Lisa Scardina, Chief Strategy Officer, Providence, Provider Solutions and Development

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Episode: Lisa Scardina, Chief Strategy Officer, Providence, Provider Solutions and Development
Host: Grace Lynn Keller
Release Date: January 3, 2026

This episode features a deep-dive interview with Lisa Scardina, Chief Strategy Officer at Providence Provider Solutions and Development (PS&D). The conversation focuses on strategic adaptation in healthcare recruitment, the evolving role of technology, particularly AI, and the importance of authentic connections in leadership. The dialogue also highlights practical strategies for hospital and health system executives to cultivate organizational success amidst industry challenges.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction and Lisa Scardina’s Background

• Lisa’s Experience: Over 20 years with Providence in diverse roles across regional and system levels. Developed particular passion for supporting physicians through marketing, strategy, and business development, and especially as Chief Administrative Officer for the Oregon region’s medical group.
• Perspective on Provider Solutions & Development (PS&D): PS&D is a Providence-owned LLC serving 30+ partners nationwide, focused on matching physicians/providers with the right organizations—as Lisa calls it, a “sacred moment” crucial for healthcare quality and community health.
  • Quote:

    “Matching physicians and providers into those settings is really just a sacred moment of ensuring that the physicians and providers are set up for success and those organizations are set up for success.”
    —Lisa Scardina [01:31]

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Growth Strategy and Vision for PS&D

• Key Focus: Moving beyond mere sustainability into transformational strategies to meet both provider and organizational needs amid mounting industry pressures.
• New Offerings & Approaches:
  • Lowering barriers for partner engagement
  • Leveraging marketing assets in innovative ways to benefit partners
  • Meeting physicians/providers "where they’re at," reinforcing the core mission of “building healthier communities one provider at a time”
  • Adapting to meet evolving challenges such as provider shortages
  • Emphasis on personalized recruitment and support
  • Quote:

    “We really want to meet physicians and providers where they’re at and help those organizations bring in the providers, the doctors that they need for their communities.”
    —Lisa Scardina [02:44]

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Exciting Initiatives: Technology & Human Connection

• Technology’s Role, Especially AI:
  • Recognizes industry-wide learning curve with AI; now seeing real benefits in practice settings and recruitment
  • Application of AI to segment audiences, enhance communication, and ultimately strengthen human relationships between recruiters and providers
  • AI as a tool not to replace, but to deepen, authentic connection—key in impactful recruitment
• Quote:

  “There are some proven technologies now that will ultimately enable our recruiters to deepen their relationships with the doctors.”
  —Lisa Scardina [03:47]

• Quote:

  “If we can use technology in that way, how can that then unlock more of a human connection to along the way in the relationship building?”
  —Lisa Scardina [04:33]

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Leadership and Organizational Success

• Top Advice for Healthcare Leaders:
  • Center decisions around the “voice of the customer,” meaning heightened focus on both patient and provider experiences
  • Importance of authentic leadership practices: transparency, direct feedback, “rounding” (visiting teams in-person or virtually to gather feedback), and unscripted conversations
  • Noted improvements in team engagement scores during challenging times, attributed to transparency and direct engagement
• Model Leadership Example:
  • References Eric Wexler from Providence, who replies to every email and remains deeply connected to frontline staff
  • Warns against allowing meetings/projects to diminish real human connection in leadership
  • Quote:

    “When we’re just having real conversations and connecting with each other without agendas and task lists… it kind of just enlivens the workplace.”
    —Lisa Scardina [06:24]

  • Quote:

    “We can get caught up in meetings and projects and kind of forget about the opportunity to just have that human connection.”
    —Lisa Scardina [06:47]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On setting up organizations and providers for sustainable success:

  “Matching physicians and providers into those settings is really just a sacred moment...”
  —Lisa Scardina [01:31]

• On mission-driven growth and personalized recruitment:

  “Our mission is building healthier communities one provider at a time.”
  —Lisa Scardina [02:51]

• On AI’s role in both efficiency and connection:

  “Recruitment is just as is all of healthcare, but in the recruitment space, having that authentic connection with our physicians and providers as they’re considering their next opportunity really requires that deep connection.”
  —Lisa Scardina [04:45]

• On practical leadership and maintaining engagement:

  “There’s a level of transparency that we’ve brought to our teams and a commitment to rounding with our teams. And, you know, we’re working in a virtual environment. And so to just take the time to do that kind of rounding and find ways to bring feedback from the front line into problem solving has really kind of energized our group.”
  —Lisa Scardina [05:38]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:52-01:31 — Lisa’s background and introduction to PS&D
• 02:15-03:21 — PS&D growth strategy and mission
• 03:27-04:59 — Leveraging AI and technology for recruitment and human connection
• 05:08-07:03 — Leadership advice: transparency, feedback, and frontline engagement

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Summary

Lisa Scardina brings seasoned perspective and forward-thinking strategy to healthcare workforce recruitment at Providence Provider Solutions and Development. Her emphasis lies in the interplay of technology and authentic relationships, advocating for leadership models rooted in transparency and active engagement. The episode provides actionable insights for healthcare leaders facing talent shortages, digital transformation, and the need to re-center care around both providers and patients.

