Voices of ASHE: Where are They Now?

How has your professional life changed since your feature?

Since the last article, I took a position as the manager for planning, design and construction at a hospital in Madison, Wisc. This allows me to directly interact with the hospital staff to determine the scope and function of a project. It also allows me to lead a team of dedicated construction managers running hundreds of different projects and sharing insight with them from all my previous roles. It is rewarding seeing the direct impact on the hospital staff when a project is completed and making their lives easier.

I was also nominated to be the Wisconsin Healthcare Engineering Association (WHEA) state board secretary starting in 2024. I am very excited to support the health care engineers throughout the state of Wisconsin for the next few years.

What are your thoughts on innovation in health care facilities management?

Innovation is critical to keeping up with staffing and funding challenges. However, I also believe it is one of the hardest things to do in facility management. Change can be very hard for people that have been doing things one way for 20 or 30 years. They often see innovation as a challenge to the work they’ve been doing their whole lives and can be resistant to a new way of doing things or unwilling to learn new technology.

Helping people understand the why behind a change and how it will make their work more efficient or easier is important prior to implementing policy changes or new technology and innovation. Including them in the early decisions or option creation, if possible, can also be helpful for future buy-in.

What have you learned about yourself since your VOA feature?

I have learned that I have a passion for continually learning and trying to improve myself and the processes I am involved in. I am always looking for new and better ways to organize and manage projects so the staff can have better insight into what the end product will be and have the whole team work more cohesively. This can honestly be frustrating at times when working within a large health care organization. I have to take a step back and understand that even small steps can create opportunities for betterment and try to celebrate the small wins.

How has your professional life changed since your feature?

Since my initial feature, my professional journey has taken a significant and inspiring turn. I transitioned from Baptist Health in Arkansas to Banner Health, headquartered in Phoenix, where I now serve as the system regulatory director for facilities encompassing 31 hospitals and 300 clinics across six states. This shift has expanded my perspective, emphasizing the potential within health care facilities for proactive regulatory compliance. I've been fortunate to illustrate that regulatory compliance can be a strategic asset, contributing to cost reduction and the optimization of workforce efforts. This experience has deepened my commitment to continuous improvement.

I've strived to bridge the gap between design, construction and facilities operations, emphasizing how early code considerations can reduce operational challenges. The response from my peers and leaders has been overwhelmingly positive, resulting in a more streamlined process and improved technician morale. I've also instituted “Code Chat,” a weekly initiative where we collectively explore code and regulatory topics to empower others in interpreting and applying these standards.

Furthermore, Legacy FM, the company I cofounded, has undergone a remarkable journey of expansion and influence. Our reach has extended to over 2,700 skilled technicians, encompassing more than 250 hospitals. This extraordinary growth is a testament to our unwavering commitment to empowering the skilled trades within our field. We are not merely providing training and education services; we are actively empowering these essential professionals to thrive. Our mission, which focuses on equipping these technicians with the knowledge, training and resources they need, has never been more alive and vibrant.

The growth of Legacy FM stands as a testament to the fact that, through dedication and shared purpose, we can bring about transformative change in the health care facilities management profession, ultimately enhancing patient care experiences and the industry as a whole.

What hasn't changed is my unwavering commitment to enhancing the patient care environment. I remain dedicated to sharing knowledge, policies and procedures to help hospitals and health care systems beyond Banner Health and Legacy FM. We are all part of the same journey, rowing in the same direction.

With innovation being a focus of our new Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference in 2024, how has innovation had an impact on your position/career?

Innovation has been a guiding force throughout my career, reshaping my trajectory and enhancing my ability to affect meaningful change in the health care facility management field. I am a firm believer that without my unwavering commitment to challenging the status quo and embracing innovation, my current position and achievements would not have been possible. In a health care landscape that often pressures us to achieve “more with less,” I have been a proponent of the idea, as aptly coined by my good friend and mentor Dennis Ford, that we should strive to do “less with less.”

This approach to innovation has been transformative, allowing me to uncover and harness opportunities for substantial savings in the life cycle of health care facilities. By consistently questioning established practices and seeking out more efficient, effective and cost-effective alternatives, I have been able to generate documented savings that have amounted to tens of millions of dollars.

Innovation has become an integral part of my professional identity, fueling my drive for continuous improvement. It has not only opened doors to new possibilities but also shaped the way I approach challenges and opportunities in health care facility management. As we look ahead to the Health Care Facility Innovation Conference in 2024, I am excited to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation in our industry, knowing that it holds the key to revolutionizing the way we operate and enhance patient care.

What are your thoughts on innovation in health care facilities management?

In health care facility management, we have significant room for growth when it comes to innovation. It's high time we redirect our focus toward genuine innovation, leaving behind the mindset of “we've always done it this way.” This approach is simply unsustainable. We have a community of passionate individuals, and together, we can and will revolutionize health care. For instance, consider reliability-centered maintenance, an area of focus I'm deeply passionate about. While it's revolutionary for health care, this concept has been around for decades in other industries. Our failure to innovate in health care facilities management has caused unnecessary delays.

