Podcasts about novant

Lynette McIntosh-Madrigal is joined by Pamela Evans and Pastor Jermaine B. Armour of Saint Luke AME Zion Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. They share stories of hope, discuss how they are partnering with God and their neighbors to see their community flourish, and reflect on their journey from being in the community to being with the community. Saint Luke is part of CCDA's Flourishing Congregations Initiative, a four-year program that empowers church leaders to deepen their congregations' community engagement, enhance their ministries, and contribute to the flourishing of their neighborhoods.Learn more about CCDA's Flourishing Congregations Initiative at ccda.org/fci. Pamela Evans currently serves as the Director of Ministries & Outreach and Administration at Saint Luke AME Zion Church in Wilmington, NC. I have been a member of the church for over 27 years. I have participated in activities at both local and conference levels within the church. I also serve in the community on various boards, such as the local chapter of the Red Cross, advisory board for the Food Bank of NC, health promoter in the Faith Health Network with Novant, and Community Mediator with the Wilmington Cape Fear Museum. I enjoy cultivating partnerships and relationships through community outreach initiatives.Pastor Armour and his wife, Tanya, moved to Wilmington in January 2014. He is a native of Buffalo, NY, and holds a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Education from the Interdenominational Theological Center and an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Ministry from Livingstone College. He serves on several community boards, including One Christian Network, Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry (WARM), Kids Making It, and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Red Cross. Pastor Armour and his wife have two children, Jadah Alana and Jermaine Elijah.Learn more about Saint Luke AME Zion Church and what they're doing in their community at newsaintluke.com. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

Novant'anni fa ad Ascona, in Vicolo Ghiriglione, di fronte al teatro di marionette che più tardi ospiterà la sua prima produzione, nasceva Dimitri Jakob Müller. Il padre Werner Jakob è scultore e architetto e sua madre Maja, una tessitrice e un'artigiana. Quando Dimitri ha cinque anni, il padre eredita una piccola somma e acquista la casa costruita dal pittore e architetto Otto van Rees sul versante nordorientale del Monte Verità. Comincia tutto lì, in quel clima culturale estremamene vivace che in quegli anni ruotava attorno alla collina delle utopie, la collina sulla quale il piccolo Dimitri cresceva grande e sognava di far ridere… Avrebbe compiuto 90 anni quest'anno il nostro Dimitri e per celebrare i cinquant'anni dell'Accademia Teatro Dimitri, lo ricordiamo con questo documento sonoro, riascoltando le sue storie e ripercorrendo riflessioni e ricordi che sono custoditi nei nostri archivi. Perdonateci se, ascoltando, avrete la sensazione che abbiamo tralasciato qualche aspetto importante, ma la sua personalità era così sfaccettata, poliedrica e complessa che raccontarla in pochi minuti non è così semplice.

Novant and Duke partner up; the role of the volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House; the search for the perfect Paczki.

We talk to Dr. Cramer McMullen who is the Medical Director of LGBTQ Health at Novant. He shares why it's important to have a great relationship with your doctor and the benefits he can give members of the LGBTQ community.

In this episode, Molly Gamble, Vice President of Editorial at Becker's Healthcare, provides insights into several key developments: a judge's ruling that the FTC can't halt the Novant and CHS deal, the continued climb of HCA to new highs, and Michael Dowling's new book on advancements in geriatric care.

On this episode, it's a conversation with Jon Martell, a retired doctor and former hospital administrator who says he nearly died at New Hanover Regional Medical Center — not because of a mistake made by a nurse or doctor, but because of systemic issues at the hospital. The experience led him to found a new nonprofit to push for a safer, higher-quality hospital. WHQR also spoke with top Novant medical administrators to work through some of Martell's systemic concerns.

340B savings can help hospitals and other covered entities better serve patients and improve their health outcomes. But how can these entities make the best use of 340B funds for their institutions? We sat down with Matt Webber, director of pharmacy business at Novant Health based in North Carolina, to learn more.340B optimization strategies One way that Novant Health optimized its 340B program was through a multidisciplinary team that includes data analysts and auditors. Matt says that while this team prioritizes compliance above all else, it also can focus on technology and data to increase 340B efficiency and to find opportunities to increase patient access to the drugs and care they need.  How 340B optimization helps patientsNovant Health was able to use their 340B optimization team to find cases in which patients receive a prescription from the hospital but use a non-contracted pharmacy to fill their medication. The team found out where this was occurring and used the information to expand their contract pharmacy footprint and better meet patients' needs where they are.The complexity of optimizingMatt says health systems can encounter numerous systemic challenges in pursuing 340B optimization, including navigating individuals' choice, rising drug costs for patients, and complex reimbursement issues. Still, Novant's optimization efforts are paying off for patients by measurably improving their health outcomes and connecting them to more affordable drugs and care.Check out all of our episodes on the 340B Insight podcast website. You also can stay updated on all 340B Health news and information by visiting our homepage. If you have any questions you'd like us to cover in this podcast, email us at podcast@340bhealth.org.Resources:Mississippi Bans Drugmakers' Contract Pharmacy RestrictionsHRSA Issues Final Rule on Changes to Administrative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Process

Join us as we sit down with Pam Oliver, Chief Medical Officer of Novant Health. Pam shares insights into her background, discusses the launch and focus of Novant's new Center for Public Policy Solutions, addresses current healthcare policy challenges, and explores opportunities for health systems to shape future legislation and public policy. Tune in for a deep dive into healthcare advocacy and policy-making.

Join us as we sit down with Pam Oliver, Chief Medical Officer of Novant Health. Pam shares insights into her background, discusses the launch and focus of Novant's new Center for Public Policy Solutions, addresses current healthcare policy challenges, and explores opportunities for health systems to shape future legislation and public policy. Tune in for a deep dive into healthcare advocacy and policy-making.

February 22, 2024: Amid ongoing growth and technological advancements, CEO of SureTest, Laura O'Toole, discusses the company's significant progress over the past year, including strategic partnerships and client successes with automation in healthcare testing. SureTest, known for its innovative EHR testing platform, has expanded its library and improved its services to save healthcare systems countless hours and resources. The solution, designed to streamline EHR and third-party application testing, is now aiding organizations like UNC and Novant in achieving new levels of efficiency and quality. Exciting developments include the adoption of testing automation during EHR implementation phases, enhancing the effectiveness of transitions to platforms such as Epic. Visit SureTest at ViVE, booth 1301, for a comprehensive demonstration and to engage with clients who have transformed their testing processes using SureTest's solutions.Key Points:Captain's Campaign for CuresGrowth of SureTestTesting Automation JourneyMoving to EpicAutomation in productionSubscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: Week HealthDonate: Alex's Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Covid and the pandemic changed a lot about how we work, shop, go to school –and even how we workout. One of the biggest “booms” during that time was in running. Depending on the report you read, 15 to 30 percent of runners surveyed say they came to the sport during the pandemic!  Many of them are still running, and looking for in-person opportunities to get together and run. That's GREAT news for folks in the events business, you'd think. But there are also new challenges for the events and endurance industry.  Tim Rhodes is president of Run Charlotte and the managing partner for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. Tim, welcome to the BrandBuilders podcast.

Dr. Chere Gregory, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer at Novant Health joins the podcast to discuss key insights into her role, Novant Health's early adoption of health equity, trends she is keeping an eye on going into 2024, and more.

Employment: Can a white executive sue for employment discrimination based upon a corporation's preference for minority candidates as part of a diversity initiative? - Argued: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 16:0:49 EDT

There is something to be said about consistency. Like “The Rock” said, “success isn't always about greatness… it's about consistency.”  “Consistent” is truly a word we can use to describe our next guest here on The Running Around Charlotte Podcast. In fact, he's been a part of this event almost as long as we have!  … Continue reading "Dave Behrens, 18x Novant Health Charlotte Marathon finisher"

For folks who don't know… Novant Health Hemby Children's Hospital is the official beneficiary of the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon. The Marathon is proud to raise awareness – and money — for such an important and remarkable place in the Charlotte community.  All that “remarkableness” doesn't happen in a vacuum. Along with the medical team … Continue reading "Amy McKinney, Novant Health Hemby Foundation"

This show aired on Thursday, October 5th, 2023 on 107.9 and 980 The WAAV in Wilmington, NC. Guests include Alex Baltzegar and Dane Scalise. Novant lays off 160 employees, Building the Wall, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kim Henderson, Chief of Staff & Enterprise Patient Experience Officer at Novant Health joins the podcast to discuss her background, strategy for patient experience, the most impactful change she's made in the last year, how she sees patient experience evolving, and what will be a differentiator for her health system in the future.

Kim Henderson, Chief of Staff & Enterprise Patient Experience Officer at Novant Health joins the podcast to discuss her background, strategy for patient experience, the most impactful change she's made in the last year, how she sees patient experience evolving, and what will be a differentiator for her health system in the future.

Kim Henderson, Chief of Staff & Enterprise Patient Experience Officer at Novant Health joins the podcast to discuss her background, strategy for patient experience, the most impactful change she's made in the last year, how she sees patient experience evolving, and what will be a differentiator for her health system in the future.

Jason Paisley joins Out of the Gray (Gy) to share his story and offer insights across a variety of topics relevant to today's Rad Onc leader.

This episode features Dr. Margaret Lozovatsky, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Informatics Officer for Novant Health. Here, she discusses how the Chief Health Informatics Officer role has evolved, what she is most focused on and excited about currently, advice for emerging leaders, and more.

This episode features Dr. Eric Eskioglu, Former EVP and Chief Medical Officer at Novant Health. Here, he discusses positive disruption in the healthcare space, the impact AI will have on healthcare, and more.

This live episode from the Becker's Hospital Review 13th Annual Meeting in Chicago features Dr. Eric Eskioglu, former EVP and Chief Medical Officer at Novant Health. Here, he discusses the exciting positive disruption in the healthcare space, the impact AI will have on healthcare, and more.

