HJNO Jan/Feb 2025

DIALOGUE 10 JAN / FEB 2025 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS to have discussions. These conversations usually come out very favorably because they are always centered on what’s best for the patient. That’s the focus — what is best for the patient. Self-serving agendas never make good agendas. So, we ask, what do we need to do to make it favorable? I have to say, that approach has been amazing and is what keeps me going all the time. Physicians and providers just want what's best for a patient or they wouldn't have gone into healthcare in the first place. They didn't come to work to fuss, and they didn't come to work because they didn't want to do a good job. They came to work because they want to care for other people, and that's their calling. You just got to try and take away all the rhetoric that bogs people down and let them do what they do best — take care of people. Editor What is the best leadership advice that you've been given, and what is the best leadership advice you would give? Peoples The best leadership advice I could give, and vice versa, is probably one and the same as surrounding yourself with amazing, talented people. Because in these positions, Remember 20-something years ago when you went to see your doc, you didn't have computerization systems? They could sit down, have a long conversation with you, and they could write things in a chart — it was all handwritten. It was minimalized. Things are good, life is good. As regulatory requirements became a little more vast — and look, I think they're good, don't misun- derstand — it just takes away from some of the time you're able to sit with your patient. So, understanding the clinical aspects; and like I tell my doctor, “I can put myself in your shoes.”I truly can. I also always remind my staff to “speak doc,” because doctors aren’t sitting in an office, and they’re not reading emails. It's very hard to figure out how to communicate because of some of the business part of it. I tell them, "I under- stand the business, and you understand the medicine. We both went to school for a long time. There's a 'win-win' here. With the same information, smart people will make the same decision — we just have to share it.” I have an open-door policy, and we do have conversations. In my tenure, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a situation where there were absolute lines in the sand. I’m a people person, and we sit down organization or a community when you're young versus when you come back as a per- son who's raising family members and treat- ing everybody like a true community, you're a part of that community. And that has really been some philosophy that I stick by. And the reason why I say that is our phy- sicians who have been here — remember you were not credentialed back in the older days — you were privileged. It became privileges that you had, and it was because it was a privilege to serve your community. And we still very much consider we need to serve our community within our organization. And the good part is that every time somebody's here, if we know them, we know it's somebody's family member or some- thing. We still send cards; we still check on them; we still make sure, whether they're a community person or in general, every- body gets the same wonderful care. And we definitely, definitely, stick to that. We treat everybody as if it was our family member we were taking care of because they'll be taking care of all of us as we continue to age. As far as what's changed in 22 years, my goodness, technology, information systems. Things that we do that you used to stay in the hospital multiple days that today you go home within less than 24 hours as an outpa- tient. Just structure, talent, skill, … there are just so many things to name. Healthcare has evolved in the last 20 years. It was amaz- ing before, but that’s all we knew. AI's com- ing around the corner. I think in the next 20 years, it's going to be so different and so amazing. And that's what keeps you ener- gized to be in the role. No two days are alike, I assure you. Editor What do you think having that nursing background brings to a CEO position? Peoples For me, a lot, because the clinical background helps you understand not only what a lot of your caregivers or providers are talking about, but it helps you empathize some of the things that they've had to evolve to. “We treat everybody as if it was our family member we were taking care of because they'll be taking care of all of us as we continue to age.”