We often emphasize the wrong areas of focus, such as investing time and effort into minor compliance issues that don't impact patient care. Just imagine, what if we reallocate our resources toward more productive initiatives?

Anything you would like to share about yourself, your career?

I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have embarked on a career journey filled with opportunities for growth, learning and giving back. ASHE, in particular, has been a pivotal cornerstone of my professional development, and I owe a considerable debt of gratitude to ASHE. The remarkable individuals I've encountered through ASHE have played a vital role in shaping my career, and their investment in my growth is something I will forever cherish.

Voices of ASHE is not just a platform for spotlighting individual achievements; it serves as a testament to the passion and innovation that courses through the veins of our industry. It underscores the fact that the advancements we make in health care facility management are the result of collective dedication, not isolated efforts. It's a testament to the power of collaboration and mentorship, and I'm humbled to have been part of this inspiring journey.

For those who may not be engrained with ASHE or your local chapters, I strongly encourage you to reach out. Getting involved with ASHE is not merely a transformative experience for your career; it is an opportunity to influence and shape the entire health care facility management industry. Together, through collective effort and innovation, we have the capacity to make a profound impact. Let's continue to work hand in hand, driven by the shared goal of enhancing patient care environments and advancing our industry to new heights.

How has your professional life changed since your feature?

My professional life has changed because my role as executive director of hospital maintenance at UAB was finalized, and I am no longer serving as interim. I am excited about the journey and opportunities with this role.

With innovation being a focus of our new Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference in 2024, how has innovation had an impact on your position/career?

Innovation has impacted my position and career by creating a need for more data analysis regarding energy consumption and savings, financial reporting and full-time employee efficiency. The need to know has always been there, but the capability has expanded to properly illustrate what must be shared with C-suite leaders. The C-suite’s expectations have grown to include listening for technological advancements in building technologies and sustainability efforts.

What are your thoughts on innovation in health care facilities management?

I am excited for the innovation initiative in health care facility management. It creates space for creative thinking and collaborative efforts that allow us to go beyond what is seen at face value. It empowers health care facility managers to leverage technology and data-driven solutions to enhance operational efficiency, patient care and sustainability in health care facilities.

What have you learned about yourself since your VOA feature?

I learned that education is a passion of mine. I am really passionate about helping individuals develop a craft or trade they may learn and utilize in health care facilities. It’s amazing to see someone gain confidence when they realize the opportunities allotted to them in gaining a skill that serves patients directly as a tool or in creation of the environment of care need for their treatments.

Anything you would like to share about yourself, your career?

I am excited that I was elected to serve Region 4 as the Advisory Board Member for the region including Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi!

How has your professional life changed since your feature?

My professional career has changed a lot since the first Voices of ASHE feature. I decided to go back to school and received my MBA from the University of St. Thomas in May 2022. I accepted a new position and currently serve as the vice president of hospital operations, where I oversee surgical services and the emergency department, and support services indirectly reports to me. I now have oversight for the operations of St. John’s Hospital, focused on driving high-quality outcomes for our patients, efficiency and operational excellence along with regulatory compliance and improvement.

With innovation being a focus of our new Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference in 2024, how has innovation had an impact on your position/career?

Innovation to me means constantly challenging ourselves to improve and striving for excellence in new ways. I had worked with my organization to get approval for a fully prefabricated, 16-bed observation unit. We signed in April 2023 and should have it open and patient-ready by mid-January. The project came with resistance, and certainly feels different with dirt moved but no building. However, we were able to cut the time in half to expand our patient capacity and cohort a patient population for a short stay and observation period to control length of stay and ensure the patients are getting their care in the right space for the right amount of time, driving better outcomes. I first learned of this option at an ASHE conference in Nashville a couple years ago; these are the new products, new conversations and innovation that will drive better patient care and help reduce cost.

What are your thoughts on innovation in health care facilities management?

We have to be innovative and constantly challenge ourselves to improve. This takes time that we must ourselves set aside to research, connect and explore what others are doing or think creatively to support others beyond our own walls, generating innovative solutions to common and challenging problems. We have to dust off the old and assess if there are new ways that can better our teams and patients today. We are all challenged every day and overloaded by sheer volume on our to-do list; however, when we engage our teams and each other, there are always ways that we can incrementally improve.

Anything you would like to share about yourself, your career?

The best thing I have done for my career is get involved, both locally and nationally. Not only does this drive innovation, but it creates amazing relationships that help to get through the more challenging times but also the times of celebration. ASHE continues to be an important component of my career development. I’m grateful I had to the opportunity to go back to school, and while it was a lot of work, it has given me much more perspective to continue making an impact and improve the health care environment and the patients who entrust their care within that environment and operation.