Megan C Ryan, Esq. CEO & President and the Chief Legal Officer of Nassau Health Care Corporation
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone, This is Steve Dallison and welcome to this
week's edition of CEOs. You should know I'm thrilled to
be joined by Megan Ryan, the CEO and President and
the chief Legal Officer of NASA Healthcare Corporation.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Megan, thanks for being here, Thanks for having me, good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
We're so excited to jump in to learn more about you,
learn more about the organization. So why don't we kick
things off talking a little bit about your background. I
know that you've been there for over a decade, you
were newer to the CEO role, but you have a
very impressive background that I love to start off with today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you well.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I started at NASA Healthcare Corporation about a decade ago
as the chief Compliance Officer for the New York State
Medicaid District program, mentioning that for a reason because it's
kind of come full circle because we've been doing a
lot of Medicaid issues and things going on over the
past few months. So and then over the decade, I
just kind of went into various roles chief Legal Officer,
(00:54):
I'm still in that spot, and then about a year
and two or three months ago, became the interim CEO,
and then in December the CEO permanently, So uh had
wore a lot of different hats, uh and uh, you know,
just got to really learn the institution, the patients, the employees.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So it's served me very well.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well, congratulations on the new role, very very exciting. Looking
back at the last decade there, what are some of
the moments or things that you believe really prepared you
for this role as CEO.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Wow, Well, it's been a whole culmination.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I would say, starting off as just I don't say
as just, but a compliance officer and new to the role,
new to the hospital, the institution, and then just working
my way up and then I will say we're at
a hospital, I have to mention COVID uh And that
was just a game changer. So uh, you know, getting
out of the office and and really meeting, you know,
(01:47):
the patients and and talking to them they weren't able
to talk to their families, and trying to get them
to communicate every day, and and just meeting people in
other departments that I would never talk to. So instead
of emails, you're walking around, you're talking to people, You're
figure out what they need, and we uh, you know,
we weren't a lot to have any visitors come in,
so we were trying to at that point, I tried
to fundraise, get resources, and make sure our policies were
(02:09):
in place every day.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So it's been it's been a journey.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And at that point I think that was a turning
point for me personally that I just really fell in
love with our mission, the employees.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And just our service aspect of what we're doing for
the community.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
So that's awesome. Let's stick there. Tell us a little
bit about the mission.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Okay, So we are the only public hospital in Nasau
County and we're also so NASA Healthcare Corporation is the
is the public benefit corporation that runs the only public hospital.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It's NASCA University Medical Center.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And also we also have the only.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Public skilled nursing facilities, so the nursing home in Nasau County.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So it goes hand in hand. So we treat everyone
from you know.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Babies, two senior citizens, that everything in between. We have
the correctional facility, We have two infirmaries over there at
the jail, so we treat the inmates, and we have
health centers, so the county and school based health centers
and interestingly enough a fun.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Fact because I mentioned the inmates for our patients as well.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But we treat all the dignitaries that come into Nassau County,
so sitting president's, former presidents. If they're in the area
and god forbid, you know, they become ill or they
need medical assistance, they come to our hospital, which is
pretty neat.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
It's pretty neat. You guys do it all.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We do it all.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
We do it all with very little. We can get
to that, but with very little. Because republic that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I know that one very impressive thing under your leadership
is that you saw one hundred million cost savings and
improved the national quality grades for the first time in
six years. What were some of the reforms and innovations
that you did so to help this cause.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well, first of all, we got a CFO for the
first time in a few years, and I credit my
board and my chairman, Chairman Matthew Bergerman for bringing in
just a great CFO who he's not here with us today.
