Podcast Summary: Prioritizing Quality and Growth at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Host: Laura Deardo (Becker's Healthcare)
Guest: Emily Jacques, President of Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital
Release Date: January 27, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Emily Jacques, President of Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, shares insights into her leadership journey, the hospital’s focus on quality improvement, addressing operational headwinds, and strategies for future growth. Jacques discusses her approach to leading through transition, maintaining top-tier quality outcomes, managing patient volume and acuity, prioritizing amidst limited resources, the importance of comprehensive data-driven decisions, and key areas of expansion for Delnor within its community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction: Emily Jacques & Delnor Hospital (01:11)

• Jacques’ background in healthcare leadership in Chicagoland since 2008
• Description of Delnor Hospital:
  • 159-bed, Level II trauma center in Geneva, Illinois
  • Robust surgical and outpatient services, recently renovated cancer center
  • Family medicine residency and ongoing facility growth
  • Emphasis: "Del Nor acts like a bigger hospital than it is." (01:22)

Leadership Transition & Quality Performance (02:53)

• Leadership Transition:

  • Jacques began in August 2024; 2025 was her first full year.
  • Smooth transition and internal promotions were prioritized.
  • Focus on leadership development to nurture organizational culture.

• Quality Achievements:

  • Team mindset: “My team has a target and then they look at the max target and set that as their target.” (03:34)
  • Delnor ranked #3 out of 211 complex medical centers in its Vizient cohort.
  • Excelled in mortality, safety, efficiency, and equity metrics.
  • “Maintaining it then becomes the next challenge. But it’s something we’re just incredibly proud of. And it’s one patient at a time every day.” (04:39)

Maintaining Quality: Operational Strategies (05:36)

• Emphasis on strong existing quality and safety infrastructure.
• Annual “Safety and Quality Top Five” priorities:
  • Falls prevention
  • Patient ambulation
  • Safe patient handoffs
  • Each priority has a dedicated, cross-disciplinary team.
  • Approach helps leaders “focus on what matters, not only for the experience and outcomes of our patients, but can also drive the results.” (06:32)

Top Challenges & Headwinds for 2026 (06:49)

• Emergency Department Overload:

  • High volumes (“all of our emergency rooms are just getting slammed”) with higher patient acuity.
  • Focus on patient throughput and bed management due to increased severity of cases.
  • Innovative solutions: “We’re starting care in the waiting room…caring for patients and discharging patients who otherwise don’t need to be there from the waiting room.” (07:47)
  • Ensuring staffing matches fluctuating needs while upholding staff wellbeing, especially during a tough flu season.

• Policy & Financial Uncertainty:

  • Close attention to state and federal healthcare reforms, e.g., Rural Health Transformation Fund.
  • Monitoring changes in Medicaid, state budgets, and federal funding that impact hospital operations.
  • “We have to understand the impact of these headwinds and what managing our expenses looks like going forward just so we can navigate those waters.” (09:20)

The Hardest Leadership Challenge: Prioritization (10:07)

• “Every day is game day.” (10:09)
• The main challenge: selecting priorities amid many worthwhile projects and limited budgets.
• Capital allocation is strategic: “You can’t always prioritize things that have a positive return on investment. Some things are safety issues. Some things are about meeting needs of our community.” (10:40)
• Emphasis on using data and comprehensive information to guide prioritization decisions.

Leveraging Data & System Resources (11:44)

• Importance of asking the right questions and including diverse leaders in decision-making.
• System-level vetting for new technology/product integration (safety, compatibility, supply chain).
• “Numbers are numbers. Data can tell lots of different stories. It’s the users to make sure that our teams help us understand the why.” (12:40)

Opportunities for Growth in 2026 and Beyond (13:01)

• Outpatient and ambulatory expansion: “We have an incredibly robust ambulatory and outpatient platform.” (13:06)
• Growth in diagnostic imaging due to increasing complexity of patient cases.
• Surgical platform advantages: efficiency, “bread and butter” procedures, flexibility, and rapid case add-ons.
• Focus areas for growth: procedural areas, diagnostic imaging, ambulatory/oncology, and the Cancer Center.

Memorable Quotes

• “[Delnor] acts like a bigger hospital than it is with an incredibly robust surgical and outpatient platform.” — Emily Jacques (01:22)
• “My team has a target and then they look at the max target and set that as their target.” — Emily Jacques (03:34)
• “In our Vizient cohort of complex medical centers, we finished the year ranking number three out of 211 hospitals.” — Emily Jacques (04:10)
• “Every day is game day. That’s what I like to say. Every day is interesting in our jobs.” — Emily Jacques (10:09)
• “You can’t always prioritize things that have a positive return on investment. Some things are safety issues. Some things are about meeting needs of our community.” — Emily Jacques (10:40)
• “Numbers are numbers. Data can tell lots of different stories. It’s the users to make sure that our teams help us understand the why.” — Emily Jacques (12:40)
• “We have an incredibly robust ambulatory and outpatient platform. More and more patients are requiring kind of a complex workup. So our imaging and diagnostic imaging modalities are busy.” — Emily Jacques (13:06)

Notable Timestamps

• 01:11 — Emily Jacques introduces herself and Delnor Hospital
• 02:53 — Discussing her first year, the leadership transition, and quality results
• 04:56 — Maintaining performance and focus on quality metrics
• 05:36 — The hospital’s “Top Five” for safety and quality
• 06:49 — Operational priorities and challenge of ER patient surges
• 09:31 — Addressing policy and financial headwinds
• 10:07 — On the hardest challenge: prioritization
• 11:44 — Utilizing data and technology for informed decisions
• 13:01 — Growth opportunities for Delnor Hospital

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is collaborative, pragmatic, and optimistic. Jacques is candid about challenges such as leadership transitions, operational strains, and financial and regulatory uncertainty. She underscores Delnor’s culture of excellence, the critical importance of prioritization, and a keen eye on growth areas that serve community needs. The episode provides both strategic perspective and practical tactics relevant for healthcare leaders facing rapid change and pressure for performance.

For healthcare leaders, this episode offers a focused look at how a high-performing community hospital president approaches quality, operational resilience, and smart, sustainable growth amidst both opportunity and constraint.