The healthcare system is designed to make money rather than promote health, and Emma Fox and David Contorno discuss how to be a more informed and empowered consumer of healthcare. They provide advice on how to access financial assistance programs and discuss the high salaries of hospital executives, who are not necessarily making decisions based on clinical outcomes. Emma and David share their story of how they were quoted $6,500 for a medical bill, but received a bill for $22,000, and how they were able to get the bill adjusted to $6,900 by exercising a legal term called accord and satisfaction. They also discuss the importance of understanding the financial assistance programs available, even for those who make into the six figures as a household, and how the top executives of Novant were paid $458.7 million from 2010 to 2021.Episode Outline:(00:04:10) IV Infusion Treatment(00:00:00) IVIG Infusion Cost(00:12:53) Financial Assistance Programs(00:08:28) Financial Assistance Programs(00:17:10) Health Care SystemQuotes:(00:17:33) I can't wait to get into more of these. I feel like we could chat forever, but let's give someone a little break from the mind blown that is finding this stuff out because it's heavy and I hope people get as angry as we got, which kind of led us to this path.(00:03:00) Where else in the world does both the customer and the provider of services not know the cost or the price until after services are rendered, except in the US. Healthcare system?(00:07:23) Why do we not start with that? But we took the oral steroids and they actually had a longer lasting and more positive effect.(00:11:33) I almost think the first thing is the clinical. I don't think anyone should be afraid anymore to ask questions and I didn't ask enough questions. What other treatment options are available? Why did you choose this one? Maybe get a second opinion even.(00:15:49) There's absolutely no reason to feel bad. The whole reason that they get the tax breaks that they get for being nonprofit is because they're required to give away what's called charitable care. They're required to do it.Blog Post:It's no secret that the healthcare system is designed to make money rather than promote health. Emma Fox and David Contorno recently discussed how to be a more informed and empowered consumer of healthcare. They shared their story of how they were quoted $6,500 for a medical bill, but received a bill for $22,000. Through exercising a legal term called accord and satisfaction, they were able to get the bill adjusted to $6,900. Emma and David's story is a powerful reminder of the importance of understanding the financial assistance programs available for medical care. Even those who make into the six figures as a household can benefit from these programs. It is also important to remember that the top executives of Novant were paid $458.7 million from 2010 to 2021. Most of these executives have business degrees and make decisions based on financial outcomes, not necessarily clinical outcomes.It is also important to note that drug companies make less money when people are healthy, and insurance companies make more money when people are healthy. This means that there are little things done to ensure people don't get healthy. Emma and David got angry and this led them to this path of exploring how to be an informed and empowered consumer of healthcare. To be a more informed and empowered consumer of healthcare, there are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind. Firstly, healthcare estimates are now legally required to be a good faith estimate and cannot vary by more than $400 from what was quoted pre-service. Patients should not be afraid to ask questions and seek a second opinion when receiving medical treatment.Nonprofit hospitals are required to offer financial assistance programs based on income alone, which can reduce or eliminate a patient's bill. Patients can present themselves as cash pay to get more effective assistance. Financial assistance counselors are often bonded money by the hospital if they get a patient to agree to any payment plan. The true 501 R required financial assistance policy is often hidden on the hospital's website.Finally, people should not feel bad about using hacks and tricks to get financial assistance. Tax breaks are given to nonprofit hospitals, and the taxes they don't pay are made up for by the local community. Nonprofit hospitals are also required to give away what's called charitable care. It's important to be an informed and empowered consumer of healthcare. With the right knowledge and understanding of the system, you can save yourself a lot of money and heartache.Episode LinksConnect with Emma FoxWebsiteEmma's WebsiteConnect with David ContornoLinkedInWebsiteOther MaterialsThese materials help you promote your podcast. Quotes can be used for audio & video grams or quote cards. Blog and social posts will help your website and social media presence.

On the 150th episode of the Forsyth Magazines Podcast, Brooke welcomes Novant Health Vascular Specialists to the studio for their fifth appearance. First-time guests Keith Bond and Samantha (Sam) Abbott give the scoop on all things varicose veins and gush about NHVS's growing team of vascular surgeons. Keith explains why he is quitting Coke Zero, Sam shares her hiking aspirations, and everyone in the studios shares the most valuable pieces of advice they've ever received. Find Novant Health Vein Specialists online: Website: www.salemveins.com

Paramedic Amanda King shares her story of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail and overcoming EMS burnout This episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com. After realizing she was suffering from burnout, Paramedic Amanda King decided to leave her service and take on one of the most physically challenging trails in the United States. Amanda made a decision that changed how she saw people, how she viewed the world and how she understood herself. Three months after resigning, selling her house and storing her furniture, Amanda was dropped off in Georgia, alone, with one goal: to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. With her hiker home packed into a rucksack on her back, she embarked on a seven-and-a-half month epic adventure which saw her hike nearly 2,200 miles. She endured harsh weather, a regional drought, rugged terrain and so much more on a journey that evolved her in ways she could not have ever imagined. After deciding to return to EMS, Amanda chats with Rob Lawrence about her experience, the individuals she met along the way and how her experiences can be translated back into life as a medic. Amanda also reflects on her life before the trail and offers inspiration and takeaways for all. TOP QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE “I think my biggest regret is, it's a very simple word. It's two letters long and it's the word ‘no!' Don't be afraid to say no. Take time for yourself, because you are the most important person. You know, if you're not happy and if you're not safe, how can you expect to keep other people happy and safe? I think that's the biggest thing, don't work so much overtime, don't inconvenience yourself to do all of these things that's asked of you, in return you're not taking care of yourself. So, one thing that I decided if I got back into EMS, is I would use my vacation time. So I'll put it to you this way. When I was at the former employer, I took a vacation maybe twice in 6 years or something like that, like an actual vacation. I've already taken two vacations since I started here at Novant, since November – so that's a huge difference.” “I don't want to say yes, a 7-month hike in the woods cured all my problems, because that's not at all the case. I think that it's an ongoing process that, once you reach that point of burnout, it's number one up to you. It's not up to anybody else to help you. It's up to you to help you. And you have to want that change. I think that it's an everyday thing. Every day I need to do things that keep me on that path of not going back down that road again.” “I think that was a symptom of the burnout where I was at, I had no patience whatsoever and it showed. It showed to my partner, it showed to family members that I would encounter on a call. And I hate to admit all that; it's embarrassing, but that's where I was, that was the point where I was at. I think now, after all that time off, and all that time to self-reflect, I think I'm more patient because I believe that I'm more empathetic, which is also something that I can't say that I possessed before I left.” EPISODE CONTENTS 02:29 – Introducing Amanda King 05:06 – Symptoms of burnout 07:16 – The moment you realize you are done 10:57 – Selling and putting everything in storage 13:23 – Hiking with friends 15:53 – Packing for a 2,000 mile walk 18:48 – Mental fortitude 22:47 – Trail angels 24:40 – Trail magic 26:32 – Becoming ‘moss' 29:49 – Hindsight is 20/20 31:16 – Keeping a journal 33:30 – Taking a zero: how to use down time 41:14 – 2,000 miles later … 48:05 – Developing patience 51:02 – Message to those heading into crisis or breakdown 54:13 – Contact details ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC Reignite EMS passion by banishing burnout (eBook) On-demand webinar: Navigating a path to career satisfaction 5 EMS tips for a work-life balance EMS Burnout Repair Kit: Reigniting your EMS passion ABOUT OUR GUEST Amanda King is a paramedic from the coast of North Carolina. Prior to joining EMS, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. During her first 10 years in EMS, she was promoted to field training officer, became an EMS instructor, developed a field training and evaluation program for her former agency, taught EMS classes for the local community college and earned a real estate license. She left EMS and thought she'd never return. Now, after becoming one of just over 1,000 people to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2022, she has returned to EMS and now works for Novant Health Mobile Integrated Health. She is currently in graduate school to obtain a master's degree in public administration. CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST Instagram LinkedIn RATE AND REVIEW THE EMS ONE-STOP PODCAST Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Contact the EMS One-Stop team at editor@EMS1.com to share ideas, suggestions and feedback.

In this episode, Onyeka Nchege, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Novant Health, joins the podcast to discuss his background & responsibilities in his current role, how he is leveraging data and analytics to decrease provider burden, where he sees opportunities for growth in the future, and more.Want to network with peers and hear more conversations like this? Apply to be one of our complimentary guest reviewers at our upcoming HIT + Digital Health + RCM Meeting Oct, 3-6 2023 here.

“I have observed where there have been leaders in roles that introduce new technology but didn't follow sound change management practices to build that adoption, to build that buy-in.” So says Amber Fencl, one or our guests on this episode of VentureSprout. She believes leaders should focus on technology adoption at the very beginning of the process and not in the middle of the production stage. This episode also brings in two other leaders who talk about how to develop technology and innovation to take health care beyond the conventional approach focused within the four walls of the hospital.   Guest speakers: Amber Fencl, BBA Senior Vice President Chief Digital Health Officer Novant Health   Mike Anderes, MBA, PT, FACHE President, Inception Health Chief Innovation and Digital Officer Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin   Mike McSherry, BA Chief Executive Officer Xealth   Hosts: Corey Pegg, MHA Associate Vice President Member Backed Ventures Vizient   Heather Ramirez, MS Ventures Director Vizient   Show Notes: [01:22] Mike Anderes' story: from PT to digital health [03:00] Amber Fencl's story: from financial services to digital health [05:37] The need for sound change management practices in adopting technology [07:19] Mike McSherry's story: from Microsoft to digital entrepreneur to health care [10:41] Overview of Froedtert and Inception Health: from failure to innovation [13:05] “Outside-in” [14:45] Investment and working with outside companies   Links | Resources: Website for Novant Health: https://www.novanthealth.org/ Website for Inception Health: https://www.inceptionhealth.io/ Website for Xealth: https://www.xealth.com/   Vizient Member-Backed Ventures email: mbv.info@vizientinc.com Amber Fencl's email: abfencl@novanthealth.org Mike Anderes' email: michael.anderes@froedtert.com Mike McSherry's email: mike.mcsherry@xealth.io   Subscribe Today! Apple Podcasts Amazon Podcast Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher RSS Feed

Join us on "Life, Horses, and Flexibility," a captivating episode that follows the journey of a CNA turned CRNA. Inspired by a family member in the medical field, Devin's passion for nursing began in high school and led her to UNC for nursing school. With four years of experience at Novant Health, primarily at Forsyth Medical Center, Devin's dedication to her profession is fueled by the desire for a flexible lifestyle, allowing them to prioritize family time, especially with their children during their formative years.But Devin and her family's story doesn't end there. Their love for horses and the dream of owning their own business pushed them to explore real estate. With a remarkable property encompassing 16 acres, including a replica of Gunston Hall as their main residence, a horse barn, and a renovated guest house known as the stable house, they have created a picturesque haven where horses roam in pastures, a peaceful creek flows, and verdant woods beckon. Discover their fulfillment in combining their passion for healthcare, family, and the equestrian lifestyle on this inspiring podcast. Devin Washing is a CRNA. Works at Novant in Winston.  She and her husband run an Airbnb mainly as a hobby but to also help make ends meet on a property that sounds like it has a hefty mortgage.  Her Airbnb is “The Stable House” on a farm. They have also diversified their portfolio by adding horse/unicorn-themed children's parties and a wedding venue to their property.To connect with Devin check out the following links Www.willowviewfarmnc.comWww.airbnb.com/h/willowviewfarmFacebook: Willow View Farm Weddings and EventsInstagram @willowviewfarmweddingsTo find out more about investing in multifamily real estate schedule a call at https://www.oncallinvestments.com/Are you a healthcare provider exploring options outside of your traditional career path? Be a guest on The Plan B CRNA podcast! Email me at: Bobby@oncallinvestments.com for more information