He's back in the office crunching numbers, so we don't
let him out too much.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Perry Sham. So he's excellent.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
So we have a great team, and we just honestly
just going, you know, going through each department and really
looking at cost savings and what can we do to
make sure that we're not wasting any dollars because we are,
you know, stewards of public funds.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And then quality it goes hand in hand.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I mean, you want to we want to give the
best quality healthcare to our patients. So we had to
really hunger down focused on that. We redid the department,
put in a great new vice president. When I became
the interim CEO. She did amazing. We passed I think
we're up to like eighteen different surveys. We passed our
Joint Commission, We passed our level when trauma we got
hit a little heart last year. I don't know, I
(04:34):
don't know if it was a coincidence, but every survey
you could think of under the sun, we had someone
the same day and we passed everything. So I really
think just putting together this great team and assembling just
people with experience that have heart that care really makes
a difference.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And it shows.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So for the first time ever, our quality scores were
you know, went up a whole grade. And we're gonna
just keep going up. You know, I strive to be
an a student. So we're gonna get there one day.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yes, yes, yes, that's a lot accomplished in a short
period of time, So very impressive. I know something also,
obviously the quality the patience is really important, but also
really the culture of the hospital, right. I know that
in your short term as CEO, you were also able
to create the care office and establish a patient care
officer and employee Engagement officer positions. Can you tell us
(05:18):
what really inspired you to create those new roles and
how they're working out?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So, like I mentioned before with COVID, just being able
to kind of roam around the hospital, you're you know,
I wasn't just a lawyer at the time, was able
to kind of, you know, go into operations and see
what was needed. Well, first of all I think we
got away from the hospital should be you know, there
should be hospitality in the hospital. We should be trying
to treat our patients with dignity and care and their
(05:43):
visitors regardless of their ability to pay. And that's a
human right. And then that goes hand in hand with
our employees. Our employees, we should create a great environment
for them to want to come to work kind of
like iHeartMedia.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I mean, this is very nice in here.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
So we think, you know, you're spending more hours at
work than you are at any other air in your life,
your family, your house, anything like that. So we're trying
to build this relation of a foster environment that you know,
everyone feels that they're heard, everyone feels valued.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And then that in hand in hand will help us
raise our quality scores. If we have good.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Employees that want to do the right thing, it's going
to show and we're gonna we're gonna excel in our
in our patient access. So we create a care office,
a care for the first time ever, a patient care officer,
an employee engagement officer. Then we bought this thing and
we sounds silly, but the caravan, so it actually goes
to the into different health centers and we'll pick up
our patients. And that caravan went down to North Carolina
(06:36):
and we started doing community uh you know, some community outreach.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
During Hurricane Halleen.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So we had we're the only hospital in the area
that sent down a team of experts, all volunteers that
went down there for a few days and helped out.
So I mean that just says the dedication. We extended
it out of New York State. So we just have
a great team of employees.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I love that mindset. Really strategic and really smart, completely
a great The way your team feels obviously bleeds into
all the other parts of the organization hundred percent. So
really really smart work there. Speaking of improvements, I know
that you opened and you surgical wing, you relocated the
adult mental health services, You've had multiple appreciation events, and
so much more. What else are you guys doing for
(07:17):
the community. What's on the horizon?
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Ah?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, I they joke around. I always say in my uh,
in all my events, I'm like, wait, there's more, because
there really is. Truly, there's there's so much more. First
of all, that has been my saying for the whole
year that I've been at the Helm, because there's so
much more to Nasca University Medicals, so that no one
knows about. And even something like this today, trying to
get our message out the community doesn't know. So moving
(07:40):
our mental health clinic for the first time in you know, decades,
having you know, we have our patients in this old,
dilapidated building that wasn't you know, it wasn't wasn't the
best for them, wasn't great for employees. So we put
we moved that into a beautiful space and doing things
like that on the horizon. I can tell you next
week we're going to be do the ribbing cutting of
our brand new mammal Van. So we've had a mammal van.
(08:01):
We're the first one in Nashau Counyon to have one.
It's twenty two years old. It was breaking down. You know,
we looked at this, I'm like, wait a second, we
could do better, we could do better for our community.
It's you know, breast cancer is something that hits every family,
you know, every community, no matter your your your you know,
your economic status or or you know anything like that.
(08:21):
So we had our gala in November and we made
it the Pink Gala. So that was my first gala
as the CEO, and we raised five hundred and ninety
two thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Then we bought a new Mamma Van.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
So it came in and next next week we're going
to do a ribbon cutting and it has the best
state of the art technology that you'll find anywhere. So
any other hospital, hands down, you can go into this
and you'll get the best treatment, diagnostic testing, and we're
coming to you.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So we're excited about that. But there's always more on
the rise. We have a lot of.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Things coming up. I have some good partnership, strategic partnerships.
I think that's important. We don't want to shy away
from that end again, engaging with the community.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Just letting the community know what's out there.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It's very hard, uh, you know, we have we're a
public institution, we're a standalone We're one of the only
standalone hospitals in New York State. And like I said,
you know, eighty percent of our patients are you know,
they don't pay their Medicaid Medicare, So it's it's hard.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So just getting that message out of the community.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Like we're here for you, We're here for crisis, we're
here for prevention education.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We're doing a lot of community events.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
We had our first Safety ex Bowl last year, back
to school night with the kids, so you know, bringing
things that you can come in, you know and get
to know us, and that way when you come in
you're not afraid, you understand what's going We made the
lobby beautiful.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
We have Starbucks for the first time. We open up a.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
New, first time ever community outreach center and named the
Community Outreach Director. So you know, we're hitting things all
over the place and just trying to you know, try
to get the word out and get our message across
to the community.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I love that you've accomplished so much in a short time.
