← Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Seanna-Kaye Denham-Wilks, PhD, FPCC, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator of Nursing Home Operations at NYC Health + Hospitals | McKinney
00:17:19
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- [00:01]
A
This is Laura Deardo with the Beckers Healthcare podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by Dr. Shauna K. Dennim Wilkes, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Administrator of Nursing home operations at NYC Health and Hospitals McKinney. Dr. Denham Wilkes, it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
- [00:16]
B
Thank you so much, Laura. It's my pleasure to be here.
- [00:19]
A
Absolutely. Now, I'm excited for our conversation because I know you have some great background in healthcare, an amazing perspective that I'm going to, you know, be able to share with our broader audience. I think it's such an interesting time in health care right now, and some of the things you're doing at NYC Health plus Hospitals is really, really cool. So I'm excited to dig in there. But before we do, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your background?
- [00:44]
B
Absolutely. I am a clinical psychologist who still practices actually, as well as a health care executive. I have been part of New York City Health and Hospitals, which is the largest public health system in the United states, for about 19 years and counting. And it's my pleasure to serve both clinically and administratively in the work that we are doing here in one of the most vibrant cities, not only in the nation, but in the world.
- [01:15]
A
Absolutely. That's really an amazing opportunity to serve an important community. And I know you recently came into your new role at NYC Health and Hospitals McKinney, and so could you tell us a little bit more about that? I know it's more on the subacute coast, acute skilled nursing and rehab side. And so I'm curious, what's that transition been like and how are you thinking about things in this new role?
- [01:40]
B
You know, it's been quite an exciting time to be in this transition professionally. Prior to coming to McKinney, I served as the Chief Experience Officer at New York City Health and Hospital's Kings county, which is a level 1 acute care trauma center, which is actually geographically very close to my current location at McKinney. And not only geographically close, but we are of course participating in the same mission and we share a lot of the same patients. Both organizations being part of New York City Health and Hospitals are deeply rooted in serving historically marginalized communities and as safety net institutions. Our mission goes really beyond care delivery. We're actively addressing in both settings, health disparities, advance in equity and investing in the well being of the workforce as well. That helps to make that care possible. So the transition has been an opportunity to see the continuum of care and I'm really enjoying Getting to know the McKinney staff as well as the McKinney residents that we care for. McKinney is especially unique. It's a nationally recognized skilled nursing facility and rehab center, currently holds a five star CMS rating across all domains. And those domains of course are quality staffing and health inspections. And because McKinney holds those ratings across all domains, being five star, it's the only facility in New York State to achieve that distinction across the board. And so being here, I've really begun to see and understand why, because that level of deposition of performance really reflects a deep commitment to clinical excellence, operational discipline, and a culture that prioritizes dignity both in rehabilitation and in long term care. So I'm enjoying the transition here.
- [03:52]
A
I love that and it's so cool to hear about, you know, those five star ratings really having a high quality care in the community. Now I'm curious, could you talk us through the most important initiative that you led in the last year or so? What did you do and what were the results?
- [04:09]
B
So at Kings county last year we were really focused on impact regarding system wide culture transformation. And that was focused on the transformation of patient and staff experience. And that really required a shift in mindset as well, moving beyond traditional experience metrics and making sure that in doing this work that we were embedding accountability into operations which looked like linking leadership, rounding, real time service recovery, proactive engagement in the community as well as staff engagement and wellness focuses, and really tying those practices directly to performance goals. We also elevated the voice of front staff and achieved the highest engagement rate that we've had in the history of Kings county, assessing the needs and well being of the staff because we recognize that workforce experience and patient experience are really and truly inseparable. And in order to achieve the goals that we set out, we have to work on both things with the same level of energy. And the results were significant. We saw measurable improvements in patient satisfaction scores, reductions in complaints and grievances, and stronger staff engagement scores, as I mentioned before. But I think more importantly, especially as a psychologist, when you're thinking about transformation of culture, when you're able to see the fruits of your efforts to shift culture from transactional care to relational care, especially in a high, acute, high demand, safety net environment, then you really see that this work is the right work and it's important to hold on despite the sometimes slow march in progress. So that work really has laid a strong foundation for my transition into operations at McKinney. Because here as well, experience and quality are just as Inseparable.
- [06:37]
A
That makes a ton of sense. And, you know, I know that in the healthcare space, having that type of experience is critical, not only for the outcomes, but just to continue to build that momentum in the market. And I truly appreciate what it takes to make that shift because, you know, I know part of it is thinking through what do we need to support the team. But also there's somewhat of a mindset shift or some change that has to go through. And so, you know, what were some of the big, I guess, people, things that had to shift around a little bit in order to realize your goal?
- [07:14]
B
I think the importance of wellness, the importance of visibility for leadership with our caregivers who are directly and continuously interacting with our patients, really supporting the removal of barriers that may impact staff from working the way that they wish to work. Especially because as part of New York City health and hospitals, we know that the caregiver workforce is motivated by the mission. And so to be able to provide the resources that our workforce needs in order to deliver the care, especially with the increasing clinical complexity that we're facing each and every day, I think those things had to come front and center. The ability for us to engage in meaningful dialogue that also led to resolution of issues and the broad communication that the resolution of issues was the goal really paid off in big ways during that time.
