Bay Health 2030 kind of strategic vision and what we're going to accomplish over the next five years. And it's really just been such a lightning rod. Right. Sense of inspiration for our team members and really rallying all together to accomplish these aggressive goals that we're laying out. So exciting times at Bay Health and bright future ahead.
- [17:54]
A
Fantastic. Kyle, I so greatly appreciate, so greatly respect the work that you, that your team, a fantastic team at Bay Health is doing. So greatly appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to join the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Kyle Benoit, Executive Vice President and COO@ BayHealth, thank you so much.
- [18:12]
B
Thank you. Have a great day.