It's impressive.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I love the passion and in the in the vision
for the long term. And speaking of a kind of
piggyback off of that, what are some of your long
term goals hospital? What are some of your long term
initiatives that you want to be rolling out?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Sure? I think well, number one, changing.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I guess, our reputation in the community, and you know,
just trying to raise that, raising our quality scores and
raising just the ease of healthcare, trying to get access
to healthcare.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
And we started doing that.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, and we were just you know, getting appointments, making
it easy that you can you can go in and
you get a follow up exam. We increased our clinic
hours nice and weekend. Starting in last September, we saw
an extra eighteen in additional eighteen thousand patients just in
that short window. We started doing just increasing services that
(10:39):
you know, we're trying to see evaluate and assess what
does the community need and that's what we need to
focus on. So you know, very briefly, we pediatric MRIs,
you know, under sedation. We started doing those a few
months ago because the other hospitals there were just a
long waiting list. So seeing where we can fit in
and do these things and offer services and not have
(10:59):
a six month waiting list. So we're doing that and
we're just valuing different things and long term again, i'd
like to uh not have to fight for funding. I'd
like the community to be aware of all of our
services and just uh and just continue doing what we're
doing and expanding our access to care.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Speaking of the community knowing about some of your services,
I also know that you guys house the firefighters Burn
Center at the Burn Union, the Burn Clinic within there.
Tell us a little bit about more about that, because
I bet a lot of people don't know that they
do not I.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Didn't know that when I first got I didn't know
that probably till I think I was three months in
and I stumbled upon it.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
I was like, what's this?
Speaker 3 (11:38):
So you know we are we work hand in hand
with our first responders as a Level one trauma center
as we have. Also we have the UH the Fire
Police Academy inside inside the hospital. And then we have
the Burn You the only Burn Union in Nasau County
and the only multi chamber, multiplace hyper barrack chamber in
Queen's Nasau Suffig And what does that mean. It's not
(12:00):
just for fires, it's also for diving accidents and for
different wounds and different things.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Multiple people can go in there.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
So if there's a mass casual, if there's multiple injuries,
multiple people. So we have that and we have a
great Burn Foundation and they're actually helping us right now
fundraise for some new equipment. And it's extraordinare and we
have these specialty nurses and doctors and plastic surgeons that
are in this unit. And again it's probably one of
the best kept secrets in Nasal County, but not anymore absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Speaking of fundraising, I know that you've been advocating and
lobbying in New York State for funding. What resistance have
you faced and how are you working to overcome that?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Well, if you told me a year ago, because I
worked for eight different CEOs over the time period, and
probably the same amount of chairman, that I would ever
be confronted with resistance and just trying to get funding.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And also I guess morphing my role into an advocate.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I don't want to stay a lobbyist because I don't
have to do disclosures because I'm an attorney, and who's
gonna be.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
List say this?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
But uh, you know, and as an advocate, you know,
I'm willing to advocate for my employees, for my community.
This is my hospital, I live ten minutes away. This
is where my kids, you know, have been patients. I've
been a patient growing up. So we're not going anywhere.
I'm gonna make sure of it. But uh, the resistance
has been quite actually mind blowing and disappointing.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I and uh, you know, and again it's politics,
and that's sad.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
I guess you know, politics touches every corner of your life.
But you know, what have we been doing, we you know,
having just again getting the message out going where we can.
If we're if we get resistance from you know, one newspaper, Okay,
we're gonna go to five other newspapers and we're gonna
hit social media and we're we're meeting, we will sit
down and meet with anyone. I have to tell you
that we do tours of the hospital. I'll meet with
(13:44):
you know, any legislator that wants to come in, I'll
go to your office. We have we've done it, We've
brought the show on the road. But you know, I
think once, you know, listen at the end of the day.
