What challenges or gaps in care are you focused on?

Consumers are feeling more lost within a fragmented health care ecosystem. Many experience health care as a disjointed journey introducing new stressors for each specific health need that arises. This does not serve the best interest of the consumer and will ultimately become an untenable situation for the nation’s hospital systems as the population continues to change.

At the same time, consumers are defining health more broadly to include mental, social and community health. Many of them are looking for far more beyond acute care when it comes to their health care providers.

All of this points to a rising need for a continuous healthcare experience that goes beyond just sick care. Organizationally, we are committed to continuing to deliver exceptional clinical excellence not only within our acute care settings when people get sick, but also high-value, longitudinal primary health care that supports wellness for life.

What initiatives are you currently spearheading to improve health?

Over the past year at AdventHealth, I led the establishment of a new Primary Health Division which is committed to creating a healthcare ecosystem that serves consumers throughout every part of their health care journey. Complementing the care our patients receive at our hospitals and acute care facilities, this division includes a systemwide primary care network aimed to succeed in multiple payor structures. Through this new division, we are also evaluating what can be expanded through virtually and at home.

While we foresee continued demand for acute care, our integrated strategy is also creating new delivery mechanisms that allows us to be less episodic, resulting in longitudinal relationships for people we serve; hospitals will still be part of our system, but will serve a specific purpose when needed.

We view this as a complete solution. As a faith-based non-profit health system, we have a long-term commitment to our communities – for example, we’ve been in our Colorado market since 1896, in our Chicago market since 1905 and in Florida since 1908. Our goal is to have these modes of delivery available and durable within communities for decades to come, so they know they can count on us.

What necessary collaborations/partnerships have you established within and/or outside of your organization in developing your initiatives?

One of our key partners in this primary care space is Wellvana, our exclusive primary care partner in our largest market, Florida, to increase access and quality of care through custom solutions such as a differentiated clinical support team driven by its population health technology. The goal is to enable physicians to focus on high-quality patient care as they transition from fee-for-service to full risk-based contracting.

What gives you hope for the future in health care?

Across the industry, I see dedicated and committed individuals who want to improve the quality of care and make it more accessible. This shared commitment will drive healthcare in the right direction, even if it looks much different 20 years from now. Not only is there better tech emerging but consumers want to be more involved – and they’re looking for more holistic solutions. I’m hopeful as I see AdventHealth translate our mission of providing holistic care to all people and our vision of being known for preeminent, faith-based, consumer-focused clinical care. That’s the type of health care that could achieve real impact.