May 18: Today on the Conference channel, it's an Interview in Action live from HIMSS 2023 with Margaret Lozovatsky, MD, SVP, CHIO, at Novant Health. How important is it for technology to seamlessly integrate into the clinical workflow, and what challenges arise when clinicians do not adopt new technologies? What role can AI technology play in transforming data into actionable insights for clinicians, and how can it complement human expertise in healthcare decision-making? How can the integration of clinical informatics into the governance process enhance decision-making and optimize resource allocation?Join us on June 8 at 1PM ET for our webinar: 'The Future of Care Spaces' This webinar will focus on the latest healthcare technologies and solutions transforming care spaces in America. Care spaces can include hospitals, clinics, and at-home treatments where advanced technologies can enable better workflows, treatments, and patient outcomes. Register Here: https://thisweekhealth.com/future-of-care-spaces/Subscribe: This Week HealthTwitter: This Week HealthLinkedIn: Week HealthDonate: Alex's Lemonade Stand: Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Carmen Canales  00:03Hello, I'm Carmen Canales, Senior Vice President and Chief People and Belonging Officer at Novant Health. Welcome to Talent Talk, a podcast that focuses on leadership strategies for engagement, development, and retention for the modern workforce. In each episode of Talent Talk, I'll interview a different leader about their transformational practices in leading, engaging, and retaining teams and supporting our patients and communities. These conversations will leave you with a few key takeaways and actions you can put into place on your own teams. Our guest today is Jay Norton, Senior Vice President Chief Risk Officer at Novant Health. Jay is an executive leader with more than 20 years of risk management experience and expertise in leading high profile regulatory initiatives. Welcome, Jay! Jay Norton  00:56Thank you, Carmen. It's absolute pleasure to be here! Carmen Canales  00:58Jay, tell us about yourself and your background and now your role at Novant Health. Jay Norton  01:04Sure, thanks, Carmen. I'll start on the personal side first. So I'm originally from the Tampa Bay area, Florida, but have lived in Charlotte for almost 20 years now. Married for 22 years. Somone I met 30 years ago. I have two kids, one in college, one about to go to college and excited to see what empty nest is all about. But professionally, I started off as an attorney, I quickly learned that I liked much more the proactive side of that work and got into compliance and regulatory work there. And as well as operational risk. I've worked for some large financial institutions and had great opportunities to lead programs there and work on some really high profile regulatory initiatives. That certainly taught me a lot about leadership. Carmen Canales  01:44Fantastic! So Jay, tell us about your leadership style and what's your approach to leadership in general? Jay Norton  01:52Good question, Carmen, I think my leadership style, it feels like it adjusts to the environment and the situation that I'm in. So maybe it's a bit of a chameleon, but I still try to ground myself and what I think are sort of core leadership styles about myself and my brand, I would really like it to be, first and foremost is credible. And credible doesn't mean knowledgeable about your business, but credible and that people respect what you say they know, you're gonna do what you say. So credibility is really important to me. Also authenticity. What you see is what you get; sometimes for good sometimes for bad, but definitely believe that being authentic is a great quality as well. And then lastly, just action-oriented, I think the space that we're in, we really have to get a lot accomplished. And I don't like to sit around and wait. Sometimes that might scare people. But I do try to move quickly and move on to the next thing. So I think all together. That's really how I describe my leadership style. Carmen Canales  02:42Well, Jay, I think that's fantastic. I certainly seen the action-oriented, it tells me and our listeners that you really have adopted your years of expertise in other industries over to healthcare. Jay, what do you think about the concept of belonging? It's something that we know has emerged as really key to attracting and engaging talent. What does it mean to you? And how do you foster belonging on your team and among your colleagues? Jay Norton 03:06That's great! And belonging is really important to me, Carmen, I think you know, by now, one of my personality traits is I'm a relator. So I get a lot of energy out of relationships with the people that I work with. And so for me, that really contributes to a sense of belonging for me in an organization. And I really try to do that through personally connecting one on one with everybody. I try to meet everybody in person, if I can...certainly get out and meet folks that I work with every single day. And also with the team members that report up through me. I have skipped level meetings. I make a commitment to meet with every single person on my team at least once within a period of time. And that's just a way to get connected and foster that sense of belonging. But I think for those who maybe aren't as wired, like I am, it might take a little bit more. I try to, I try to encourage that there's some organic ways, certainly encouraging others or creating opportunities for team members to interact with each other in meaningful ways, not just sitting at your desk on your respective zoom meetings, but find whether it's projects or coffee hour, or just sort of that organic interaction that I really...helps develop that sense of belonging, which I think we've lost after the pandemic, and folks have really gotten used to working from home. So it's important for me to find those opportunities to bring folks together. The last two things I'll say about that is I think a sense of belonging really comes from connecting people from their work to what they do in the big picture and strategy organization. So seeing that what I'm doing makes a difference. And again, I think fosters that belonging, I belong here because I'm making a difference. I'm contributing to the goals of the organization. And then lastly, celebrating our success. Again, I think that just strengthens relationships when we can all step back and take credit and pat each other on the back or have someone pat me on the back for what I did. So those are the things I think about as a leader. Carmen Canales  04:52You know, Jay, some of your comments really resonate. I couldn't agree more that for all of the things that took place during the pandemic, one of the things that is as leaders we really need to pay attention to is this sense of connection and intentionally doing things to make sure that it's happening. So it sounds like you have some great strategies in place around that. So, Jay, tell us about your time at Novant. Health as a chief risk officer, have you noticed significant differences in risk related to healthcare as compared to your, your previous experiences in banking or elsewhere? Or what similarities have you experienced? Jay Norton  05:26Yeah, it's been an amazing experience Carmen. So coming from financial services, this, I mean, everything is new every day is an adventure. And there's some story that I just could never have appreciated, um, having not worked in, in healthcare. So every day is exciting for me. And the chief risk officer role that I have, I get to see different aspects of risk through different dimensions. So whether that's through the compliance program, privacy office, or audit or risk managers, I really feel like I've got a good appreciation for the types of risks that are present in a healthcare setting. And from that, I constantly try to calibrate and compare my experience in financial services. And certainly an obvious difference is the subject matter, right, the healthcare regulatory environment is very different. But it's also similar that it's highly complex, highly regulated, highly nuanced. So that has been an interesting aspect for me. A difference is that in financial services, if we got something wrong and had a financial impact, but you could also address that, you could refund, you could do something to right, the wrong. In healthcare the stakes are so high. If you get the risk wrong, that has real consequences, real impact. So for me, I feel especially accountable to ensure that we have a really strong control environment and are managing our risks appropriately, because we just can't afford to get it wrong. I think that also in financial services, I share the example that for the large banks that I worked for, you would have over 100, full-time federal regulators, auditors, and examiners exclusively focused on you. They're on you every single day, they're in your offices, they have laptops, they get access to everything, and they will find everything, and you have to address everything. So there's really no place to hide in that space. You really, in some cases, have to over engineer your response to risks in that environment. Here, certainly we don't have the same resources, we don't have the same number of folks on us. So it puts more obligation on us to make sure we're appropriately identifying the risks, that we're prioritizing the work that we need to do, and do it in a way that makes sense for certainly our patients first and foremost, but also for our system. So those are just some early observations, six months no, but it is, it is something that constantly weugh back and forth, Carmen, financial services versus healthcare. It's a very, I'm gonna write a paper, we'll do a separate podcast on it. Carmen Canales  07:33Sign me up. I can't wait! So Jay, one of the things that we strive to do here on talent talk is really to honor authenticity and to have humility. So to that end, will you tell our listeners about a mistake that you've made in your career? And importantly, besides telling us a good story, what did you learn from it? Jay Norton  07:53I think about this all the time, Carmen, I obsess over things like this, because I always am trying to improve myself and challenge sort of my assumptions. But the thing that comes to mind immediately is a number of years ago, I was working on a really, really complicated regulatory matter where we had to return money to customers working with really outdated information, incomplete information. And it was it was really tough, and there was a lot of pressure to get it right. And I was part of a team and my role there was to help sort of coordinate and be a liaison between the regulators and senior leadership and the folks who were actually making the changes and doing the work. And you know, it's a little bit tough, because we have different roles and responsibilities in that space. And I, in hindsight, should have been more proactive and helping the other folks on the team. So I had peers that were working on different pieces of it. And I had sort of adopt this mentality of stay in your lane, let them do what they're going to do. I recognize they might be struggling, but you know, I'm not really going to step on their toes or get in the way. And what happened from that as we really got sideways on something, got to our leaders kind of late, later than we should have. And at the time, I thought, well, you know, that was my peers' responsibility, or I didn't want to bother my boss with these issues that I thought what really mind to raise, and my leader rightfully came down on me and, and gave me an "inconsistently meets expectations" which was devastating for me. But as we talked about it, I get the light bulb on. I go, of course, I mean, first of all, as a leader, you're a leader, they can't help if they don't know, right, and you're not really protecting the information. Don't wait for that really big sort of moment where it's too late to do anything about so that has certainly changed the way that I bring matters to the attention of others. And don't wait too late, no surprises. But it really changed the dynamic of the way that I work with my peers who are also leaders trying to adjust that I'm not stepping on their toes. I really am here to help them and what can I do to assist? And sometimes avoid,you know not avoiding those really delicate conversations where you have to give a little bit of truth to your peers or say look, let's...it's time like we really need to step up and do something let's call the boss let's call and resources and that's uncomfortable because you you don't want to step on toes. You want to respect your peers. But that learned from me like, we can't do that. Because ultimately, we show up as a collective management team, we show up together, we all succeed together, we fail together. And so from that, it really has changed the way that I interact with folks. I'm a little bit more...uhh...always constructive, always diplomatic. But I'm a little more assertive that I've been in the past, but I come upon it as a point of luck. We're here to succeed together. Let's do it. And let's not have anybody surprised by this or miss an opportunity to address something before it's too late. So that is something that sticks with me. I think about it way more than I, maybe I should. But I will never repeat that mistake again.  Carmen Canales  10:33Jay, thank you for sharing that, the candor and vulnerability of that example. I'm sure it's gonna resonate with our listeners. As we close Jay, what final leadership tips would you share with our listeners? Jay Norton  10:46Yeah, I thought of three things, Carmen. First is, is carving out time for leadership development. And I think some of us are good about blocking off time for focus time on our calendars. But, I actually schedule it, like leadership development, and whatever that looks like for you. Whether it's reading something, whether it's being intentional about setting up meetings with folks who haven't talked to in a while. I think if you don't make time for it very quickly, your calendar is is gonna get away from you. So, try to be really intentional about developing your leadership is really crucial. The second thing I would offer is constantly solicit constructive feedback. And it's 360 feedback from the people you work with, the people you report to, and who report to you. I got into a lull where I thought, hey, I'm smart, I kind of know what I'm doing here. And I really missed out on some opportunity. So I really, really missed an opportunity to ask for constructive feedback. And I've got thicker skin over the years that I can take it and and I also offer it. So, constructive feedback is really really important as a leader. And then lastly, I would suggest that you find a competent, a confidant rather, a friend at work, someone that you can bounce things off, unload, someone you trust that you can share, really, honestly. You know, how's it going? Because as you know, as a leader, you kind of have to put on the leader persona sometimes. But you also need someone you can talk to about it and share ideas, maybe vent a little, but also ask for feedback. How would you handle this situation? And I feel very fortunate that I found a really few great folks like that where I'm at now and I've had him in the past. And it just makes such a difference as a leader to know you don't have to go it alone. You don't have to know it all. You have to figure it out. There are people around you that are great resources. Carmen Canales  12:20You know, Gallup would call that having a best friend that work, which I think is key at all levels. Well, Jay Norton, I want to thank you for sharing your lessons learned and your wisdom with our listeners today. Thank you so much, Jay! Jay Norton  12:33Thank you so much for having me, Carmen. I loved it! Carmen Canales  12:36I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Make sure to look for future episodes of Talent Talk where you typically listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening and until next time, keep inspiring the talent around you.