And I don't want to make it, you know, simplistic
or naive, but I believe, you know, good wins over evil,
and uh, you know, what we're doing is good.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
We're doing good things.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
So at the end of the day, we're not gonna
be defunded, and we're gonna we're gonna succeed and we're
gonna prevail. And I have thirty six hundred positions and
people and jobs and families that depend on it, and
two hundred and ninety three thousand families that visited the
hospital last year, patients that need us. So we're gonna
we're you know, what we're doing right now is we're
just gonna work harder and stronger and faster.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And just keep going.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And we're gonna just assemble a great team of employees
and we're not gonna stop.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
And again, we're gonna keep evaluating.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
We're assessing, and it's hard, I'm gonna say it's very
hard on the inside with internally to to try to
keep the morale up when on the outside you know
you're you're being there, hearing, Are you closing?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Are you getting defunded?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We didn't get one dollar last year and funding from
New York State, which is you know, very disappointing. But
I'm again, I think everything will be worked out and rectified.
We have a lot of great legislators on both sides
of the aisle that are uh are are looking to
help us, and UH again, we're not going to.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Our community needs us. We're the only what.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
We just mentioned right now, we're the only water bursting center.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
We're the only burn you in it. You know we're
not we need the community needs us.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So good Yepp, Well, I feel very confident with you
leading the way that it will be a very positive
outcome there.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So, Megan, let's talk a little bit about yourself. What
advice would you give anyone tuning in that's an inspiring
CEO or maybe just starting off in the healthcare space.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Well, first of all, you know, you don't have to
be an aspiring CEO. I speak at every orientation that
we do for new employees every month, and I point
to the seat that I sat in ten years ago,
and I was like, I was just trying to make
it through the year.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
I never thought I would stay.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
It was very you know, something new to me where
I'm a lawyer working at a hospital. But you never
know what your what your career or your path is
going to, your journey's going to be. And I would say,
just keep working hard and believe in yourself again, you know,
believe in the work that you're doing and don't doubt yourself.
I think it's very easy, especially when you have a
lot of naysayers. I have New York State telling me
(15:59):
now and I'm like, no, you're wrong, We're right. So
I think if you just, you know, keep doing the
right thing, be true to your values that you were
believe in.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
And uh, I think you know, that's that's what I
would say. Number one.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Number two, maybe try to have some fun with it. Uh,
you know, we're trying. You know, it's hard times, especially
in the field that we're in, but you get some
good people around you. You have a few laughs too.
And if you I tell you, I love what I do.
I don't consider it work. And I love the people
I work with and I and I just love what
we do. And I'm so proud of what they're doing.
It's easy for me to go out and advocate for them.
(16:31):
They're doing the hard work. They're the doctors, the nurses,
the evs, stay aff facilities, they're they're they're seeing the patients.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
They're the ones that have to go in and talk
to their families.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
And and and treat, you know, the wounds and illnesses.
But I'm behind them saying, listen this, look what they're doing.
And I'm you know, I'm the number one cheerleader.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So uh.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
At that point, I think, just you know, just don't
give up and keep keep working hard and just try
to enjoy well well as it's as it's happening.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Yeah, I love that. That's great advice.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Looking back at your career, has there been one experience,
one lesson that really stood out that you're grateful for
that really has shaped you to the leader you are today.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Well, I had a few.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I will say over the over the over the When
you say decade, I feel old, but I will say
over the past few months especially, I will just mention.
About a year ago, last May, we had, uh, we
had a little girl coming the same age as my
daughter on a Friday night to the emergency room and
she was she was mulled by one of her dogs
and she was in uh she was in foster care,
(17:34):
and uh, you know, we got to know her and
she went into our hyperbarrack chamber for the wounds, and
she was with us for about a month.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
We had a birthday party there. She had a new
set of.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Foster parents that came uh that that took her home,
and we really, uh, you know, bonded with this girl
and our whole staff. I mean, this is just that's
and that's when you see just how great our staff is.
