Leading Through Change at Strong Memorial Hospital with Deirdre Salanger

Summary

Podcast Summary: Leading Through Change at Strong Memorial Hospital with Deirdre Salinger

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast | Released: March 6, 2026
Host: Laura Deardo
Guest: Deirdre Salinger, Chief Operating Officer, Strong Memorial Hospital

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Episode Overview

This episode features Deirdre Salinger, COO of Strong Memorial Hospital, discussing her leadership journey during a year of major personal and professional transitions. She shares insights on workforce engagement, balancing resource constraints, navigating financial uncertainty, and harnessing digital tools for organizational growth. The conversation spotlights the evolving demands of healthcare and positions Strong Memorial as a forward-looking, resilient institution.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Strong Memorial Hospital & Salinger’s Role (00:44–01:58)

• Deirdre’s Background:
  • New to COO role; started last summer after returning from maternity leave.
  • Strong Memorial Hospital is part of University of Rochester Medical Center, serving the Finger Lakes region as the only Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center.
• Hospital Scale & Services:
  • Over 43,000 patient discharges and 120,000 ED visits annually; 46,000+ surgeries.
  • Extensive ambulatory, urgent, primary, and specialty care networks.
  • Academic affiliations with the University of Rochester Schools of Medicine and Nursing.
  • Recently celebrated 100-year anniversaries for the hospital and partner schools.

Quote:

“We actually just celebrated our 100 year anniversary for the medical school, nursing school, and the hospital. So. So we're really proud to be part of our community in this way.”
— Deirdre Salinger (01:41)

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2. Navigating a Year of Change & Priorities as COO (02:11–03:31)

• Salinger’s first year involved rapid learning: new job, new organization, understanding structure, people, and priorities.
• Immediate immersion in regulatory readiness and capital projects.
• Emphasized the importance of thorough assessment before implementing structural changes to support hospital initiatives.

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3. Workforce Engagement & Leadership Advice (03:31–05:10)

• Top Priority: Supporting the Workforce:
  • COVID-19 and the Great Resignation reinforced the hospital’s dependence on its people.
  • Focus on employee engagement, retention, and recruitment.
  • Importance of efficient electronic medical record (EMR) systems and developing a safe, productive environment.
• Advice to New Leaders:
  • Emphasize people as the foundation of healthcare.
  • Balance between access (for patients) and capacity (system readiness) in all service areas.
  • Monitor and adapt quickly to regulatory, budgetary, and funding pressures at state and federal levels (especially with upcoming changes in 340B and Medicaid funding, and concerns about NIH funding).
  • Sustain major capital investments to ensure modern care.

Quote:

“First and foremost, we cannot provide healthcare without our people. I think Covid taught us that in a more acute way, as well as with the great resignation…”
— Deirdre Salinger (03:34)

Quote:

“Building a stable workforce that feels productive and safe at work is important… balancing act between access and capacity… financial pressures and uncertainties… federal level…the 340B discussions… planning how best to support patients who we know will be impacted by changes to Medicaid funding…”
— Deirdre Salinger (04:01–04:46)

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4. Facing Future Challenges & The Need for Flexibility (05:10–06:20)

• Resource Discipline:
  • The main challenge is remaining disciplined with resource allocation amid constant change.
  • Urgency to meet present demand while planning agilely for the future.
• Reimagining Workforce Training & Roles:
  • Anticipate evolving job roles and expectations driven by digital transformation.
  • Embrace flexible planning and innovative training strategies to adapt to change.

Quote:

“The amount of change we are experiencing in healthcare right now is really requiring us to consider the right investments. Our challenge is that the demand is now and we have to meet it.”
— Deirdre Salinger (05:41)

Quote:

“The way we train people, that's probably going to have to be reimagined. The roles we hire into and what we expect them to do…as we move down the path with digital tools and whatnot. So all of it is exciting work, albeit challenging...”
— Deirdre Salinger (05:54)

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5. Growth Opportunities: Digital Transformation (06:20–06:56)

• Leveraging Digital Tools:
  • Digital tools, many already available, are key to organizational growth.
  • Goal: Enhance access for patients and create a frictionless, efficient worker experience.
  • Keeping workforce and patient experience at the forefront of innovation and service delivery.

