The past two years have been the ultimate test of resilience for the American and global healthcare systems. And for those on the frontlines of the pandemic – as well as the managers and administrators supporting their work – remaining involved and engaged has been a common challenge.
Kimberly A. Bass, vice president, ambulatory operations, and Linda Valenti, RN, BSN, MSN/MBA, associate vice president, work closely together at Cooper University Health Care in southern New Jersey and spoke on strategies for building operational outcomes through employee engagement at MGMA’s 2021 Medical Practice Excellence: Leaders Conference.
Bass said that COVID-19’s unrelenting cycle of stress has impacted every member of her organization’s 800-person ambulatory healthcare team across more than 80 practice sites, not to mention her own 12-hour days at the peak of each wave. She explained that slowing down and recognizing the daily accomplishments of her team helped provide a sense of normalcy, especially as the grind continued.
“I think there is that leadership mindset that I work with these employees every day, and I know them,” Bass said on an episode of the MGMA Insights podcast. “However, when you do rounding with intent – purposeful rounding – you’re really asking questions that get to the core of the issue, like what are we doing well?
“We have to celebrate our success in a time where we feel like everything is falling apart around us. [It’s about] reminding people what we’re doing well, so that we can celebrate that and feel good and know that the work we’re doing is worthwhile and has purpose.”
Hear more from Bass and Valenti in this episode of the MGMA Insights podcast:
Bass said a major component of Cooper University Health Care’s engagement strategy was to publicly promise to retain as much staff as possible through flexible work arrangements, despite COVID’s impact on non-emergency facility traffic and a potential drop in overall operational revenue.
“We made a commitment to our employees that we weren’t going to have a reduction in workforce,” she said. “That was really hard, because we saw this precipitous drop in the number of visits that we were doing in our medical practices. We talked to them, and we said we’re going to flex, which means that if you’re needed in another area, we want you to stay on board with us, be willing to acclimate – and they were in. I’m so amazed at the resilience of this team.”
Valenti said communication has proven to be a vital tool for retaining momentum as the pandemic continues to impact operations. Something as simple as a daily meeting turned out to be an important way to emphasize personal accountability throughout the organization, she noted.
“Our biggest challenge this year is probably communication. We saw it on every survey in every department across the entire organization,” Valenti said. “It was a little surprising, because we work really hard on communication So, from that, we implemented a noon huddle, and we made it mandatory. Every single day, they know that they can come to that huddle and get their communication.”
Kimberly A. Bass, vice president, ambulatory operations, and Linda Valenti, RN, BSN, MSN/MBA, associate vice president, work closely together at Cooper University Health Care in southern New Jersey and spoke on strategies for building operational outcomes through employee engagement at MGMA’s 2021 Medical Practice Excellence: Leaders Conference.
Bass said that COVID-19’s unrelenting cycle of stress has impacted every member of her organization’s 800-person ambulatory healthcare team across more than 80 practice sites, not to mention her own 12-hour days at the peak of each wave. She explained that slowing down and recognizing the daily accomplishments of her team helped provide a sense of normalcy, especially as the grind continued.
“I think there is that leadership mindset that I work with these employees every day, and I know them,” Bass said on an episode of the MGMA Insights podcast. “However, when you do rounding with intent – purposeful rounding – you’re really asking questions that get to the core of the issue, like what are we doing well?
“We have to celebrate our success in a time where we feel like everything is falling apart around us. [It’s about] reminding people what we’re doing well, so that we can celebrate that and feel good and know that the work we’re doing is worthwhile and has purpose.”
Hear more from Bass and Valenti in this episode of the MGMA Insights podcast:
Bass said a major component of Cooper University Health Care’s engagement strategy was to publicly promise to retain as much staff as possible through flexible work arrangements, despite COVID’s impact on non-emergency facility traffic and a potential drop in overall operational revenue.
“We made a commitment to our employees that we weren’t going to have a reduction in workforce,” she said. “That was really hard, because we saw this precipitous drop in the number of visits that we were doing in our medical practices. We talked to them, and we said we’re going to flex, which means that if you’re needed in another area, we want you to stay on board with us, be willing to acclimate – and they were in. I’m so amazed at the resilience of this team.”
Valenti said communication has proven to be a vital tool for retaining momentum as the pandemic continues to impact operations. Something as simple as a daily meeting turned out to be an important way to emphasize personal accountability throughout the organization, she noted.
“Our biggest challenge this year is probably communication. We saw it on every survey in every department across the entire organization,” Valenti said. “It was a little surprising, because we work really hard on communication So, from that, we implemented a noon huddle, and we made it mandatory. Every single day, they know that they can come to that huddle and get their communication.”
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