You don't have to even mention you have nurses coming in,
uh you know, because we you know, whether we whether
we have children in that age or or or nieces
or nephews or whatnot, you can relate.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So we kept in touch with.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Her and and this one girl, you know, she's one
of probably a dozen, you know, children especially that we
got to meet over the past year. And uh, when
I when I get down or I think, you know,
what am I doing this for? I'm like, wait, we
got to do this for you know, these people and
these kids they need us. And I still talk to
her to this day, and and she came to our
(18:26):
gala and and you know, we're gonna stay in touch
and we're gonna make sure that she's okay.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
And there's so many.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Of these people, these and these children like this, So
I guess that's my I'm grateful that I met her,
and I'm grateful that I was able to help her,
even if we're just for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So and we're grateful that you guys were able to
help her as well. We'll talk about inspiration to keep
to keep pushing and fighting and really, uh have that visual.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And that's I'm sorry. That's why it frustrates me.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And I wish that the people that have the the
purse strings would come down. They refuse to meet with us,
they refuse to uh take a meeting or take a
tour or you know, see see these patients, because I
think that we would one hundred percent change their mind
once you do a tour with us.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
We had a few over the summer with uh, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
People in big positions, They're like, we didn't know you
were doing all this, You're doing a great job.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I'm like, can you put that in writing?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Could you?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Could you put that source?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So I think, you know, if if people would just
give us a chance and open their minds and hearts,
I think they would be very proud of the work
that we're doing. Well.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Absolutely should be very proud.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
I am, I am.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
We talked about a lot today.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Is there anything we might have missed or is there
a key takeaway that you want everyone that's tuning in
to know about your mission?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
That's a lot, okay, baby.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Now, I think healthcare is a right, especially uh you know,
I think no, I know it is. And I think
just being able to treat people with dignity and respect
is a human right and that's something that we should
preserve and we should celebrate. And I think, you know,
that's our mission and we're doing that every day and
that should be respected. And I think, you know, that's
(20:01):
something that we need to do better at. Uh, I
guess locally and and and just uh just making sure
that we take care of each other.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So I guess that that was my takeaway.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, if anyone and that so needs numic of course,
that's right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
If anyone is tuning in, wants to find out more
or they want to help in any way.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What is the best call to action.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Oh, I've done a few this year, and I've gotten
trouble a few of them. But I would say if
you can call your legislators wherever you live in New
York State and say, you know, please find NASA University
Medical Center. We don't need to stay takeover. We need
local control over our own healthcare. For information, up to
(20:45):
date things, our social media has all the facts. Our website,
we put documents out there. I pump things out all
you know, once a week.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It's NAS.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
It's uh ww dot n U, MC dot E d
U and uh of course I know our information on
the website. You could always contact me. I don't want
to minimize this, but I'll talk to anyone about how
great we're doing in the hospital. So you know, we're
we're eager to uh to talk to community groups, meet
with anyone if any's any questions and just get the facts.
(21:13):
So we're you know, we're happy to chat with anybody.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
That's awesome. Well, Megan, thank you so much for coming.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Thank you, thank you, appreciate you telling your story, learning
more about you as an individual, but it's definitely inspiring
to see your passion and your drive for all the
amazing work that you're doing with the hospital. So congratulations
to you and your entire team. Thank you so much
and look forward to seeing what's next. Thank you, More
to come, more to come. Absolutely, thank you everybody for
tuning into this week's edition of CEOs You Should Know
(21:39):
tune in next week.
Hi, everyone, This is Steve Dallison and welcome to this
week's edition of CEOs. You should know I'm thrilled to
be joined by Megan Ryan, the CEO and President and
the chief Legal Officer of NASA Healthcare Corporation.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Megan, thanks for being here, Thanks for having me, good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
We're so excited to jump in to learn more about you,
learn more about the organization. So why don't we kick
things off talking a little bit about your background. I
know that you've been there for over a decade, you
were newer to the CEO role, but you have a
very impressive background that I love to start off with today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Thank you well.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I started at NASA Healthcare Corporation about a decade ago
as the chief Compliance Officer for the New York State
Medicaid District program, mentioning that for a reason because it's
kind of come full circle because we've been doing a
lot of Medicaid issues and things going on over the
past few months. So and then over the decade, I
just kind of went into various roles chief Legal Officer,
(00:54):
I'm still in that spot, and then about a year
and two or three months ago, became the interim CEO,
and then in December the CEO permanently, So uh had
wore a lot of different hats, uh and uh, you know,
just got to really learn the institution, the patients, the employees.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So it's served me very well.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Well, congratulations on the new role, very very exciting. Looking
back at the last decade there, what are some of
the moments or things that you believe really prepared you
for this role as CEO.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Wow, Well, it's been a whole culmination.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
I would say, starting off as just I don't say
as just, but a compliance officer and new to the role,
new to the hospital, the institution, and then just working
