What if the biggest breakthrough in healthcare innovation isn’t AI, but how we choose to use it? In this episode of the Smart Care Team Spotlight, host Molly McCarthy partners with the Healthcare on Air podcast by Verizon, and along with its hosts Robin Goldsmith and Brian Urban, they welcome Geisinger’s Dr. Jonathan Slotkin, Chief Medical Officer of Strategy and Growth, and Tim Fitzgerald, Chief Startegy Officer, to discuss how Geisinger Health System is leveraging its legacy of innovation to shape the future of AI-enabled healthcare. Leaders emphasize that technology, especially AI, must solve real clinical and operational problems rather than add complexity, with early impact seen in provider workflows and revenue cycle management. A key theme is reframing innovation through a public health lens, such as viewing autonomous driving as a life-saving intervention rather than just a tech advancement. The discussion highlights the importance of trust, community alignment, and rural healthcare dynamics as enablers of scalable innovation. Ultimately, success depends on integrating people, process, and technology while building models that strengthen both care delivery and local economies.  Tune in to hear how leaders at Geisinger Health System are redefining innovation by focusing on real problems, trust, and measurable impact at the bedside! Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Jonathan Slotkin on LinkedIn. Connect with and follow Brian Urban on LinkedIn. Follow Geisinger Health System on LinkedIn and visit their website! Connect with and follow Molly McCarthy on LinkedIn. Check out more episodes of the Smart Care Team Spotlight podcast here! Connect with and follow Robin Goldsmith on LinkedIn. Connect with and follow Brian Urban on LinkedIn. Check out more episodes of the Healthcare on Air podcast here!

What if the secret to becoming a trusted advisor in healthcare isn’t expertise, but how well you listen, serve, and show up? In this episode, Mike Higgins, Executive in Residence at the Health Management Academy and an advisor to several other healthcare companies, connects his leadership style to early lessons in empathy and service from his family’s funeral business, which carried into his career at The Advisory Board Company and beyond. He explains that true strategic partnerships in healthcare are built on deep listening, transparency, and a shared commitment to solving complex problems, not just delivering solutions. He highlights AI as a transformative force but emphasizes that the industry is still in a learning and experimentation phase, guided by frameworks like hearts, minds, wallets, and watches. Across it all, Higgins reinforces that trust, gratitude, preparation, and making every interaction valuable are the foundations of lasting relationships. Tune in to hear how Mike Higgins defines true partnership in healthcare, and why service, trust, and preparation matter more than ever in an AI-driven world! Resources: Connect with and follow Mike Higgins on LinkedIn. Follow the Health Management Academy on LinkedIn and explore their website!

Global impact starts with local trust and sustainable partnerships. In this episode of the Smart Care Team Spotlight, Ruth Frey, Executive Director for Global Collaborations at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discusses building sustainable global pediatric care through community-driven innovation and long-term partnerships. She reflects on her 45-year career at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and how early mentorship from C. Everett Koop shaped her leadership philosophy and commitment to excellence. She shares how a mission trip to the Dominican Republic transformed her perspective and led her to move beyond short-term medical missions toward lasting system change. She also describes creating a health promoter model and developing a fully sustainable clinic that continues to serve as a regional hub for pediatric care and public health training. Tune in to hear how people-centered innovation can transform global healthcare delivery and create an impact that lasts for generations. Resources: Connect with and follow Ruth Frey on LinkedIn. Follow the Boston Children's Hospital on LinkedIn and explore their website! Follow the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on LinkedIn and visit their website!

What happens when nurses help design AI instead of just using it? In this episode of the Smart Care Team Spotlight, Colleen Mallozzi, Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Informatics Officer at Jefferson Health, discusses how healthcare organizations can use AI and emerging technologies to redesign care delivery while reducing nurses' burden. She explains why frontline nurses must be deeply involved in the design and deployment of new tools to ensure they truly support clinical workflows. She also shares early insights from Jefferson Health’s ambient listening pilot, which aims to reduce documentation time, lower cognitive load, and return meaningful time to clinicians at the bedside. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes that successful innovation requires rigorous measurement, strong governance, and a focus on outcomes rather than just exciting technology. Tune in to hear how thoughtful AI adoption can give nurses back time, improve care delivery, and help shape the future of healthcare. Resources: Connect with and follow Colleen Mallozzi on LinkedIn. Follow Jefferson Health on LinkedIn and explore their website!

