Patient Roundtable Discussion

Kayla Redig; Kawana Williams; Cindy Finch

Three cancer survivors told us what the system looks like from the other side. Kayla Redig described being labeled difficult for advocating for herself, and turning chemo into weekly theme parties. When I asked what matters most to her as a patient, she said no one had ever asked. Kawana Williams, diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 22, said nobody asked her anything either. Cindy Finch made the case for treating caregivers as co-patients.

Transformation Session

Lee Isley; Gyasi Chisley; Marty Sargeant; Michael Wolf

Gyasi Chisley argued that the pandemic was a chance to rebuild healthcare around personalization, and that we missed it. Lee Isley shadows frontline staff monthly, and if he had to pull rank on a given day, he counts it as a failure. Marty Sargeant is taking his leaders, down to some 400 managers, through candid sessions on vulnerability. Michael Wolf drew on his military years: treat people well, help them believe in the mission, and pay them fairly.

Nurse-Physician Roundtable

Mady Jansky; Aluko A. Hope; Rebekah Marsh

Two nurses and a physician compared how they know when they are truly patient-centered and when the system wins. Rebekah Marsh described a 6 a.m. weight that can't move without delaying a discharge, and nurses charting up to 90 minutes per patient. Mady Jansky, whose career began just before the pandemic, named the time it takes to build rapport. Aluko A. Hope noted that clinical trials say little about the individual in front of you.

Physician Keynote

Ed Kim, MD

Ed Kim never planned to be a doctor. When he was in eighth grade, his 12-year-old brother Donald died suddenly from complications of Kawasaki disease, and that loss set the course of his life. Today he treats lung cancer and is particular about words: a person with cancer, not a cancer patient, and treatments fail patients, never the reverse. Ed also explained why survivors need help finding a new normal once treatment ends.

Fireside Chat with a Chief Nursing Officer

Nancy Blake

Nancy Blake joined me on the day her hospital took the name its community already used, LA General. She told me about a 75-year-old man with no one to drive him home after a procedure, so her team kept him an extra hour and called a ride. And when a new operating room nurse's adopted baby was diagnosed with lymphoma, she moved him to per diem so he could finish training on his own schedule.

Inclusion Panel Discussion

Shaden Marzouk; Lorna Rodriguez; DeAnna Minus-Vincent; Glenn Llopis

Shaden Marzouk, a former spine surgeon, admitted that medical school taught her systems, not individuals, and that perfect post-op X-rays didn't always mean a patient was well. Lorna Rodriguez once doubted patient advocates had much to add to cancer research, until they proved her wrong. DeAnna Minus-Vincent shared a hard example: before her heart attack a year earlier, a provider called her blood pressure perfect without asking about her own, much lower baseline.

Roundtable on Consumerism in Healthcare

Christine Madigan; Stacy Bratcher; Katie Kaney

Katie Kaney, a 25-year healthcare executive, admitted the industry isn't very good at consumerism yet, and that clinical care drives only a small share of health. Christine Madigan, who came from consumer products, found her new system had no consumer profile at all, just a target of everyone. Stacy Bratcher urged boards to track consumer and staff feedback, and pointed to payment policy as the real lever for change.

Human Capital Roundtable

Kety Duron; Tim Alba; Bernadette Finken

I opened by walking through our Operational Inclusion Roadmap and its five shifts. Kety Duron described bringing eye exams, skin screenings and counselors on site so employees don't wait weeks for care, and how exit interviews made her ask how to reach people before they leave. Bernadette Finken of Best Buy explained why recruiters must become advisors rather than order takers. Tim Alba urged leaders to tap new hires' fresh eyes.

Healthcare Leadership Under 40 Roundtable

Trevor Brand; John Baldwin; Vaughn Williams; Sam Boadi

Four Black healthcare executives, all under 35 when we spoke, talked about how their generation is seen and how they want to lead. Trevor Brand calls millennials the passionate generation. John Baldwin argued that authenticity is the currency of the future and that psychological safety has to make room for failure. Sam Boadi warned that standardization can make leaders robotic, and Vaughn Williams described the small personal questions that bring people's full selves to work.

Health Tech Roundtable

Sunnie Southern; Brent Walker; Carrie Weinberg; Tom Wilson

Sunnie Southern of Google, whose LinkedIn share of my 2019 Forbes column led to this panel, moderated our closing talk on technology. Brent Walker shared his firm's finding that 41% of Americans under 45 feel Amazon knows them better than their doctor does. Carrie Weinberg explained how shared data standards let a patient's records connect to guide the next step, and Tom Wilson showed how what people read before a visit reveals what's on their mind.