my way up and then I will say we're at
a hospital, I have to mention COVID uh And that
was just a game changer. So uh, you know, getting
out of the office and and really meeting, you know,
(01:47):
the patients and and talking to them they weren't able
to talk to their families, and trying to get them
to communicate every day, and and just meeting people in
other departments that I would never talk to. So instead
of emails, you're walking around, you're talking to people, You're
figure out what they need, and we uh, you know,
we weren't a lot to have any visitors come in,
so we were trying to at that point, I tried
to fundraise, get resources, and make sure our policies were
(02:09):
in place every day.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So it's been it's been a journey.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And at that point I think that was a turning
point for me personally that I just really fell in
love with our mission, the employees.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
And just our service aspect of what we're doing for
the community.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
So that's awesome. Let's stick there. Tell us a little
bit about the mission.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Okay, So we are the only public hospital in Nasau
County and we're also so NASA Healthcare Corporation is the
is the public benefit corporation that runs the only public hospital.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
It's NASCA University Medical Center.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And also we also have the only.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Public skilled nursing facilities, so the nursing home in Nasau County.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So it goes hand in hand. So we treat everyone
from you know.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Babies, two senior citizens, that everything in between. We have
the correctional facility, We have two infirmaries over there at
the jail, so we treat the inmates, and we have
health centers, so the county and school based health centers
and interestingly enough a fun.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Fact because I mentioned the inmates for our patients as well.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
But we treat all the dignitaries that come into Nassau County,
so sitting president's, former presidents. If they're in the area
and god forbid, you know, they become ill or they
need medical assistance, they come to our hospital, which is
pretty neat.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
It's pretty neat. You guys do it all.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We do it all.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
We do it all with very little. We can get
to that, but with very little. Because republic that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I know that one very impressive thing under your leadership
is that you saw one hundred million cost savings and
improved the national quality grades for the first time in
six years. What were some of the reforms and innovations
that you did so to help this cause.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Well, first of all, we got a CFO for the
first time in a few years, and I credit my
board and my chairman, Chairman Matthew Bergerman for bringing in
just a great CFO who he's not here with us today.
He's back in the office crunching numbers, so we don't
let him out too much.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Perry Sham. So he's excellent.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
So we have a great team, and we just honestly
just going, you know, going through each department and really
looking at cost savings and what can we do to
make sure that we're not wasting any dollars because we are,
you know, stewards of public funds.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And then quality it goes hand in hand.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
I mean, you want to we want to give the
best quality healthcare to our patients. So we had to
really hunger down focused on that. We redid the department,
put in a great new vice president. When I became
the interim CEO. She did amazing. We passed I think
we're up to like eighteen different surveys. We passed our
Joint Commission, We passed our level when trauma we got
hit a little heart last year. I don't know, I
(04:34):
don't know if it was a coincidence, but every survey
you could think of under the sun, we had someone
the same day and we passed everything. So I really
think just putting together this great team and assembling just
people with experience that have heart that care really makes
a difference.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And it shows.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So for the first time ever, our quality scores were
you know, went up a whole grade. And we're gonna
just keep going up. You know, I strive to be
an a student. So we're gonna get there one day.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yes, yes, yes, that's a lot accomplished in a short
period of time, So very impressive. I know something also,
obviously the quality the patience is really important, but also
really the culture of the hospital, right. I know that
in your short term as CEO, you were also able
to create the care office and establish a patient care
officer and employee Engagement officer positions. Can you tell us
(05:18):
what really inspired you to create those new roles and
how they're working out?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
So, like I mentioned before with COVID, just being able
to kind of roam around the hospital, you're you know,
I wasn't just a lawyer at the time, was able
to kind of, you know, go into operations and see
what was needed. Well, first of all I think we
got away from the hospital should be you know, there
should be hospitality in the hospital. We should be trying
to treat our patients with dignity and care and their
(05:43):
visitors regardless of their ability to pay. And that's a
human right. And then that goes hand in hand with
our employees. Our employees, we should create a great environment
for them to want to come to work kind of
like iHeartMedia.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I mean, this is very nice in here.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
So we think, you know, you're spending more hours at
work than you are at any other air in your life,
your family, your house, anything like that. So we're trying
to build this relation of a foster environment that you know,
everyone feels that they're heard, everyone feels valued.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And then that in hand in hand will help us
raise our quality scores. If we have good.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Employees that want to do the right thing, it's going
to show and we're gonna we're gonna excel in our
in our patient access. So we create a care office,
a care for the first time ever, a patient care officer,
an employee engagement officer. Then we bought this thing and
we sounds silly, but the caravan, so it actually goes
to the into different health centers and we'll pick up
our patients. And that caravan went down to North Carolina
(06:36):
and we started doing community uh you know, some community outreach.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
During Hurricane Halleen.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So we had we're the only hospital in the area
that sent down a team of experts, all volunteers that
went down there for a few days and helped out.
