HJNO Sep/Oct 2019

dialogue 16 SEP / OCT 2019 I  Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS   a long legacy of caring for the community, going back nearly 300 years to the original Charity Hospital. Now, we’re playing a lead- ing role in transforming the healthcare land- scape with a state-of-the-art facility, exciting new services, life-changing research, and a top educational experience for the next gen- eration of healthcare providers. Editor What is your leadership style? Hardman I was honored to receive an award in 2011 from the Oklahoma Hospital Association for my transformational style of leadership. I look at the role of leader- ship as having the ability to inspire and re- inspire a group, or a single person, to move forward successfully…making the uncom- mon common. In healthcare leadership, it is all about modeling integrity and fairness, setting clear goals and high expectations, encouraging others, providing support and recognition, getting people to look beyond their self- interest, and most of all, to inspire people to reach for the improbable – making the uncommon common. Editor Specifically, how does UMC proac- tively work toward patient safety? Hardman Patient safety is a huge prior- ity for me. One way we’re working to get to that next level of care is to look at pro- cess improvement every step of the way. We want to get to 100 percent quality every time, where we have zero patient safety incidents. Editor What are some other areas of UMC that you are particularly proud of? Hardman I’ve spent a lot of time rounding in our clinical areas andmeeting with staff, our physicians, and academic partners. I’ve been very impressed by everyone I’ve talked to. “In healthcare leadership, it is all about modeling integrity and fairness, setting clear goals and high expectations, encouraging others, providing support and recognition, getting people to look beyond their self-interest, and most of all, to inspire people to reach for the improbable – making the uncommon common.” There’s a real sense of family, a dedication to the community and our patients, and pride in our mission. Everyone is aware of our his- tory, that long legacy of caring for everyone in the community, and that sense of continu- ing and advancing that mission is strong. Editor What do you see as the future of health and healthcare in New Orleans? What is UMC’s role in this future? Hardman I see the future of healthcare everyday as I walk our hallways and see our learners. We know that about half of all the medical residents who train with our orga- nization stay in Louisiana for their careers. I also see the future in some of the life-chang- ing research taking place here. We’re also always looking for ways that we can expand access to care in our community, whether it’s through new programs to address unmet needs, or new ways of delivering care, such as with new technology. n