Carmen Canales  00:03Hello, I'm Carmen Canales, Senior Vice President and Chief People and Belonging Officer at Novant Health. Welcome to Talent Talk, a podcast that focuses on leadership strategies for engagement, development, and retention for the modern workforce. In each episode of Talent Talk, I'll interview a different leader about their transformational practices in leading, engaging and retaining teams and supportive our patients and communities. These conversations will leave you with a few key takeaways and actions you can put into place on your own teams. Our guest today is Onyeka Nchege, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Novant Health. Onyeka has more than 25 years of experience in leading teams developing strategies and building digital technology solutions. Prior to joining Novant Health, Onyeka held leadership positions in multiple industries, including in the automotive aftermarket replacement batteries, financial services, and consumer packaged goods. Onyeka, thank you for joining us today as we focus on transformational leadership. Onyeka Nchege  01:11Thank you for having me. Carmen Canales  01:13Onyeka, take a moment to tell us a little bit about your background, and about yourself and your role at Novant Health. Onyeka Nchege  01:20All right. So, you know, Carmen, I appreciate I appreciate you either, sharing all that about my background. And, and so when I'm asked to tell us a little bit about yourself, I'll be totally honest with you all that sounds great. But I always go into, look, I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm an uncle, you know, I'm a brother. And that's, that's who I am. At the core of it all, it's about family for me. And that's who you get. I'm a friend, right? And those are all the those are all the things that truly define kind of who I am and and what I want to be known for. You know, it's, it's great that, you know, God, God's been good to me over the years, and I've had an opportunity to be a CIO at, you know, a number of major brands within, within the US and all that's great. But, you know, when it comes down to it, husband, father, son, uncle, brother, friend, those are the things that matter to me. Carmen Canales  02:26Onyeka, I love you distinguishing who I am versus what I do. That does not surprise me one bit about you. Onyeka Nchege  02:33Yeah. So, and then, and then, you know, at Novant Health, you know, my, my role is just accountability to the DPS team members. It's the accountability to the organization, Novant Health organization, to patient care to all the communities that we serve. It's, it's that role that is all about, you know, how do we leverage technology? How do we leverage innovation? And how do we optimize the things that we currently have today, that allow us to provide that patient care that patient experience that remarkable, right? So that's, that's, that's what the role is all about. Carmen Canales  03:13Well, Onyeka, so as you focus on that, tell our listeners about your leadership style, and what's your approach to leadership in general? Onyeka Nchege  03:20Yeah, that's a great question, Carmen. You know, from a leadership style, it's, I'd say it's collaborative. That's probably the the word that I would use, you know, what is my leadership style, it's it's a collaborative leadership style, it is a leadership style, that is a that is a purpose driven leadership style that that truly as a, you know, I believe in the lead from the back. And folks always go, what is that lead from the back? And it's, it's the opportunity to allow my team members allow my, my direct reports and all that report into my organization to take a leadership role themselves, right? I'm a firm believer that you know, you don't start leading the day that you're handed an opportunity. You start leading well before you're handed an opportunity. And the only way to really get there is if you have an opportunity to do some of that, to walk a mile if you will, in someone's shoes, in a leader shoes. And so I have an opportunity to push my team members forward and allow them to lead and so that that is the leadership style that I ascribe to. And that's how I, that's how I try to show up every day. Is that collaborative, inclusive leadership style that brings everybody along at the same time. Carmen Canales  04:30Onyeka, I hear in your conversation, not just a commitment to leadership, but also in mentorship and in developing leaders. So, tell us what sparked your interest in that. How did you discover that you were good at that? And how did you discover your interest in that? Onyeka Nchege  04:44Yeah, so you know, my, my, wow, that goes back that you're taking me back, Carmen (old school!). That goes that goes way back. So, I remember. It's, I'll tell you this story, right. And I and I've recounted the story. I've told the story several times over the years, when I first started working, I worked for an organization called Wachovia. So I graduated college, I went to join the Wachovia operational services on their management training program, you know, you six months intensive, all the all the stuff take you through the rounds at the bank, and you show and then you graduate, and then you get assigned to anyway, I got assigned to this group and I graduated, I went to Georgia State in Atlanta, graduated, started with Wachovia In Atlanta, finished the six-month intensive program and got and got sent to Winston-Salem to work as part of the eCommerce organization. And when I was there, I remember one day, this is some data and myself, I was way back when I first came out, right? And there was, there was this email that came to me, and it was it was a joke, right? So, it's, you know, I don't know if you remember that, like people would always send these emails with all these jokes. And, and, right now it's TikTok and Instagram and all that kind of stuff, right? Nobody sends jokes in emails anymore. Back then they did. And so, I remember getting it reading and thinking it was funny. And I forwarded it to a buddy of mine that worked at the bank with me, right. And later that day, I remember Mark, he was the vice president of...can't remember his full title, but he's the, he was the VP. He got it somehow, got that email and then he calls me into his office, right? And he goes, hang on you stop by? So, I stopped by. And he says, hey man, just want to just want to share something with you. (Oh no) You sent an email out earlier today. And, you know, the question I have for you is, is this who you want to be? Is this how you want people to know you? That you are, he said, you know, I read the same email when it was sent to me. I read it. And I thought it was funny. I laughed at it. But I didn't send it on to anyone. He said, because that's not who I want to be. That's not how I want people to know me. So, the question for you, is that really what you want, and that stuck with me? Right one that he took the time out to coach man, even though I didn't realize that's what coach/mentor was at the time. But he took the time out to do that for me, and to say, look man, let me let me help you along. Because there may be some things that you may not be aware of, there may be some "unspokens" that you didn't know about. And that that literally was the impetus for me to say I want to be I want to be "Mark" one day, right? I want to pay that forward to someone else to someones else, right? And that's how it started for me. So now, you know, I tell people that I that I mentor and coach, you know, I, I want to be a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction. And that's the commitment I make to them. A brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction when you need it. And so that, that has become, you know, uber-important to me, honestly. Because, I want to see, I want to make sure that you know, folks have an opportunity to do the same things that I did and more, right? Because I look back and I go, like who knows whether that moment with Mark was the, was one of the moments that propelled me on to where I am today. I like to think it did. And so, I want to pay it back. Carmen Canales  08:27What a fantastic story about your days as a as a "Wachovian". I remember being called that myself! Onyeka Nchege  08:34Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Carmen Canales  08:39Onyeka tell us about your career. Tell us about your passion for technology and digital innovation. Where does that come from? Was there a particular thing that sparked your interest in that?   Onyeka Nchege  08:51I don't know that there was necessarily any one thing that that sparked my interest in that. I will tell you, unlike, unlike probably some others that are in this field, mine took a, mine took a non-traditional approach to get here. Because, you know, when I was with, you know, going anchoring back on Wachovia, when I was there, you know, I was I was part of an operations group, not the technology team. But, when I went through that, that, that six months of management training, one of the things that came out was, man, he's got a strong technical aptitude. And so, I was, I was put with an organization, eCommerce back then, that worked very closely with the technology organization. So, I had an opportunity to interface with engineers and analysts. And, you know, and so I just, I developed a, an interest in the work that was happening across the tracks, right, I call it. And so I would spend time with the technology team, just understanding what they do, why they do it, and being able to close the gap between what is being requested, and the work that actually has to be done to create whatever is being requested, right? And so, that, that's the thing that, that sparked the interest for me in terms of wanting to be a part of how do I impact lives in an organization, right, by being able to, being able to bring solutions to the table? And those solutions in this case, are technology solutions and innovation and innovative solutions, how do I bring...how do I help bring that to life in organizations? And so that was important to me. And, then that's how I got involved, if you will, in the, in the technology space and in the innovation space. And I've been able to, to leverage those experiences over the years with multiple organizations. You know, to be able to not just develop leaders, but also be able to bring technological advances to the organization as well. Carmen Canales  10:56So, in your time as a Chief Information Officer in healthcare and at Novant, Health, what changes have you seen in the healthcare landscape? And how does that impact the work of you and your team? Onyeka Nchege  11:08I'm going to take it at a broader level, because I think it's, it's, I see something similar across all industries in terms of talent. I think that's the key, you know, organizations always say, you know, our people are our best asset, right? And, that the proof is in the pudding in terms of how we interact with engage with, nurture, right, that talent, right? It's easy to say, you know, our people our best asset, but if you're not, if you're not doing all the things that that demonstrate that, then it's just talk, right? And so, I think, when the change that I see, and I see that in our organization, right? So, this is there's a difference between, you know, we will take care of you versus we will care for you, right? And there's a big difference there. And I think our organization has done a good job of, of probably transitioning from, we will take care of you too, we will care for you, right? Because, if we care for you, then we give you all the things that you need to be successful as, as an, as an associate, right, or a team member. Versus we will take care of you, which might suggest that, you know, we'll do everything for you, which is not healthy for folks that, that are team members in our organization. So, I think that's, that's the thing that I have seen that I think is a difference-maker for not just, not just the healthcare, but any, any industry that I've been a part of is being able to focus in on, on the people. Right? And that, that and making that they're our best asset making that real.   Carmen Canales  12:44And that's why you're a featured guest today. That's what that's why it's Talent Talk, right? Regardless of industry, it's about the people. Onyeka Nchege  12:51That's, a that's a very good point. I didn't think about that. But yes! Carmen Canales  12:55So, Onyeka, sometimes things don't go as we plan. Our listeners, I'm sure would love to hear about a mistake that you've made in your career. And importantly, what did you learn from it? Onyeka Nchege  13:08That's a good one. That's a good one. Mistakes, listen, I have made my share of mistakes over the years, there's no question about it. Probably two come to mind for me. I think when I was when I was a Senior Director at I think it was like Coca Cola at the time. When I first started with Coca Cola, it's many years back. And I had an opportunity to bring a product into the organization. And my team had been working on it well, before I got there, right? So, they they've been working on it. And so, I show up, and it's not going well. And, I have an opportunity to go talk to one of the Senior VPs about the fact that, hey, this, this, this thing is not gonna it's not gonna go in, on the day that we had originally said it was gonna go in. And so, I march, you know, I'm like, now I'm a truth teller. I'm transparent. I'm authentic. And I walk right into his office. I'm like, hey, man, this is not gonna go and hit baba, baba, you know, just going on about why it's not gonna work, right? And so, you might ask, well, what's the mistake in that? And it was a lesson for me, right? Because I hadn't thought through how I would have that conversation. (Okay) I just watched into to have the conversation (Oh no), as opposed to really thinking through, what's the best way to get my point across, right? So, intent versus delivery. My intent was right, my delivery was full of crap! It sucked! And so that that was a lesson for me. And, you know, one, taking two steps back, right, and really thinking through, what is it that you really want to say, and how do you want I say it, and know your audience, right? Understanding who it is that you're going to go talk to, and it wasn't title. In this case, it was how the person receives information...that I did not take into account. So, that's, that was that I remember that (So, how did it go?) I'm here. (It turned out, okay!). Yeah, it's, I learned how about let me let me put it this way, I learned from it. (I love it!) And he was he was in a coaching moment. So, he took the time to coach me with the, you may want to, you may want to step out, think through that and come back in which I really appreciate it. It was, and that was some real coaching because it and I did, I literally paused, walked out the door, closed the door, spent about five minutes behind the door, literally. And then I opened the door and came back in. And I apologized for the way I I stepped through the first time. And it was good. So, I learned a ton from that. My second, my second mistake, career mistake. And listen, you know, we all learn from it, right? So, I was with an organization and, and we were putting in a product. And I heard one thing. So, my team had told me, hey, here's everything that we're doing, here's how much it's gonna cost us about half a million dollars, and we're good to go. I said, okay, so I'm in with the I mean with the "E" team. And I'm part of the "E" team at this time, right? So, I mean with them, and we're talking and, and I said, Alright, hey, listen, guys, I'm gonna "thumbs up", I'm gonna move move ahead and get this, get the system, and put it in. And everybody was like, okay. But the next day I signed the agreement, and we push forward, right? Two days later, I had two of the "E" team members come to me and go ahead and say Onyeka, we weren't ready. Why did you sign that agreement? We're not...we never said we were ready to go. And I said, well, I brought it up. And, and I realized I brought it up. But, in my eagerness to go forward, I didn't hear the "Yes". I saw a couple of head nods and I just went with that because I was ready to go and committed the organization to half a million dollars' worth of product that we never intended to use. Because my partners weren't ready to go. And so, you know, lesson, lesson there for me was and I actually put some controls in place as a result, because I had to go unwind half a million dollars that an organization had already booked revenue on it, right? So, I had to go unwind that and thank God for relationships, right? So, I had built a relationship with that company, on and on. So, I was it took a while. Don't get me wrong, it took a while to unwind it, but we finally did. And I remember going to our CEO and saying, hey, listen, I don't need my daddy to help me just yet. But I want you to know that this is happening. And at some point, I may need to call my daddy and to help me. (Oh no.). But as of right now, I'm good to go. So, but you know, lesson learned for me was you know, make sure you get make sure you get "Yes", verbal yesses from everyone. When you're when you're doing something this critical this important, don't just rely on head nods or, or thumbs up? No, no, no, I need it in writing. Right? If we're ready to go, and we're going to commit the organization to a million dollars, half a million dollars, whatever it is 20,000, then all of us need to agree that we're ready to go. But I've learned from it. Carmen Canales  18:30Onyeka, you might win the prize thus far for Talent Talk podcast guest with the most spectacular mistake. And lesson learned! Onyeka Nchege  18:41That's a good thing. Nobody wants to be known for that! Carmen Canales  18:47Onyeka, as we draw to a close, tell our listeners what final leadership tips do you have for them? Onyeka Nchege  18:53Wow, final leadership tips. I think I'd anchor on what I call all five points. And all five points is begins with ownership. Right? Regardless of what you've heard, it, everything belongs to you, what you do belongs to you. You've got to figure out how you get it done, how you get things done, but it starts with you. And so if you don't have ownership on the inside, then no one's, no one's gonna be able to help you from a leadership perspective. And then secondly, it's, it's feedback. You gotta get, you got to get feedback. You got to be a student of feedback at all times. You know, I'm constantly and I know it gets on people's nerves. But I constantly ask, how did you experience me today? Right? How did you experience me today? And it gives folks permission to give you feedback. And you have to be willing to do just that. Get feedback. And then I talked about, you know, adaptability. As a leader, you have to learn the trait of being adaptable, right? You can't be so rigid that everything is just one way and that's the only way it is. And so, you have to, you have to learn how does adapt ability work and how do you, how do you, how do you lean into that? And then I talked about, you know, execution, right? It's the get 'er done, it the get ‘er done and those, that's table stakes, right? from a leadership perspective, if you're not a get 'er done kind of person. Right? It's tough to lead people or to be led. And so that's important. And then the last piece is I call it followership. Right? To be a good leader, you got to be a good follower. If you can't, if you're not a good follower, then how can you expect people to follow you when you're in a leadership role, right? So, you have to, you have to learn all of those and be good with that, to be a good leader. So that's my, that's my take now. Time will tell if I'm right. Carmen Canales  20:44Well, Onyeka, I have experienced you today in a very inspirational fashion. So, thank you for asking, and appreciate being our guest today on the Talent Talk podcast. Onyeka Nchege  20:56Thank you very much. This was great, Carmen, I really appreciate that. And thank you for the friendship and thank you for the partnership as well. Carmen Canales  21:03Thank you, friend. I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Make sure to look for future episodes of Talent Talk where you typically listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening, and until next time, keep inspiring the talent around you!