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 Grace Lynn Keller with the Beckers Healthcare Podcast and we are recording live at the 13th annual CEO and CFO Roundtable. I'm currently joined by Lisa Scardena, who is the Chief Strategy Officer at Providence Provider Solutions and Development. So Lisa, thanks for being here and let's have you start off by introducing yourself and telling us a little more about your background.

[C]

Thanks. Glad to be here. I've been with the Providence Health system for over 20 years in a variety of different roles at the REG and system levels and have found that I just have a real passion for the work with our physicians. I've served in marketing and strategy and business development roles and a real highlight was serving as Chief Administrative Officer for the medical Group in the Oregon region. And that's where I really came to appreciate the complexity of the practice environment and the pressures that the physicians and providers are under, as well as our operations leaders and looking for ways to ease that burden and just just allow everyone to do their best work. That led me to provider solutions and development, PS&D and we recruit for healthcare organizations across the country. We're wholly owned by providence as an LLC, but we serve 30 other partners across the country and really matching physicians and providers into those settings is really just a sacred moment of ensuring that the physicians and providers are set up for success and those organizations are set up for success, especially given all of the pressures with of challenges with the shortage and other and other things happening across the industry.

[B]

Absolutely. And I'd love to hear about your growth strategy over the next year or two.

[C]

Yeah, I'm super excited and I think that a lot of the sessions at the conference here have us looking beyond sustainability and into just wholly new transformation in how we're approaching our work. Given the pressures that the industry at large is under. For PS&D, we're really thinking about new and different offerings for that meet the needs of the physicians and providers in a better way as well as those hiring organizations. We've got some new offerings where we're leveraging some of our best practices and thinking about Ways to kind of lower the barrier to entry, if you will, into working with us, that we've got a new strategy that involves really leveraging some of our marketing assets on behalf of our partner organizations in new and different ways. And really at the core of it is that we really want to meet physicians and providers they're at and help those organizations bring in the providers, the doctors that they need for their communities. Our mission is building healthier communities one provider at a time. And that's what our recruitment teams are doing every day.

[B]

And what is the most exciting or impactful initiative or project that you're working on right now?

[C]

Well, I think what really has me excited is thinking about how the technology is really evolving and we're seeing lift from the application of AI. I think that we've been in a kind of. We've all been on a learning curve about the potential for AI, but we're hearing from the main stage here and in the sessions at Becker's about how we're seeing improvements to the practice setting for our physicians. And we are feeling the same thing on the recruitment side, where there are some proven technologies now that will ultimately enable our recruiters to deepen their relationships with the doctors. And that I'm really excited when we think about the application of technology to segment audiences, to allow us to reach out to our audiences differently in more meaningful ways with the information that they're looking for. If we can use technology in that way, how can that then unlock more of a human connection to along the way in the relationship building? Recruitment is just as is all of healthcare, but in the recruitment space, having that authentic connection with our physicians and providers as they're considering their next opportunity really requires that deep connection. And so how we're marrying technology with that relationship orientation is the thing that I'm super excited about right now.

[B]

Absolutely. And what is the most important thing healthcare leaders and executives should do right now to make sure their organizations are successful in the future?

[C]

I think that's a great question. And what I'm thinking about is really the voice of the customer in our work. You know, some of the sessions from the main stage that were most inspiring to me is to think about behind the scenes, what are those financial models that we need to be considering? But front of mind is really thinking about the patient experience, the provider experience. I think that what we've seen within PS&D within our own teams, and it's been interesting even in challenging times, our engagement scores are up across our teams, that there's a level of transparency that we've brought to our teams and a commitment to rounding with our teams. And, you know, we're working in a virtual environment. And so to just take the time to do that kind of rounding and find ways to bring feedback from the front line into problem solving has really kind of energized our group, I think, over the course of this past year. And so when I think about the pressure that our leaders are under, not only is the rounding allowing for identification of problems that need to be solved, but I think it kind of just enlivens the workplace when we're just having real conversations and connecting with each other without agendas and task lists. So I know it's hard to take the time, but even Eric Wexler from Providence in the opening keynote talked about how he replies to every email. He's got his ear to the ground, and I really respect him for that because we can get caught up in meetings and projects and kind of forget about the opportunity to just have that human connection.

[B]

Absolutely. Well, Lisa, thank you so much for joining me this morning on the Beckers Healthcare Podcast. Again, we are recording live at the 13th annual CEO and CFO roundtable.

[C]

Thank you.