So I mean that just says the dedication. We extended
it out of New York State. So we just have
a great team of employees.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I love that mindset. Really strategic and really smart, completely
a great The way your team feels obviously bleeds into
all the other parts of the organization hundred percent. So
really really smart work there. Speaking of improvements, I know
that you opened and you surgical wing, you relocated the
adult mental health services, You've had multiple appreciation events, and
so much more. What else are you guys doing for
(07:17):
the community. What's on the horizon?
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Ah?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, I they joke around. I always say in my uh,
in all my events, I'm like, wait, there's more, because
there really is. Truly, there's there's so much more. First
of all, that has been my saying for the whole
year that I've been at the Helm, because there's so
much more to Nasca University Medicals, so that no one
knows about. And even something like this today, trying to
get our message out the community doesn't know. So moving
(07:40):
our mental health clinic for the first time in you know, decades,
having you know, we have our patients in this old,
dilapidated building that wasn't you know, it wasn't wasn't the
best for them, wasn't great for employees. So we put
we moved that into a beautiful space and doing things
like that on the horizon. I can tell you next
week we're going to be do the ribbing cutting of
our brand new mammal Van. So we've had a mammal van.
(08:01):
We're the first one in Nashau Counyon to have one.
It's twenty two years old. It was breaking down. You know,
we looked at this, I'm like, wait a second, we
could do better, we could do better for our community.
It's you know, breast cancer is something that hits every family,
you know, every community, no matter your your your you know,
your economic status or or you know anything like that.
(08:21):
So we had our gala in November and we made
it the Pink Gala. So that was my first gala
as the CEO, and we raised five hundred and ninety
two thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Then we bought a new Mamma Van.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
So it came in and next next week we're going
to do a ribbon cutting and it has the best
state of the art technology that you'll find anywhere. So
any other hospital, hands down, you can go into this
and you'll get the best treatment, diagnostic testing, and we're
coming to you.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So we're excited about that. But there's always more on
the rise. We have a lot of.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Things coming up. I have some good partnership, strategic partnerships.
I think that's important. We don't want to shy away
from that end again, engaging with the community.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Just letting the community know what's out there.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
It's very hard, uh, you know, we have we're a
public institution, we're a standalone We're one of the only
standalone hospitals in New York State. And like I said,
you know, eighty percent of our patients are you know,
they don't pay their Medicaid Medicare, So it's it's hard.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
So just getting that message out of the community.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Like we're here for you, We're here for crisis, we're
here for prevention education.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We're doing a lot of community events.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
We had our first Safety ex Bowl last year, back
to school night with the kids, so you know, bringing
things that you can come in, you know and get
to know us, and that way when you come in
you're not afraid, you understand what's going We made the
lobby beautiful.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
We have Starbucks for the first time. We open up a.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
New, first time ever community outreach center and named the
Community Outreach Director. So you know, we're hitting things all
over the place and just trying to you know, try
to get the word out and get our message across
to the community.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I love that you've accomplished so much in a short time.
It's impressive.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I love the passion and in the in the vision
for the long term. And speaking of a kind of
piggyback off of that, what are some of your long
term goals hospital? What are some of your long term
initiatives that you want to be rolling out?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Sure? I think well, number one, changing.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I guess, our reputation in the community, and you know,
just trying to raise that, raising our quality scores and
raising just the ease of healthcare, trying to get access
to healthcare.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
And we started doing that.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah, and we were just you know, getting appointments, making
it easy that you can you can go in and
you get a follow up exam. We increased our clinic
hours nice and weekend. Starting in last September, we saw
an extra eighteen in additional eighteen thousand patients just in
that short window. We started doing just increasing services that
(10:39):
you know, we're trying to see evaluate and assess what
does the community need and that's what we need to
focus on. So you know, very briefly, we pediatric MRIs,
you know, under sedation. We started doing those a few
months ago because the other hospitals there were just a
long waiting list. So seeing where we can fit in
and do these things and offer services and not have
(10:59):
a six month waiting list. So we're doing that and
we're just valuing different things and long term again, i'd
like to uh not have to fight for funding. I'd
like the community to be aware of all of our
services and just uh and just continue doing what we're
doing and expanding our access to care.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Speaking of the community knowing about some of your services,
I also know that you guys house the firefighters Burn
Center at the Burn Union, the Burn Clinic within there.