This live episode from the Becker's Hospital Review 13th Annual Meeting in Chicago features Jerry Rebo, Director of Pharmacy Value and Outcomes at Novant Health. Here, he discusses his his career journey, what he is currently most excited about in healthcare, and more.This episode is sponsored by Insight Global Health.

Hosts Alan Sardana & Dr. Joshua Liu speak with Dr. Margaret Lozovatsky, Chief Health Informatics Officer at Novant Health, about "How to Build the Right Culture for Digital Transformation, Connecting Technology with Clinician Needs, Engaging Physician Skeptics, and more." Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

Tune in for today's industry updates.

Carmen Canales  00:03Hello, I'm Carmen Canales, Senior Vice President and Chief People and Belonging Officer at Novant Health. Welcome to Talent Talk, a podcast that focuses on leadership strategies for engagement, development, and retention for the modern workforce. In each episode of Talent Talk, I'll interview a different leader about their transformational practices in leading teams and supportive our patients and our communities. These conversations will leave you with a few key takeaways and actions you can put into place on your own teams. Today's guest is Becky Beane, Senior Vice President, and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Novant Health. Becky is a pharmacy leader with 24 years of experience in the healthcare industry. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of Novant Health strategy for system-wide pharmacy services. Becky, welcome! Will you take a moment to tell us about yourself and your role at Novant Health?  Becky Bean  01:08Absolutely, I'd love to! First of all, Carmen, thank you. Thank you for letting me join your talent talk really excited about chatting with you this morning. I will say just a little bit about me. So, I have lived most of my life in North Carolina. So, I grew up in North Carolina. Went to the University of Chapel Hill for both undergrad as well as pharmacy school. I can't believe it's been 24 years that I've been a pharmacist but have lived here much of my life. I currently live in Denver, which is we call it Denver of the East. But it's a little bit north of Charlotte, with my husband, my two dogs. Some of the things that I really enjoy doing when I'm not working or getting outside, I love to run. I have a little leash that attached to my waist, and I take my dogs running with me every morning. So that's what I do to de-stress and prepare for the workday. I will say I've done a lot in my pharmacy career. It took me a little bit of time to figure out my niche, you know, where I really felt like I belonged and where I really wanted to have an impact on people's lives and was fortunate enough to land here at Novant Health about 15 years ago. I started as a Clinical Pharmacist and just had opportunities along the way to grow on my leadership journey. So, I'm really grateful for all of the opportunities that have been afforded to me while I've been a part of Team Aubergine. In my current role, I'm the Senior Vice President Chief Pharmacy Executive for Novant Health. So, what that means is I support pharmacy across the enterprise. So, think about all of our acute care facilities, all of our infusion centers or cancer centers within infusion pharmacies located there, our retail, as well as our specialty pharmacy locations. I support that across the organization. It's really a privilege to both lead an amazing team, but also really be leading the strategy and the vision for what we're doing as a pharmacy team to deliver better health for the communities that we serve. So really excited to be here with you and chat this morning.  Carmen Canales  02:58Thank you, that's fantastic. Thanks for telling us a little bit about yourself. Not only your career here, but about your personal life. And about all of Becky. Tell us about your leadership style and your approach to leadership in general. Becky Bean  03:12Yeah, so I think about this a lot, like you get that question sometimes when you're interviewing candidates. I would say really strive to be a servant leader, like, my role is to support the team that I have the privilege of leading. So, I really try to focus in on leading from a place of humility. I am not the smartest person in the room, but I want to surround myself with the people who have all the answers. So as a team, we can accomplish great things. I really focus on listening first. So, trying not to form an opinion, or try to come up with my own solutions, but rather listening to what the team has to say in terms of ways to get to an outcome. I try to focus on things like trust. So, both extending trust, but also being somebody, who people trust. So, whether that's self-accountability, holding people accountable, really delivering on expectations, being clear about what expectations are. So, I really try to focus in on helping teams be successful so that we can achieve more as a team. Carmen Canales  04:12Well, clearly you're doing a great job at it, Becky, so you know, thank you and keep going! So, you first joined Novant Health in 2007. And since then, you've held positions of progressive responsibility. How have things changed since you've been part of Team Aubergine and what advice would you give to colleagues who are looking to advance their careers at Novant Health? Becky Bean  04:35Yeah, I would say Well, first of all, we weren't Team Aubergine when I started with Novant Health. So we weren't you know, we were Novant Health, but we didn't have the Novant Health brand that we have today. So much has changed just in terms of how we function as a system, how we collaborate across a system. That's a big change for the better that I've seen since I've been a part of the team. Technology is completely different today than what it was back when I joined the organization. So, think about we didn't have an EHR, we didn't have systems that talk to one another. So, there was a system for hospitals, our clinics were still on paper charts at the time, we were just starting to get into the electronic health record aspect of care. So, all of that has changed since I've started. And I would say, you know, the other piece that's changed is we were very much silos. And I'm not going to say that we've got everything right today. But I think we function a lot more effectively in terms of thinking about how patients interact with our system across the care continuum. So, lots of really positive momentum in the, in the time that I've been here, I would say, you know, I've been lucky, it's unusual for somebody to start as a Clinical Pharmacist, and then have an opportunity to lead that pharmacy team across the big organizations. I feel very invested in paying it forward, so to speak, Carmen. I really tried to focus on creating opportunities for the team. So, I was fortunate enough to have a couple of people who saw something in me that I probably didn't even see in myself, and just gave me those opportunities to start on my leadership journey. I never anticipated planned for it wasn't my goal in life to, to be a leader but had people that saw something in me. And so, I would say that there's a lot of opportunity here. And what I would tell people in terms of advice is be open to that. You really have to change your mindset, when it comes to change when it comes to opportunity. You have to see them and take advantage of them when they come up. So, I think that, that's really the key. The second thing that I would say, for folks is mentors. I mean, everybody needs a mentor and a sponsor in their life. So, when you look around the organization, and you see somebody that you admire, that really inspires you, take, take the advantage of trying to develop a relationship with that person. Really think about who can mentor you and sponsor you in a way that's going to help get you to where you want to go in your career. Carmen Canales  06:55Those are some really great things for our listeners to think about. Becky, thank you.  Becky Bean  06:59Absolutely! Carmen Canales  07:00You're talking a lot about team and your connection to them. So, tell us more. How do you create connection and foster culture in a hybrid or sometimes totally virtual environment. Becky Bean  07:12That's such a good question. And at the end of the day, I feel like that's probably my biggest responsibility as the Chief Pharmacy Executive is to set the culture. To really establish a culture that people want to be a part of, where people feel like they're getting invested in, they're achieving what they want to achieve. And it's not like I can't say you check these three boxes, and you're gonna have that culture that you want on the other end of it. So, it's really constant work. It's really constant work. And I would say the way you know I've approached it is just making sure that we personalize everything that we do and create a lot of different opportunities for people to connect in different ways. So, starting when somebody joins the organization, so we've done a lot of work to have very robust orientation processes. And new leaders when they come into the organization, we have a whole new leader orientation program for them. Same thing with frontline team members. So, there's a lot to learn when you join a big organization like Novant Health, as you know, so there's a lot to learn about the organization. But there's a lot to learn about the division that you're a part of. And so, we really try to give people a very warm welcome. Set them up for success, who are the right people, you know, who do you need to call when something is not working with your computer, like, like helping people understand where to go when they need things done. So that's, that's piece one. The second thing I would say we do is we really focus on engagement. So, we have created a lot of structure within pharmacy to focus on ways to engage people in a way that's meaningful to them. So, whether it's we have shared governance committees across all of the different units within pharmacy so that we can hear from the teams. What's important to you, what do you need help with. And then we can have shared learnings across all of those different teams. A lot of work has happened there just to identify the things that matter to our team members and the things that we can do to make the time that they spend at work more enjoyable and more aligned with purpose and passion inspiring. And then the last thing I'll share well, two more things. So, one is rounding. So, getting out there spending time with the teams having an opportunity to see what people are doing and recognize the amazing and remarkable things that they're doing every day. So that's a big part of creating culture. And then the last piece, which is something that I actually learned from what Carl does with his monthly Carl's Corners. I created a fireside chat with the pharmacy team. So, every month we do fireside chats that are meant to be just kind of casual updates around what's going on but a platform for people to be able to ask questions, engage with the senior leaders across pharmacy. So those are just a sampling of some of the things that we do to try to create a culture and really try to engage people knowing that now we're not all in one location. Virtual is a part of our reality. And we have hybrid work environments and we're spread out across the entire state of North Carolina. So, it does take a lot of work and time and attention to make sure that you're creating opportunities to connect with the team. Carmen Canales  10:05Well, I can see the you're so intentional about creating the culture, you have to Yeah, Becky Bean  10:10Yeah, you have to. You have to pay attention. You have to focus on it day in and day out. Carmen Canales  10:14That's wonderful. So, Becky, tell us about the pharmacy landscape. You know, what changes have you seen? And how have you prepared your team to thrive during times of change? Becky Bean  10:27Yeah, it's a really good question, Carmen So much has changed. I can remember, when I graduated from pharmacy school, and somebody told me in like two years, the drugs that you're dispensing are going to be totally different than the drugs that you're dispensing today, because that's how fast the drug pipeline works. And I didn't believe it at the time. But I will tell you, it has turned out to be spot on truth. I mean because there's so much development and evidence that's being formed with clinical trials. We learned so much over the years around how best to treat diseases. So that just the drug landscape is completely different than what it was 24 years ago. So that's one piece of it. We've seen a lot of growth in the Specialty Pharmacy space that didn't even exist when I got to pharmacy school, if you can imagine that. So, so many new drugs, really new segments within pharmacy that didn't used to be as relevant are really important to how we care for patients today. And a lot of the care that historically, maybe we gave in the hospital...so we would bring people in, we would keep them in the hospital for five days to give them chemotherapy, all of that has changed. There are drugs that now can be administered in the outpatient setting, so we can keep people in their homes where they're more comfortable. So just the places where we deliver care is completely different than what it was 24 years ago. So, it's a really changing landscape. And I would say preparing teams for change, it really just is helping people expect that change is always coming. So, if you are not changing, you're standing still, and the world is going by without you. So really helping people be prepared for what to expect that they can lead change and that it's coming and then try to at least have a vision into what we think or where do we think things are going in five years. So, we can position ourselves to be successful in that. One thing I will tell you that we do in pharmacy that I think is really helped people prepare for change every year, we put together a strategic plan that has the specific things that we hope to accomplish as a team. And we align that plan with the organizational priorities, to get everybody focused on what they can do to help us be successful. So, I think that helps people manage through the change when they at least can see the vision for where things are going. Carmen Canales  12:36That's wonderful, Becky. It's, it's just really exciting to understand more about how the landscape has changed and how your team reacts and moves right through it.  Becky Bean  12:46Absolutely! Carmen Canales  12:47So Becky, I'm sure our listeners are just enthralled by hearing your story and your perspective. But tell us about a time where you've made a mistake. You know, sometime along the way in your career...what have you learned from that? Becky Bean  13:01It's a great question, Carmen. I would say we all make mistakes every day, right? We wish we could go back and redo, but I'll tell you a couple things. It just you have moments in your life that feel like that you look back on that you remember, and you think about things totally different after those things occurred. So I'll tell you two stories. One, when I graduated from pharmacy school from Chapel Hill, I got a BS in pharmacy. And it was a time and pharmacy where many of the schools were transitioning to all PharmD programs. Meaning that in order to sit for your license in North Carolina, you would have to have a doctorate in pharmacy to sit for your license. And I was kind of in that in between phase because that had not started when I graduated from pharmacy school. So, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy and chose not to do a residency and chose not to go for an extra year to get that PharmD. Like, what was I thinking? Why would I not spend one year setting myself up for future success? I was so, um, disappointed in myself because I felt like I needed to get out there, start making money start my career. You know, I had a broke down car that was breaking down on the side. You know how it goes?  Carmen Canales  14:11Well done, Becky!  Becky Bean  14:12I needed a car to get to work! So, I made that decision and just regretted it because I found myself in a job that I just hated. I felt like I was going to work every day checking a box. I didn't feel like I was really bringing my true self and delivering what I thought I could do for patients in the community. So, what I did, what I learned is it's never too late. So, actually went back to school while I was working full-time and got my doctorate. So, UNC had a virtual program where you could get your PharmD by watching videos of lectures, testing locations, we did experiential learning at different facilities. So, I had an opportunity to go back and get the PharmD which I'm so glad that I did. Because it's really well two things that helped me kind of put the pieces together. So, after you have some clinical experience, you can kind of see how things fit together in a way that maybe I couldn't before. So, I felt like I learned a lot from the program but was able to really set my career on a different path after doing that. The second story, I'll tell you, this is what I'm curious if it will help. So, I had an opportunity. When I joined the organization, it was one year into a two-year grant where the organization decided we were going to hire some pharmacists to help patients who are transitioning out of the hospital into the home. So, what we would do is we'd call them go over their medications, make sure that they got the medications, and then give that communication back to the physician if there were any concerns about side effects, interactions, that sort of thing. But I always thought, well, I don't know how long is my job going to be here, if it's a grant funded position, and it's two years? And fortunately, we had a lot of success. But because of that success, we had an opportunity to represent Novant Health on a national stage. So, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists awarded us a Best Practice Award, which is a big deal in the world of pharmacy, not everybody gets those. So, our transition of care program was successful, we got this award, and my boss came to me and she's like, I want you to be in the video. And I want you to go to San Francisco, or wherever it was, and accept this award on my behalf, because she felt like I had done a lot of work to help us get there. And I turned her down, I said, no I don't think that I want to go, let's let somebody else take that award, let somebody else do the video. And I really have no excuse for not doing that other than I just felt uncomfortable. I felt uncomfortable about being on a video, I was like, I don't know if I want to put myself out there. So, what I learned is you just have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And sometimes when you feel nervous or fearful about something, the best thing to do is lean in and learn something and grow as a result. So, I told myself after that minute, I'm never going to turn something down again, when an opportunity presents that I feel like I can do something here and it's a good opportunity for me, I'm going to lean in and take advantage of that opportunity. Carmen Canales  17:03Becky, thank you for sharing those examples that really show your humility. And, I don't know your candor, and, and just sharing lessons learned with, with our listeners.  Becky Bean  17:13Yeah! Carmen Canales  17:14So as we close out today, Becky, what pro leadership tips will you share with our listeners? What would you like to leave our listeners with?  Becky Bean  17:23I'll share a couple of things. Little, just little kind of snapshots of leadership advice. So, one, if you care first, your team will care. So, I try to always be very caring and really care for the person that I'm supporting. Because then they're going to care about the work that they're doing. Trust is key, you've got to honor your commitments, you've got to own your mistakes, you've got to be clear about what expectations are, and really hold others accountable. And sometimes that's a challenge when you first start in your leadership on your leadership journey. But it's really important for teams to be successful. Opportunities don't always come when you think you're ready. So, most of the time and opportunity arises and you don't think you're quite ready for it. And so, changing your mindset that being ready is a decision that you do need to take advantage of those opportunities when they arise is something...a piece of advice that I learned along the way based on the mistake that I shared with you. So, I wanted to share that. Another little snippet. And a lot of these are things that people told me along the way, so I thought they were really impactful. Never stop growing and learning. So, the skill set that brought you to where you are today is not the skill set that you need for your future self. So, you have to always look for opportunities to grow. And then the last thing I'll share is just to be true to yourself. Don't try, try to change who you are, how you show up, the work that you do, or be like anybody else, because really the best gifts that you bring only come out when you're living authentically and bringing all of the things that naturally are a part of who you are as a person to the work that you do every day. So, that's what I'll leave you with.  Carmen Canales  18:58Well, Becky, what a treat to spend some time with you. I've really enjoyed our conversation. And I know that our leaders and our team members will enjoy it as well.  Becky Bean  19:08Absolutely! Again, thank you for the opportunity as always love spending time with you, Carmen. So, thanks for giving me the stage today! Carmen Canales  19:16Thank you, Becky. I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Make sure to look out for future episodes of Talent Talk where you typically listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening, and until next time, keep inspiring the talents around you!