Quote:

“We can really enable access in a way that makes sense for our patients and a work experience that is efficient and what I would say, frictionless for our team members.”
— Deirdre Salinger (06:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Workforce Priority:

  “First and foremost, we cannot provide healthcare without our people.”
  (03:34, Deirdre Salinger)

• On Financial and Regulatory Pressures:

  “…monitoring the 340B discussions, actively planning how best to support patients who we know will be impacted by changes to Medicaid funding. And of course, being a university based academic medical center, the funding impacts to NIH are real.”
  (04:28, Deirdre Salinger)

• On Flexibility & Change:

  “Building in and planning flexibility so we can more nimbly adapt is really going to be critical as we manage investments and costs.”
  (05:51, Deirdre Salinger)

• On Digital Opportunity:

  “Keeping the patient and workforce experience top of mind is going to be a beacon for us as we continue to be innovative and serve the region and our community.”
  (06:52, Deirdre Salinger)

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Essential Timestamps

• 00:44 – Deirdre Salinger’s introduction and background
• 01:15 – Strong Memorial Hospital’s scope and community role
• 02:11 – Year in review: personal and professional transitions
• 03:31 – Workforce engagement and leadership advice
• 04:46 – Navigating financial pressures and policy challenges
• 05:41 – Resource discipline and future challenges
• 06:31 – Digital opportunities and organizational growth

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Conclusion

Deirdre Salinger provides a candid look into the realities of hospital leadership during times of immense flux. Her focus on people, pragmatic adaptation to regulatory and financial landscapes, and openness to digital innovation illustrate a blueprint for resilient, mission-driven strategic leadership in healthcare. Salinger’s insights will resonate with leaders navigating their own transitions and organizational transformations.

Transcript

[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.

[B]

This is Laura Deardo with the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Deirdre Salinger, Chief Operating Officer at Strong Memorial Hospital. Deirdre, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.

[C]

Good morning, Laura. Happy to be here.

[B]

Fantastic. Well, I'm excited for our conversation because I know there's so much happening in healthcare right now, and it's truly innovative time. So I'm excited to learn a little bit more about what you're doing at Strong Memorial, as well as your perspective on the future. But before we dive in, can you tell us just a little bit more about yourself in the hospital?

[C]

Sure. So my name is Yurda Salinger. As you mentioned, I'm the chief operating officer of Strong Memorial Hospital, which is part of the University of Rochester Medical center, which is part of the University of Rochester Medicine. More broadly, we're primarily located in Rochester, New York, which is not quite as far west as Buffalo and not quite as central as Syracuse, but more in that Finger Lakes region. And Strong is the region's only Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center. We're a busy place. We discharge over 43,000 patients. We. We have heavy transfer request volumes every day. We have close to 120,000 ED visits, and we perform over 46,000 surgeries. And we have an expansive ambulatory network of primary and specialty care services, as well as urgent care. We are academic. Our faculty are part of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. And we are so fortunate to have the School of Nursing where we collaborate and partner on many things. And we actually just celebrated our 100 year anniversary for the medical school, nursing school, and the hospital. So. So we're really proud to be part of our community in this way.

[B]

That's great to hear. You know, what a great Legacy to have 100 years of serving the community and really doing a great job there. Now, could you tell me a little bit more about the last year or so? What was an initiative that you led? What did you do, and what were the results?

[C]

Yeah, so the last Year was not an average one for me. I came back from a maternity leave and I started a new job with a new organization. So the role I'm in today as a COO of Strong, I started last summer. So I suppose you could say I've been in orientation, learning the organization, the people, the culture, that expansive network I mentioned, and just asking a lot of questions. There are certainly things I've had to jump into head first, such as regulatory readiness, given the nature and timing of those things, and some major capital projects we have going on. But as I've come to understand the priorities and where we are as an organization, I've spent significant time assessing and where appropriate, really implementing the structure to achieve and support our initiatives. I love that.

