HJNO May/Jun 2024

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  MAY / JUN 2024 17 So UMC is for all of New Orleanians. That's why we have LSU and Tulane and the teach- ing programs, so when you need us, we're here, regardless of your insurance coverage. Editor You have the ear of the Louisiana Legislature right now because we mail out to all of them. Would you like to see something done differently with the Medicaid program? Nickens As a safety net hospital, we believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and our collaboration with the state is indispensable in delivering the comprehensive care that only UMC can provide. We play a vital role in healthcare in South Louisiana, serving as the sole Level I trauma center and the only burn center verified by the American Burn Association for the region. We also provide specialized programs addressing mental health, substance abuse, preventive care, and community outreach. Although we continue the mission of Charity Hospital’s work in serving all patients, we also recognize that there are always opportunities for improvement. Together, with the state, we continue to explore avenues to enhance the quality and accessibility of healthcare services, ensuring that every patient receives the best possible care, especially in communities that need care most. We deeply appreciate the partnership we share with the state of Louisiana, and we are committed to working hand-in-hand to overcome challenges and seize opportuni- ties for progress. By aligning our efforts and resources, we can continue to make mean- ingful differences in the lives of our patients and the broader community, ensuring care for all. Editor What are the strategic priorities and goals for UMC in the coming years, and how do you envision the organization evolving to meet the needs of the community? Nickens Our vision right now is the basics and the fundamentals. There's a lot of innovation and opportunity, and we are building on our history with the Spirit of Charity — we show up, we take care, we choose excellence. When I say show, that really is the beginning. We have to make it easy for people to access healthcare. LCMC Health has a vision of creating a culture of wellness in New Orleans, and a big part of UMC's responsibility is creating access to make it easy. That means our care teams show up and take care. When I think about the fundamentals of taking care, it is empowering our two medi- cal schools, and that means the physicians who practice medicine at University Medical Center. It's imperative to create an environ- ment for them to be successful, tomake sure their programs can grow, to make it easy for the transformational research from clinical trials to go from the bench to the bedside. Choosing excellence — this is where I think you have to be mindful of our cost structure, but when we choose excellence, we also have to have the community in mind. We have programs like Stop the Bleed, which is all about training and empowering all of our first responders on how to handle bleeding victims in the community when they show up in an EMT or with firemen or law enforcement, etc. Every Friday, we're out somewhere teaching the with the Stop the Bleed program, and that's just one of about 30 programs that we have to engage the community. When I start thinking vision immediately, for 2024, I believe that we need to be mind- ful, and we need to have an obsession with the fundamentals to be absolutely excellent. We choose excellence, we show up, and we take care. What I'd like to see in our growing sophistication is that we're spending time out in the community listening. As health- care leaders, we are sometimes guilty of thinking, “This is what you should do,” and prescribing what better health should look Nickens with Alvilda Humphrey