Carmen Canales  00:03Hello, I'm Carmen Canales, Senior Vice President and Chief People and Belonging Officer at Novant Health. Welcome to Talent Talk, a podcast that focuses on leadership strategies for engagement, development, and retention for the modern workforce. In each episode of Talent Talk, I'll interview a different leader about their transformational practices in leading teams in support of our patients and our communities. These conversations will leave you with a few key takeaways and actions you can put into place on your own teams. Our guest today is Dr. David priest, Senior Vice President of Safety, Quality, and Epidemiology at Novant Health. Welcome, Dr. Priest. Dr. David Priest  00:52Thank you, Carmen, excited to be here. Carmen Canales  00:54Dr. Priest, will you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to Novant Health and your journey into healthcare? Dr. David Priest  01:01Yeah, absolutely. So, I am an infectious diseases physician., I practice clinically in the greater Winston-Salem market. Back as early as high school thought I had some interest in going into medicine. And my first desire was actually to become a pediatrician. And I think I did that just because in high school, if you told girls that you were going to become a pediatrician, they all said, “Aww, isn't that sweet?” And great, right? That's, that's the very noble calling I had into medicine was probably just getting dates in high school. But thankfully, I got through what can be a difficult pre-medical time and all of that just kind of stayed on the train. And the funny thing is I went into adult infectious diseases, which is almost the opposite end of pediatrics. But I was really interested actually in oncology for a time. And Leukemia was actually the, the thing that I did a lot of in training and enjoyed caring for those with leukemia, but I got interested in the infections again. And then I got really interested in caring for those with HIV AIDS. And that's who I still love to care for. And they do so well now and that's very, very rewarding. So, I ended up over in the infectious disease world. I was in private practice for a time in Charlotte. So, I've had the privilege of being on, on the medical staff in several hospitals within the Novant Health system, which has really helped me in my current role. And then as an infectious disease physician, I started doing some system work in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship. And then that led to my current role as the Chief Safety and Quality Officer. Carmen Canales  02:43Wonderful! Well, that's fascinating. So, the past couple of years certainly have been really interesting for all of us, especially people in frontline roles and in leadership roles. And I would say that you have to have a little bit of both there. Will you tell us about your leadership style? And your approach to leadership in general? How has it changed throughout the pandemic, if at all? Dr. David Priest  03:06Yeah, what a great question. So I think it has changed. In a lot of ways, I've told people that I was in this role of just for about a year when the pandemic hit. And so, I think in many ways, the pandemic accelerated my leadership journey. And in other ways it hampered it, right? Because there were things that I just didn't have time to grow into or learn about. And so, you know, in some ways, people knew who I was now, and it just happened to be that with a pandemic hit, the Chief Safety and Quality Officer was an infectious disease doctor. And that worked out for me and I hopefully for the organization, but then there were things that I thought I just didn't get to and probably stunted my leadership growth in some ways. Fortunately, I had a very veteran team that was in our institute that it was regulatory or clinical excellence or infection prevention, that those leaders were continuing to do what they do and do it very well. And that allowed me to kind of focus on, on a lot of things in the pandemic. So, I do think it's changed in some ways, probably all along my leadership approach is to be is to be low drama, not, don't get too high, don't get too low. I want the team to know what to expect from me day-to-day and what to emotionally expect from me. I don't want them to have to manage me or my mood, right? You hear about leaders, I say, oh, was he in a good mood today? Is he in a good mood today? Or you know how he is, you know? I didn't want I want to be like that. I want to be very consistent and approachable. I think one thing we learn from the pandemic as it pertains to leadership is just reiterating the importance of communication. You know, and when Carl and you, Carmen, and others have been leading these calls, communication is so important. I think was one of the strengths of the organization through the pandemic. Carl's call was every week and people really pulling together to do the right thing. And so I realized as a leader communication was, was super important. And very precise communication. You know, we have all we have so much in the way of communication these days, cell phones and computers and tweeting and all that stuff, and yet, it becomes very imprecise. And then you have to be very specific when you're communicating. So, I try to be specific in my communication. You know, a few other little tidbits I use as a leader, one is, I tried to give credit, where credit's due. I have this great fear of taking credit for something that I didn't do. And I want my teams to get credit for what they do. I try to overdo "thank you' s", you know, thank people publicly…it's a good idea, and not in a manipulative way. But when they deserve it, you got to thank them. I tell our teams, you know, try to live like you've got nothing to prove or trying to lead, like, you've got nothing to prove, you know. I think if I got hit by a bus tomorrow, I did alright. You know, and so I don't have to prove anything, or climb over anybody or climb up some ladders. If we all kind of just acted like we didn't have anything else left to prove that, would I think really kind of keep the drama low and we really move in the right direction. And the other thing that's changed in the pandemic, in terms of my leadership is I'm much more of a cheerleader than I used to be. I didn't consider myself like a sunshine pumper at all, you know. I'm like a child of the late 80s, early 90s. And like, the culture was kind of cynical and sarcastic. And I felt a little bit like that. And during the pandemic, things...people were really down, and I thought, good golly, if I'm the cheerleader, now things must be really bad. Because I don't think of myself as a positive, "We can do this!". But I have kind of become one a little bit, which I think is just the circumstances around me changed. And I realized the importance of encouraging others and to get through it. So, those are some of the lessons I've learned during the pandemic. Carmen Canales  06:50How did you do that? How did you make the move to be more of a cheerleader, if that's not your natural inclination? Dr. David Priest  06:56Yeah, you know, I think I just realized that it was what the moment called for, you know, and I thought if, if no one else, me, people are just so cynical and pessimistic. And I understand why the world we're in and the politics and the pandemic. And just so many challenges, so many people are facing at home and at work and at school and all the things they're facing, I felt like, you know, it just changed my perspective on things. I couldn't be that kind of snarky person in the corner. If I was going to lead people, I was going to have to kind of say, appeal to, hey, there's a lot of positive going on here and we can do this. And so, it was kind of a change in mindset. That wasn't my natural way of thinking about things. And I listen, I still have a sarcastic quip in my head all the time. But, I feel like people responded to it. I think they were looking; they're looking for somebody to do that and help them and say, "We can do this. I know, it's hard, we can do it." And frankly, I think it changed because I was just inspired by what people in healthcare were doing. You know, you think about those nurses in the ICU and all that, how hard they worked. And the least I can do is to be a little more positive and try to get people to move in the right direction. So, I think it was all of those things together, probably. Carmen Canales  08:08Well, you know, what a great story for other leaders to not be set in our ways, and to really have an opportunity to be nimble to employ situational leadership. So, thank you for sharing that with us.  Dr. David Priest  08:18Yeah, absolutely.  Carmen Canales  08:19So, Dr. Priest, today's theme is "thriving through change". And I'd love to hear your thoughts about how have you seen clinical teams thrive amid change? You know, especially given the past couple of years that we've had. What have they done to create momentum and to really use this as an opportunity to thrive? Dr. David Priest  08:39Yeah, and I'll say what's one of the remarkable things about Novant about many things is how the clinical teams, despite the pandemic, have really kept their eye on the ball and caring for patients in, at a time when healthcare across the country has been really, really challenged. If you look at our annual dashboards, our annual goals, you can see what they've done not only have they have survived, they have thrived and which is pretty amazing. I mean, there's just a lot of will that they do that I think as we try to speak to clinical teams about this, this work and keep them positive and moving in the right direction, despite the changes, we try to appeal to why they went into healthcare. You know, most people that went into health care did so for the right reasons. And at their core, they still want to put the patient first, even when there's chaos and challenges and things that are really, really difficult. And it's because for many of them, healthcare is not a job, it's a calling. And so, I think when there's a time when things get really hard, and they think, "Can I do this anymore?", I think you we need to appeal to, to remember this as a calling. And we really hang our hat on that you assume the best of people and you assume their motivations are good and you appeal to that kind of best motivation. And so, I felt like if we kept them remembering or kept all of us remembering why we do this, and then we support them, then we would still get to where we needed to go. You know, we need to acknowledge problems when they occur. I think it was one of the things about Carl's call and the work that was being done during the pandemic, just transparency. This is what we know, this is what we don't know, this is the way it could go, this the way it might not go, this is why we're making this decision. People didn't always like that, got some emails and snail mail that people obviously didn't like those decisions. But I think the majority of people felt like we now see why you are doing this. We have a calling, and you seem to be working in good faith to make this better, and you are giving us information, then they can, they can say, I think they've got it, we're going to keep doing what we do. I think people in healthcare are very data driven. I think I think physicians and APPs and nurses they want to, when you show them information in a meaningful way that tells the story, and they will, they'll understand it, and then they will respond. And so, I think communication, information, transparency, appealing to what people got into medicine for, were all key to keeping us moving and caring for the patients at a time that was unprecedented in healthcare, at least in the time I've been in it. Carmen Canales  11:08So, you've talked a little bit about the importance of communication frequently and with specificity. What else would you say is important to involving a team in change, to making sure that they're a part of the process, even though ultimately, you're the leader of a particular group? Dr. David Priest  11:26Yeah, these are hard Carmen. These are really challenging for leaders, right? I think it goes on one level, it does go back to the mission, right? We remind people with the mission, it lets agree on what the mission is, even if we don't always agree about how the mission is going to be accomplished. And I think in healthcare, it's the constant reminder, at the end of this, there's a patient. And we may have this conversation in a room that's not even in a hospital or healthcare facility. But, down the line, these decisions affect someone in a bed somewhere, in a clinic somewhere. And I think all of us whether you're non-clinical, or even if you're clinical, and you're not always in the clinical space, there's this we're kind of tempted to forget that. Like, this is the family business, right? If Novant Health is a family, the family business is patients and healthcare. And so how do we constantly remember that? And so, I would say the first thing if you're going to help people kind of move through tough transitions is alright, let's all agree with what we're in the business of. And that's taking care of patients. And then once you agree, kind of on the mission, you have to think about, well, what's the method here? How do we all pull the rope in the same direction? And so, you know, I try to let people work. I don't want to be a micromanager. So as a leader, I try to say this, this is something that's yours, those, those people are often content experts more than I am in that thing. And I try to say, "Okay, this is, this is yours. You do what you want to with it, you get your team's doing, you know, the right thing with it." I don't micromanage them. At the same time, I think you can be too distant, right? So, I think it's, you know, if you are so distant, you have no clue what anybody's working on, then I think people often feel kind of alone and don't have support, but they also don't want you in their business all the time. So how do you strike knowing enough about what's happening everywhere, but not really getting in the way? And so, I think when people feel like you're there, but not too much there, then they will engage and they will change, and they will move forward. So, when you have those difficult conversations with