[B]

I think it's so critical to have that kind of base and then being able to understand what's needed today as well as think through the future, which can be a challenge with how quickly things change right now, but especially as you're getting onboarded and really getting acclimated in thinking through all the projects that you had, what were some of the most helpful ways you're able to do that? I know right now there's so many leaders that are going through a similar process as you in kind of jumping into new roles and taking on new leadership. What advice do you have for them? I guess to really make sure they're making the most of the time and getting acclimated as quickly as possible.

[C]

Yeah. You know, when I think about some priorities, really, regardless of where you are, first and foremost, we cannot provide healthcare without our people. I think Covid taught us that in a more acute way, as well as with the great resignation that followed with that. And I would say our leadership's top priority is supporting and engaging our workforce. And this means enabling team members to perform their job and to do that well in a way that allows them to feel good about the work they do when they're here. So, for example, how we interact with the electronic medical record is an area of focus for us as well as, you know, retention and recruitment strategies. And there are many things that go into that. But building a stable workforce that feels productive and safe at work is important. You know, I would think about this as well from what I consider a balancing act between access and capacity. And when I say access capacity, I'm referring not just to the ambulatory setting, but our inpatient services in the post acute network. And these topics are, I would say, really foundational at this point for most health systems. I think when you talk to colleagues across the country. And when I consider, you know, headwinds that we're actively managing and dealing with and what I've had to get up to speed on pretty quickly are those financial pressures and uncertainties, these conversations at the federal level and the state budgets, they acutely impact us. On the provider side, we're closely watching the 340B discussions, actively planning how best to support patients who we know will be impacted by changes to Medicaid funding. And of course, being a university based academic medical center, the funding impacts to NIH are real. We also have major capital commitments that are necessary for us to continue to provide modern healthcare and to meet our community's needs. And all that said, I do think Strong is well positioned to handle and take these in stride.

[B]

That's great to hear. I think as you mentioned, so many of the areas that you talked about are critical for organizations across the country, whether you're looking at EHR implementations or interactions and then thinking about recruitment and retention on the workforce side. And then 340B, I know, comes up in so many of our different conversations. And so having that kind of backbone and then looking forward is so critical. What do you think you'll have to do? The hardest thing you'll have to do in the coming year will be.

[C]

It's always challenging to stay disciplined with resources. As I say that healthcare will always revolve around people and the human nature of what we do. But the amount of change we are experiencing in healthcare right now is really requiring us to consider the right investments. Our challenge is that the demand is now and we have to meet it. So building in and planning flexibility so we can more nimbly adapt is really going to be critical as we manage investments and costs. As I think about the way we train people, that's probably going to have to be reimagined. The roles we hire into and what we expect them to do. Again, we anticipate that to be changing as we move down the path with digital tools and whatnot. So all of it is exciting work, albeit challenging like you mentioned, and hard. But I do think we're going to rise to meet the occasion.

[B]

Absolutely. That's amazing here and you know, certainly always a challenge, but love a good challenge. Being able to come out on the other end. Where do you see some of the best opportunities for organizational growth as well?

[C]

I've kind of been alluding to it, but I really think leveraging digital tools and some of which, most of which may, we may already have access to, but in doing so we can really enable access in a way that makes sense for our patients and a work experience that is efficient and what I would say, frictionless for our team members. So keeping the patient and workforce experience top of mind is going to be a beacon for us as we continue to be innovative and serve the region and our community.

[B]

I love that. Deirdre, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. This has been such a fantastic conversation, really helps get the pulse of everything that's on your mind and then certainly how you're planning to move forward. So I appreciate your time today and I look forward to seeing you as well at our annual meeting. I know you'll be speaking on a panel, so this will be a lot of fun to catch up and keep the conversation going.

[C]

Thanks, Laura. I really enjoyed this.