HJNO Sep/Oct 2019

dialogue 14 SEP / OCT 2019 I  Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS   Chief Editor Smith W. Hartley How does being a registered nurse give you a unique perspective as a CEO? Danny Hardman I startedmy career as a bed- side nurse, and that really gave me a sense of being a true patient advocate, of always putting the patient first. It’s something that follows me to this day. Nursing also gaveme a deep understanding and appreciation of what it takes to create a safe patient environ- ment, which influences everything that I do. Editor Can you talk about the growth at UMC? Hardman Our continued growth is an excit- ing story for us. Froma clinical perspective, our numbers are up across many areas, from inpatient admissions to emergency department visits to clinic visits to out- patient procedures. We’re continuing to grow our services, and have several proj- ects and services in the works, including a new Ambulatory Surgical Center and new outpatient behavioral health and addiction treatment services. One of the challenges to increasing our inpatient capacity we face is nurse recruitment and retention, like many hospitals. I’mworking very closely with our team to look at strategies we can implement to increase our pool of nurses, which will help us open more beds and increase our operating capacity. Editor Describe the relationship with UMC and the medical schools. Hardman We’re fortunate to be able to part- ner with two medical schools, LSU School “Our continued growth is an exciting story for us.”