people, you tend to be on the same page. Carmen Canales  13:29So, what tips do you have for our listeners today, Dr. Priest? How do you trust but verify? Dr. David Priest  13:35You know, I think it's again, communication, not only with your direct reports and people in the organization with patients, but I think it's having honest conversations, creating an environment where they feel like they can come to you and say, "Hey, this is where I'm stuck, I need you to move this or not move it. What do you think?" And giving them a little reason to, you know, a little room, I shouldn't say reason, a little room to fail, or not quite get through in the right way or learn a lesson. And so, I think it's, it's having those relationships where there's a lot of trust. So, where we talk about a lot, and I think you have to earn that trust by being reliable and being there. And I think when they know they can trust you with it, then I think they feel like they're part of the process. And they come to you if there's trouble. You know, and again, it can be just a quick text, "Hey, I need…let's chat a little later. I've got something I'm working on, what do you think?" And then, letting them do it. Carmen Canales  14:27So, Dr. Priest, you lead a pretty key area of the system. And so, there isn't much room for error when it comes to safety and quality. Having said that, will you tell us about a failure that you've experienced? How have you moved through it? What have you learned from it? Dr. David Priest  14:45Yeah, so you in the in the safety and quality world, we, there's some non-negotiables, right? We have a very low tolerance for failure around patient safety, right? It's too important. And so, we have to be risk averse in kind of the safety space. Whereas there's some other things we do if we're trying to innovate in a, you know, artificial intelligence product or develop something that's not touching patients, yet...we have, we're less risk averse, we're more willing to try something new. Especially if it doesn't cost a lot of money, right? Let's, let's give it a shot, right? And see how it goes. And so, if it doesn't work, we want to, we want to fail fast, and recognize that quickly, and not get too attached to it. I mean, sometimes projects become, people get very personal about them, this is my baby. And we all want this to let this go. But sometimes you got to say, look, we're all in this together, these are all our children, sometimes they don't work, and we have to kind of move on. And every year, we fail to some extent, we don't quite get to the quality metric we want to get to. We don't quite get that project in the right way. We don't get this thing off the ground. And I think we have to kind of regroup. Like I said, fail fast, understand what happened, do some do some post-event analysis, and work to try to not make that happen again. But I think in most regards, and we keep it simple and meaningful and straightforward, and we give communication, we communicate with people and give them information - we get there. I mean, year after year, we hit these quality metrics and targets because we're super-focused and pay attention to it every single day, we know the importance of the organization, and more importantly, the importance to the patients. So, you know, that's kind of the approach we take. What you do learn in healthcare is that biological systems really do not care at all about your quality metrics, or your projects. They really don't care. So, bacteria, viruses…they don't care about anything you do in quality, right? And, and human behavior is another wild card in all of that. So, between biological systems and human behavior, often things go in a direction you weren't expecting. And so, you have to have the humility to realize that all these things are very hard to anticipate, and sometimes you don't quite get there, and you try to be a little better the next time. Carmen Canales  16:57Great counsel for all of us, Dr. Priest. Research tells us that music can tap into both the right brain and left brain. Would you talk to us a little bit about your relationship with music and how does it feed your work? Dr. David Priest  17:11Yes, funny...in our institute a couple of years ago, we had to do, we wanted to do a safety quality symposium and we did it on Zoom. Unfortunately, it was in 2020, the height of the pandemic, and the theme was music. And we tried to make it a little lighter because there's so much serious stuff was going on. And so, we had people come and they were dressed up like their favorite music stars or their favorite concert t-shirt or and I gave actually a talk that was month-by-month what happened in 2020 as it relates to the pandemic. And I picked a theme song for that month, and I would play the song we'd kind of do a "name that tune" kind of thing and then I would reveal it and so I think my team knows it's pretty obvious that music plays a pretty important part of my life. And both listening to it and attempting to play it.  Carmen Canales  17:58What do you play? What do you attempt to play?  Dr. David Priest  18:00Well guitar and bass and mandolin, generally stringed instruments. There's a piano in my house I noodle with a little bit, but my, my daughter is the real the real talent. I'm kind of a just a stubborn enough guy to keep "messing with it" kind of person. You know, as far as listening goes, music is very soothing to me. So, I have vinyl records. So, on a Friday night, I will sit in my living room...vinyl is very popular now. You know, it's the number one application that's, that's not streaming right now. If you're buying something physical, vinyl is number one which is kind of amazing. But I will sit in my living room, maybe with an adult beverage, and put on records and stare out the window. And after a hard week and that's, that's very soothing to me. You know, I listen in my car. And sometimes I use music maybe to understand my own emotions, right? Elation, or melancholy, or anger...it's been a bad day I put some blues on. If it's been a better week, I put some jazz on. If I'm angry, I'll put a hard rock record on. And you know, lyrics are also very important to me, like some people listen to music and have no clue what the lyrics are. But I'm not one of those people. Like something very meaningful, or a set of words will come through...it's like poetry in a way that kind of actually will move me and I repeat and think about. And so, it's funny, it's the way my brain works. And sometimes someone will say something, and I realize it's a lyric from a song and immediately that song starts in my head or I'll start singing it to my wife and she'll get very annoyed. My brain ties words into music pretty, pretty easily. Carmen Canales  18:27Doesn't everybody think in lyrics? Dr. David Priest  19:04I do. I don't know how anybody lives without it. But so, in terms in terms of playing it, you know, I think sometimes people think that people who go into sciences or healthcare or whatever, aren't creative. But a lot of physicians and scientists are very creative, and you can almost approach music like a math problem. People with math brains sometimes are very good at music, so I don't have a lot of musical talent per se, but like I said, I'm just stubborn enough to stick with it. And I'll tell you, I shouldn't be quitting my day job as far as that goes. Carmen Canales  20:07Please don't, please don't! Do you have a favorite artist? Dr. David Priest  20:10I have a lot! And I listen to a lot of genres. Jazz on vinyl is so good! There's something about the pops in the...especially a live jazz album. But I love U2. I had the opportunity to be a guest...kind of a DJ on their Sirius XM channel in 2020, during the pandemic which was a real thrill for me. But I love all genres and have records from, from many different groups. Carmen Canales  20:38Wonderful, thank you for sharing that with us, David. And then lastly, what tips do you have on leadership? If you could leave our listeners with a few key things to think about, whether they're a new leader or a have been doing this for some time, any pro tips on leadership? Dr. David Priest  20:56I think low drama, like we talked about before, is a really important piece of it. And just day after day, they know what to expect. And you mean, you're very consistent. Even if you don't feel consistent in your own mind or your own heart, or you're not sure quite what to do. I don't mean to put on a false facade, you want to show vulnerability to your teams, and they want to be able to see that. But at the same time, you know, I think taking a deep breath and not getting too high or too low is really important. And I do think that idea of leading and living like you've got nothing to prove is a hard thing to do. Look, we all have egos, we all want to be recognized. I like awards as much as the next person. But at the end of the day, those awards aren't going to mean a whole lot, right? Your teams will remember how you treated them, not that you won awards. And so again, I'm not saying don't give me awards. They're great, but they're very fleeting, right? Speaking of music, you know, I told somebody on my team this the other day, awards are great. People need to be recognized. I understand that. But I don't know if you've ever seen this, there's a music video, Johnny Cash put out a number of years ago for a song called "Hurt". And the hurt song was originally done by Nine Inch Nails. And Johnny Cash did a version of it, much slower version of it. And in the video, there's footage of him as a young man. And there's footage of him as an old man sitting in his house, I guess, surrounded by trophies. And there's a line in the song where he says, you know, he talks about my "empire of dirt". And he's like pouring dirt out of some award he's won. I think he's recognized in his own life that these awards were nice at the time. But now at the end of my life, I don't know what they mean. But I think he would say the relationships I had with people and how I treated people whether on my team or my family or my friends or whatever, they're going to remember that. No one's going to remember these gold trinkets that you know when I'm gone won't mean anything. And so that whole, like "live like you got nothing to prove", if you can do that, and practice that, I think it's contagious, and it rubs off on people around you. Because then you don't really care about who gets credit, right? Your team can get credit because you don't care. And you're quick to recognize people when they've done a good job. And you're quick to thank them publicly. And you're quick to point out how great they're doing. And that kind of thing, I think is more important than awards. And so, I'm not always perfect at any of this, believe me. I have my days where I go home, like what the heck did I do today? But I think if I strive to do that in such a way that the team feels like I got their back, I recognize when they do good work. And I think because of that they want to be around here. That's what I try to do. And the last thing I'll say is, I would love for our team...I've told them this before, you know, let's say you got a great head coach in the NFL or on a volleyball team or whatever. When that coach accomplishes a lot or the team accomplishes a lot, people come and pick off the assistant coaches, right? I'm not a Patriots fan, per se, but Bill Belichick has coaches all over the league because he has a lot of success. And people say, "Oh, I'm gonna go pick off their assistants." I don't think it's a bad thing. I would love for members of our team to get picked off over the years, because they're doing great work. And they're going on to bigger and better things, right? I wouldn't want to hold them back. Most of them have jobs right now in our institute. That's not the last job they'll ever have. But I want them to leave because something bigger and greater and something awesome has happened because we helped facilitate that. And so, you almost have a coaching tree of your team that's spread out maybe all over the country. You can say oh yeah, we used to work in nobody is your safety quality. That's where I got my start. I learned a ton. And then I went on to this thing over here because I would love to, in my retirement days be sitting on a pier somewhere fishing and having people that work for me, calling me going, "Hey, what do I do about this?" and I'll say, "I don't know...you're screwed. I'm retired, good luck." No, I'd like them to call and say, “I really appreciate it. That was such a great time and you helped facilitate that.” So, I think thinking like that to...where is my team going and maybe they're staying there forever? That may be their calling and they want that position forever. But there'll be others who want to do other things, and why not we help them do that, whether at Novant or elsewhere if it's, it's really what they're pursuing. So, I try to have that kind of attitude, too. Let me support you and help you get to where you want to go.   Carmen Canales  25:12What a great approach to support our team members in getting to where they want to be. Whether that's in a leadership role themselves or continuing a great career here at Novant Health.   Dr. David Priest  25:21Yeah, absolutely. Novant is so big. There are often those opportunities here, right? There within the organization. And I love seeing that, hey, I'm gonna go over here and this other part of Novant, because it really speaks to my interests and my skill set. And yeah, absolutely. Let's make that happen. It's really, it's really fun to see that.   Carmen Canales  25:41We're talking about zigzag career growth, so you don't have to leave to lead.   Dr. David Priest  25:47Yeah. There's the official PC, People and Culture term, right? That I didn't know...zigzag.  Carmen Canales  25:54Well, Dr. David Priest, I'd like to thank you again for being our inaugural guest. Thank you so much for your wisdom and your perspective on leadership, and on leading change. Dr. David Priest  26:06Great. Thanks for having me. Carmen Canales  26:09I hope you enjoyed today's podcast. Make sure to look out for future episodes of "Talent Talk” where you typically listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening, and until next time, keep inspiring the talent around you!