Real progress in healthcare tech happens when nurses co-design the tools and the how is treated as seriously as the what.  In this episode, Dr. Susan D. Smith, Director of Technology Research and Education at ChristianaCare and a nursing technology researcher, discusses how she moved from pediatric critical care into practice-based research and helped launch collaborative robots in a complex hospital environment. She shares what worked, including simple usability and clear value for routine deliveries, and what surprised her team, such as low demand for a nurse-facing robot call option when staff needed items immediately. Dr. Smith breaks down why missing pieces like reliable timing, visibility into when help is arriving, and workflows that pair equipment with medications can derail adoption even when the tech functions as designed. She also explains how a robotics-focused nursing research fellowship improved engagement and well-being, plus her statewide work building research capacity through NIH programs and a research-matching platform that connects mentors and collaborators.  Tune in and learn how to move from big ideas to sustainable, nurse-led implementation! Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Susan D. Smith on LinkedIn. Follow ChristianCare on LinkedIn and explore their website! Nurse-Led Innovation Hub and implementation blueprint https://christianacare.org/us/en/for-health-professionals/nursing/nurse-led-innovation Integrating Collaborative Robots into a Complex Hospital Setting: A Qualitative Descriptive Study - PMC

Nursing, technology, and health equity collide! In this episode of the Smart Care Team Spotlight, Dylan Wallace, Family Nurse Practitioner at MedStar Medical Group, discusses how nurses can leverage technology to enhance patient care. She shares her journey from ER nurse to nurse practitioner, her work with underserved populations, and her commitment to health equity. Dylan also highlights the role of telemedicine, remote monitoring, and AI, while offering advice to nursing students and early-career nurses to focus on experiences, fundamentals, and critical thinking. Tune in and discover how nursing expertise is shaping the future of patient-centered healthcare! Resources: Connect with and follow Dylan Wallace on LinkedIn. Follow MedStar Health on LinkedIn and visit their website!

A practical path to reducing clinician burden is using ambient AI to capture documentation, allowing nurses to spend more time with patients.  In this episode, Gregg Springan, a nurse executive at Epic, discusses how his ICU background and “listen first” leadership philosophy shape technology designs that serve real clinical workflows. He explains why nurses belong inside health tech companies, then contrasts large-enterprise execution with startup speed from his time in robotics. Gregg dives into the documentation burden problem and what’s actually working in 2026: “nursing out loud” as a workflow shift, inpatient ambient documentation adoption, early results like minutes saved per shift, patient opt-in rates, and improved clinician sentiment. He also breaks down predictive analytics using large-scale de-identified data to inform bedside decisions and clarifies agentic AI—what it is, where it’s safe, and how it can offload administrative work while keeping humans in the loop.  Tune in and learn how AI can return time to care teams without sacrificing safety, trust, or human connection! Resources: Connect with and follow Gregg Springan on LinkedIn. Follow Epic on LinkedIn and visit their website! Read the Generative Medical Event Models Improve with Scale paper here.

What if the most significant barrier to healthcare innovation isn’t the science, but the system around it? In this episode of the Smart Care Team Spotlight, Tiffany Wilson, CEO of the Science Center in Philadelphia, discusses accelerating healthcare innovation by bridging the gap between breakthrough ideas and real-world impact. She explains how the Science Center helps startups navigate evidence generation, commercialization, and adoption while aligning with health system realities. Tiffany emphasizes the importance of trust, workflow integration, and the critical role of nurses and patients in co-designing technologies that improve outcomes and support clinicians. Tune in to hear how healthcare leaders, startups, and clinicians can work together to move innovation from promise to practice, faster and more effectively. Resources: Connect with and follow Tiffany Wilson on LinkedIn. Follow the Science Center in Philadelphia on LinkedIn and explore their website!

Nurses must not only have a seat at the table—they should be sending the invitations and leading the conversation on technology and care. In this episode, Dr. Simmy King, Chief Nursing Informatics and Education Officer at Children’s National Hospital and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, discusses how the fusion of informatics, education, and wellness can drive safer care, better outcomes, and a more resilient workforce. She traces lessons from two decades of leadership, showing how bold, collaborative nurse leadership accelerates digital transformation. Dr. King explains why education and technology became inseparable during COVID, how competencies and critical thinking must evolve with AI, and why ambient tools, telehealth, and data-driven workflows should lighten—never add to—clinician burden. She also shares practical change management and financial framing for new tech (measure value beyond dollars, plan for future gains), insights from a major EHR transition after 20 years, and examples like chatbots for scalable learning and early burnout detection. Her advice to new nurses: stay curious, learn continuously, build cross-industry networks, and never lose sight of human connection.  Tune in and learn how technology, education, and empathy can unite to shape the next era of nursing leadership and patient-centered care! Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Simmy King on LinkedIn. Learn more about Dr. King on her website! Follow the Children’s National Hospital on LinkedIn and discover their website! Read AONL: Nurse Leaders’ Role in Digital Transformation here.

Nurses must not only have a seat at the table—they should be sending the invitations and leading the conversation on technology and care. In this episode, Dr. Simmy King discusses how uniting informatics, education, and wellness advances safer, more efficient care and a stronger workforce. She highlights credentialing milestones, the post-COVID convergence of learning and tech, and practical ways AI, ambient tools, and telehealth should reduce burden, not add to it. Dr. King outlines change-management and financial framing for responsible adoption, plus how a major EHR transition opens space to redesign workflows and competencies.  Tune in and learn how technology, education, and empathy can unite to shape the next era of nursing leadership and patient-centered care!