HJNO May/Jun 2024

DIALOGUE 12 MAY / JUN 2024 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS Nickens But I've learned it now. Editor Describe your management philosophy — how it has evolved, and what you've learned about the differences between running a children's hospital and UMC. Nickens Well, my philosophy is grounded in the fact that I'm a very passionate per- son, a very purposeful person about what I believe in. I believe I've been called to do this, that this is my responsibility. When you make a decision and say, "I'm going to be accountable for the future of programs and the way we spend money and the way we create access and making a difference," I think that's a big deal. It starts with this purposeful calling and the idea of what the future might hold. That's significant to me because the little challenges along the way become the big challenges along the way. To some it might feel as though they're failures or stutter steps, but to me they're all part of the journey of what makes us better. I love a good challenge. I've been a par- ticipatory intellectual leader over the course of my career. Reflecting back, when I was younger, I was often wrong, but never in doubt. I was a little bit too confident for my britches. I get embarrassed when I look back and think about how confident I was, and I didn't know anything. Then, over the course of my career, I've learned to measure twice and cut once and to mitigate risks because it's a big responsibility as a leader in health- care, as a CEO, or really at any level, forget titles for a second. You're making decisions and flowing money that affect the lives of people in a way that we can't be casual with. Last year, I had a kidney stone. I never experienced pain like that. I can tell you that I was not the same person. I was vulner- able, scared, nervous, and struggled to get past the pain. So, when you think about it, people don't just wake up and say, "I want to go to the hospital today." They're there because something is wrong. They're see- ing a physician because they're trying to be healthy; they're chasing wellness. I think it's Dianne Hartley, Editor Thank you for taking time to meet today. You've been in the New Orleans market since 2017. Tell us about your journey to University Medical Center. John Nickens I was in Houston for 25 years at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor Col- lege of Medicine — all business, no clinical training. My schooling was with LeTourneau University, a small liberal arts college in East Texas. I went to Texas Tech for my master's degree. When you think about Houston compared to New Orleans or Louisiana, there are over 6 million people in Houston, and there are about 5 million in the entire state of Louisiana. And there came a time where the CEO there said, "Look, I know you want to be a CEO someday, but I've just signed a new deal here, so it's not going to happen here at Texas Children's." I went home and told my wife that I was happy. I was COO at the largest children’s hospital, and I thought that we had done well. Her comment was, "It's time for me to go home. It's time for you to go to Louisiana. It's time to make a difference in my state." And she emphasized that "my." I'd never heard her talk in the possessive like that before. So, I started studying healthcare of Lou- isiana, specifically pediatrics and social determinants of health, I got inspired that maybe I could make a difference; maybe I could come over with all my training in Houston at both a medical school and a top children's hospital, and I could be impactful. I'm proud of what we’ve done over the last five, almost six years at Children's Hos- pital. I think we changed the dynamics. We brought Tulane in, and now you have LSU and Tulane under one roof. At Children's, we invested $300 million to rebuild the entire campus. We launched a partnership with Our Lady of the Lake Children's in Baton Rouge, where we are now the management partner for FMOL and run that hospital for them. All of it started with the idea: Can you make a difference to change a genera- tion? Twenty years from now, could we be ranked 50? Could we be 40?And that means that tens of thousands of kids would have a brighter, healthier future. I loved it. It was an incredible challenge. I recruited Lou Fragoso, now the CEO there, and he is doing a great job. Then my path took me to corporate. Greg Fern, our CEO, said, "Look, we want you to bottle up what you did at Children's, the culture and programs you built, and bring it to LCMC Health as a system. We’re on the verge of doing some really cool things, and I think it could be impactful.” Then, I learned that HCA was going to divest their relationship with Tulane, and LCMC Health was stepping in. I got really excited and thought, "Wow, this is an opportunity to do the same thing we did at Children’s in the adult world." When you look at UMC — a safety net aca- demic Level 1 trauma center that's roots are in Charity Hospital, which is known across the United States — I thought it was hum- bling to get the privilege to be the CEO at UMC. This is a permanent new role because I’m standing in the dual role of president of hospitals for LCMC Health, but then also the CEO of UMC, our flagship hospital, aca- demic medical center, and safety net hos- pital. So, for me personally, it's incredibly rewarding that I get this privilege with a hospital like UMC with quite a history. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be in New Orleans and to do what I do. I know as a city we have challenges, but my life's calling is healthcare. To be a business leader in healthcare and to have the privi- lege of trying to improve it on such a macro scale across the state through pediatrics and now the Gulf Coast with University Medical Center, you just don't get that opportunity many times. For me, it's quite a privilege. Editor Where's your wife from? Nickens She's originally from Pineville in Central Louisiana. I didn't realize that was a real thing. Louisiana people are eventually going to bring you back to Louisiana. Editor Yes, they do.