This episode features Gerald Rebo, Director of Pharmacy Values and Outcomes at Novant Health. Here, he discusses his role & what it entails, challenges surrounding finances in a tough economy, the importance of building a trustworthy team, and more.Want to network with peers and hear more conversations like this? Apply to be one of our complimentary guest reviewers at our upcoming Annual Meeting April 3-6, 2023 here.

Matthew and Heather welcome Kelli Ferry and Angela Yochem, leaders from Novant Health, a three-state integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient centers, and hospitals. Angela and Kelli share the unique efforts of Novant to revitalize and transform health care, including the creation of Novant's Innovation Lab and Novant Health Enterprises as well as collaborations with cutting-edge tech and health care companies. Tune in for an exciting discussion on the future of health care!

Welcome to final episode of the American Hospital Association's special podcast series #JustLead, a look at how hospitals and health systems that have been recognized with AHA awards for innovation collaboration and health equity, are transforming healthcare to better serve their communities. Over the past few years the concept of equity in health care has increasingly been moving from words in an online mission statement into real steps and concrete actions taken by health care providers all across the country. The American Hospital Association's annual Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care award was established to recognize and salute outstanding efforts among hospitals systems to advance equity of care. In this podcast, Ashleigh Hargrave, Senior Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity at Novant Health in Winston Salem, North Carolina, sits down to discuss Novant Health's drive for health equity and its achievements.

We love to run. The feeling of crossing the finish line, of getting a new PR, and just being around the running community is why we love our sport. But at the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon race day is just the beginning. Part of every race entry is a donation that goes to the Novant … Continue reading Dr. Erin Trakas – Novant →

We're almost ready for the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon, and it's a good thing too because it is right around the corner. It takes a lot to put on a race of this size from closing down streets, to getting vendors, to making sure that we've got a fancy finish festival for you to sprint … Continue reading Dr. Lisa Rentz – Novant →

We talk with Ann McAdams, investigative reporter with WECT News 6 from Wilmington NC about Novant Health NHRMC with a recent investigation into wait times, staffing, and a waiting room code. This is regarding a single facility, but represents challenges across the country with volumes, wait times, and staffing.

Have you ever wondered where all the technological innovations you see at the hospital come from? From x-ray machines to teledoc visits, to the machines that look straight out of a sci-fi comic book, modern medicine is at the cutting edge of technological advancement. But who thinks up all of those things? Well we've been … Continue reading Paula Kranz – Novant Health Innovation Lab →

A listener asked to learn more about the Facebook/Meta Pixel, an ad tool that is incredibly powerful (and invasive). What is the Pixel, how does it work, and is there any escape from it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta Pixel burns another health system, Providence posts a sizable operating loss and delivers a restructuring, UCSD names a new CIO and more on today's show.

Brooke is joined by Dr. Phil Moore, Dr. Ashley Rickey, and P.A. Amanda from Novant Health Vein Specialists to hear the scoop on all things veins and vascular health. The trio explains the benefits of the practice's monthly free screenings, warning signs to look for when it comes to vein and vascular issues, and why they love working together as a team. Find Novant Health Vein Specialists online: Website: www.salemveins.com

One thing all runners dread is that feeling that something hurts – and not a “good hurt” either! If you're in tune with your body, you know when something hurts the “wrong way.” You also have to be careful of external factors, like running in traffic, or other ways you can get injured. Our next … Continue reading Kelly Moriarty – Novant Health →

659: In this interview, we feature a panel discussion with Raghu Sagi, Chief Information Officer of Inspire Brands, and Onyeka Nchege, Chief Information Officer of Novant Health, on the topic of how talent and culture enable enterprise agility. Both Raghu and Onyeka share remarkable stories of how the culture of their respective companies takes inspiration from constituents and members of their ecosystems, bringing the company values closer to the customers they serve. Onyeka discusses how these ecosystems influence culture and innovation. Raghu shares an impressive anecdote about evolving the in-person model of their restaurants during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

659: In this interview, we feature a panel discussion with Raghu Sagi, Chief Information Officer of Inspire Brands, and Onyeka Nchege, Chief Information Officer of Novant Health, on the topic of how talent and culture enable enterprise agility. Both Raghu and Onyeka share remarkable stories of how the culture of their respective companies takes inspiration from constituents and members of their ecosystems, bringing the company values closer to the customers they serve. Onyeka discusses how these ecosystems influence culture and innovation. Raghu shares an impressive anecdote about evolving the in-person model of their restaurants during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.