- [08:30]
A
I love it and thank you so much for digging a little bit deeper there. Now, looking ahead, what are some of the big priorities and headwinds that you're focused on for the rest of this year and into 2027?
- [08:42]
B
Looking ahead, especially working here at McKinney, I would focus on three areas. First, sustaining and scaling excellence. A five star rating is quite an achievement and there is certainly a sense of pride and belonging here at McKin that comes from the hard work that it took to achieve that five star rating across the board. But maintain it requires constant vigilance and constant vigilance requires support of those efforts, especially in a regulatory environment that continues to evolve. So sustaining and scaling excellence is important as we go through the rest of 2026. And secondly, workforce stability and well being. Like many post acute and long term care settings, McKinney is focused on what it takes to keep a resilient and vibrant workforce, to retain and engage our caregivers, and to make sure that we're maintaining a culture of respect, accountability, excellence and compassion, and wrapping that in the integrity of the care that we deliver. Third, and finally, I would talk about innovating around our care model. We're thinking about how Skilled nursing facilities can play a larger role in the continuum, especially as it relates to reducing hospital readmissions, strengthening those transitions of care, and integrating more deeply with acute and community based services. To make sure that our community is aware that there is this five star facility right in the heart of central Brooklyn. And making sure that in spite of the headwinds of reimbursement pressures, increasing clinical complexity, that we stay innovative and stay strategic,
- [10:50]
A
that makes a ton of sense. And you know, I think being able to have that lens of that strategy, thinking about, you know, where things are headed, how you can be nimble, how you can create that workforce that has a culture of respect, accountability and compassion is so important. And you know, health care is such a people focused business and requires a lot of that connection and relationship building between caregivers and patients and caregivers with each other too, to make that collaboration work. I'm curious, what do you think is going to be the hardest thing you'll have to do in the coming year, knowing what your focus is and what you're driving toward?
- [11:31]
B
I think this is one of the most challenging times in healthcare in terms of the constraints that are beyond our control. And so thinking about how we sustain excellence while leading through constraints, how do we make sure that, sure we've achieved high performance, but how do we maintain that when we're facing so many external constraints such as financial pressures and even rising expectations from the community and even from regulators, that means we are facing making difficult decisions. Leadership in this time requires prioritizing resources more than ever and really doing that in a way that holds the line on standards. And as leaders, that may in fact mean saying no. Sometimes, in order for us to be able to protect what matters most, it's also going to mean continuing to lead with transparency and empathy because when we're making those decisions, it's important to involve those who those decisions will impact the most. Our resident community, our families that support their loved ones, as well as our employee caregivers who are also carrying the load of what it means to prioritize in these current times and for safety net healthcare, regardless of the type of facility, the margin for error is small, but the mission is just too important to compromise. We've been here before and it's important for us to remain hopeful that despite constraints, we will be able to keep the standards high and continue to press towards our goals.
- [13:35]
A
That's helpful to understand and really having that type of transparency, communication and having that ability to communicate appropriately is so helpful, especially as a leader. I'm curious, before we wrap up here, I wanted to ask about growth too. Where do you see some of the best opportunities for organizational growth and what are you excited about in the future?
- [14:00]
B
It's such an exciting time, which I know can seem contradictory in terms of what we're talking about in the light of constraints, but that really does give us an opportunity to redefine what post acute and long term care can be. Facilities like McKinney are uniquely positioned to become hubs for integrated person centered care, to illuminate the ways that we bridge hospital, home and community. There's also an opportunity to expand specialty services to make sure that we're leveraging data more effectively. There's so much great work that is happening here. How can we use this, this opportunity to bring forth some of the ways that we have found the impact of those strategic innovations in the outcomes that we see, as well as building stronger partnerships across the health system and throughout the community? I think equally importantly for our organizational growth is investing in people. In McKinney's recent employee engagement survey, we found that not only did they improve from their previous survey in terms of employee engagement and sense of belonging, but early career caregivers at McKinney feel valued and supported and look forward to continuing to be here in years to come. So with that in mind, how do we build into the work that we're doing here with caregiver engagement, developing our early career personnel? How do we create environments where all staff feel valued and supported? Because we know that when we do that, performance follows, especially maintaining that five star, finally, as a safety net institution, there's always going to be an opportunity to continue advancing health equity. This is where it's done. This is where we set the pace for other areas of the healthcare world. Because here it's not just a concept, but it's embedded as an operational priority and that's where safety net institutions like ours can continue to lead the way nationally. So I'm excited about those opportunities.
- [16:32]
A
I love it. Thank you so much, Dr. Dunham Wilkes, for joining us on the podcast today. This has been such an amazing conversation, so inspiring to hear about all the work that you're doing and what's ahead in the healthcare. And thank you again for your time. I'm excited to see you as well at our annual meeting. I know you'll be speaking there in a few weeks and it'll be really just great to keep this conversation going.
- [16:55]
B
Thank you, Laura and the team at Beckers, for all you're doing to position healthcare as the vital institution in this country that it is.