The Backstory

Warner Thomas is president and CEO of Ochsner Health based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and he recently completed a six-year term on MedPAC. He has been with Ochsner for over 20 years, previously serving as president and COO. Between hurricane Katrina, the COVID-19 pandemic, and sitting at the table for discussions about Medicare and other federal healthcare policies, Thomas has comprehensive perspective on how the healthcare system became what it is today, and has a clear point of view for the future of healthcare. In this conversation for the Art of Change, Thomas talks with Jarrard Inc. partner and chief development officer Anne Hancock Toomey about that point of view. They discuss the importance of scale, the role of mergers and acquisitions, the value of a strong digital footprint, and the mindset of hospital and health system CEOs today.

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We just released the latest volume of Art of Change, our publication dedicated to unpacking how and why organizations change... or don't. In this volume, we explore healthcare mergers, acquisitions and partnerships for hospitals, health systems and health services companies. After speaking with almost 20 healthcare experts in law, finance, management consulting, investment and communications, we put together a series of articles outlining where we think the industry is headed. Here, Our CEO David Jarrard offers his thoughts on the Art of Change and gives some practical ideas for what it all means.

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We're back in another serious moment as COVID-19 cases continue to ramp up. And the controversy and noise and frustration in so many areas of society and healthcare have ramped up right alongside the coronavirus pandemic. But at the same time, we're beginning to look back on those first three or four months. Two, three, even four months ago, we - and several of our partners across the industry - were talking about the importance of taking notes and keeping a record of what you're doing and why. Because, we said, some point in the future people are going to come asking questions. That future is here. Questions about use of federal relief funds, billing practices, testing, staffing changes, and so much more. Here, CEO David Jarrard talks about the collision of past, present and future and how leaders can look back while also looking forward.

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The challenges for healthcare providers continue and they continue to evolve the messages that need to be delivered by hospitals and health systems are confusing, even counterintuitive. The public is asking questions about furloughs are taking place even as hospitals receive federal relief funds. Volumes are returning but operations are still altered. In short, traditional messaging has broken down a bit for healthcare providers. Issues like the cost of healthcare, social justice, COVID-19, patient experience and more are creating a swirl of difficult stories to tell. Here, David Jarrard talks to Tim Stewart, a VP in our National and Academic Health System practice about those awkward messages, why they're happening and how hospitals CEOs and board members should respond.

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There’s a lot of discussion about the long-term future of healthcare. But so much of our work is in and for the moment – next week, next month, next 90 days. Industry leaders are asking, “What do we have to do today?”

To bridge the gap between what the industry practically needs today so it can fulfil its mission for the future, we convened four Jarrard Inc. partners who’ve been in the weeds to talk about what’s really going on in this new healthcare epoch. The idea was to sort through what we’ve seen and to consider what it looks like to make healthcare better today. Sharing their intel were:

In an ironic twist for a publication focused on helping healthcare leaders drive change, our team was adamant that creating a sense of stability is imperative today for hospitals and health systems. 

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Academic medical centers have a reputation for innovation in education and research, but aren't necessarily considered to be the most nimble of organizations in terms of operations. Dr. Arick Forrest has shown that doesn't have to be the case. Forrest is the Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs and President of OSU Physicians at the Ohio State University. Here, he joins Jarrard Inc. CEO David Jarrard to talk about how OSU was able to move quickly and be a nimble organization during COVID-19, and then how that experience is informing the health system's operations going forward.

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A few weeks ago, Nancy Gibbs wrote a column in the Washington Post titled, Forget swabs. We all need to take a character test.. It caught the attention of our CEO, David Jarrard - so much so that more than two weeks later we were still discussing it. Here, we talk about the clarifying nature of crises and the way we're entering a time of testing for healthcare organizations...and the individuals leading them.

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Healthcare providers of all types are under pressure - financial and, in some cases, social and political - to restart elective procedures and get back to "normal" operations after COVID-19. But there are risks to that process if it's not handled well. In this conversation, Lauren McConville, partner at Jarrard Inc., and Sandra DiVarco, partner at McDermott Will & Emery, overlay some of the legal/regulatory and communications considerations hospitals and health systems need to mitigate risk and move quickly but responsibly.

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You could argue that AVIA exists for a moment like this. COVID-19 brought about a sea change in healthcare. After years of slow adoption, tools like telehealth saw exponential growth in days. The way health systems thought about delivering care changed out of necessity. It has been incredibly difficult on many levels, yet it has also opened up a massive opportunity for healthcare to shift into a new way of fulfilling its mission. This is where AVIA comes in. AVIA serves as a transformation partner for healthcare providers. They focus on driving capabilities that use digital tools to scale and advance care in new ways. And so, when it came time to understand what's going on with the digitization of healthcare in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, AVIA was the obvious place to go. Here, Jarrard Inc. partner Molly Cate speaks with AVIA president Linda Finkel and executive vice president Cynthia Perazzo about telehealth, healthcare delivery, digital tools and more.

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Cision just released their 2020 state of the media report. Between that, and the fact that there's always something to talk about when it comes to the media - especially in these days of COVID-19 - we decided to do exactly that. Tim Stewart - and a small bird outside Tim's home office - joined Jarrard Inc. editorial manager David Shifrin to look at trends in journalism and the relationship between reporters and healthcare providers. Tim is a vice president in Jarrard's National and Academic Health System Practice. He's got a good eye for what's going on in the media and he's well known around here for asking tough questions and considering root causes. In short, Tim is not one to take things at face value. Which is exactly what you want in a podcast...

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