Tell us a little bit about more about that, because
I bet a lot of people don't know that they
do not I.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Didn't know that when I first got I didn't know
that probably till I think I was three months in
and I stumbled upon it.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
I was like, what's this?
Speaker 3 (11:38):
So you know we are we work hand in hand
with our first responders as a Level one trauma center
as we have. Also we have the UH the Fire
Police Academy inside inside the hospital. And then we have
the Burn You the only Burn Union in Nasau County
and the only multi chamber, multiplace hyper barrack chamber in
Queen's Nasau Suffig And what does that mean. It's not
(12:00):
just for fires, it's also for diving accidents and for
different wounds and different things.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Multiple people can go in there.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
So if there's a mass casual, if there's multiple injuries,
multiple people. So we have that and we have a
great Burn Foundation and they're actually helping us right now
fundraise for some new equipment. And it's extraordinare and we
have these specialty nurses and doctors and plastic surgeons that
are in this unit. And again it's probably one of
the best kept secrets in Nasal County, but not anymore absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Speaking of fundraising, I know that you've been advocating and
lobbying in New York State for funding. What resistance have
you faced and how are you working to overcome that?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Well, if you told me a year ago, because I
worked for eight different CEOs over the time period, and
probably the same amount of chairman, that I would ever
be confronted with resistance and just trying to get funding.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And also I guess morphing my role into an advocate.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
I don't want to stay a lobbyist because I don't
have to do disclosures because I'm an attorney, and who's
gonna be.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
List say this?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
But uh, you know, and as an advocate, you know,
I'm willing to advocate for my employees, for my community.
This is my hospital, I live ten minutes away. This
is where my kids, you know, have been patients. I've
been a patient growing up. So we're not going anywhere.
I'm gonna make sure of it. But uh, the resistance
has been quite actually mind blowing and disappointing.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I and uh, you know, and again it's politics,
and that's sad.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
I guess you know, politics touches every corner of your life.
But you know, what have we been doing, we you know,
having just again getting the message out going where we can.
If we're if we get resistance from you know, one newspaper, Okay,
we're gonna go to five other newspapers and we're gonna
hit social media and we're we're meeting, we will sit
down and meet with anyone. I have to tell you
that we do tours of the hospital. I'll meet with
(13:44):
you know, any legislator that wants to come in, I'll
go to your office. We have we've done it, We've
brought the show on the road. But you know, I
think once, you know, listen at the end of the day.
And I don't want to make it, you know, simplistic
or naive, but I believe, you know, good wins over evil,
and uh, you know, what we're doing is good.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
We're doing good things.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
So at the end of the day, we're not gonna
be defunded, and we're gonna we're gonna succeed and we're
gonna prevail. And I have thirty six hundred positions and
people and jobs and families that depend on it, and
two hundred and ninety three thousand families that visited the
hospital last year, patients that need us. So we're gonna
we're you know, what we're doing right now is we're
just gonna work harder and stronger and faster.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
And just keep going.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
And we're gonna just assemble a great team of employees
and we're not gonna stop.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
And again, we're gonna keep evaluating.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
We're assessing, and it's hard, I'm gonna say it's very
hard on the inside with internally to to try to
keep the morale up when on the outside you know
you're you're being there, hearing, Are you closing?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Are you getting defunded?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
We didn't get one dollar last year and funding from
New York State, which is you know, very disappointing. But
I'm again, I think everything will be worked out and rectified.
We have a lot of great legislators on both sides
of the aisle that are uh are are looking to
help us, and UH again, we're not going to.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Our community needs us. We're the only what.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
We just mentioned right now, we're the only water bursting center.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
We're the only burn you in it. You know we're
not we need the community needs us.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So good Yepp, Well, I feel very confident with you
leading the way that it will be a very positive
outcome there.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So, Megan, let's talk a little bit about yourself. What
advice would you give anyone tuning in that's an inspiring
CEO or maybe just starting off in the healthcare space.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Well, first of all, you know, you don't have to
be an aspiring CEO. I speak at every orientation that
we do for new employees every month, and I point
to the seat that I sat in ten years ago,
and I was like, I was just trying to make
it through the year.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
I never thought I would stay.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
It was very you know, something new to me where
I'm a lawyer working at a hospital. But you never
know what your what your career or your path is
going to, your journey's going to be. And I would say,
just keep working hard and believe in yourself again, you know,
believe in the work that you're doing and don't doubt yourself.
I think it's very easy, especially when you have a
lot of naysayers. I have New York State telling me
(15:59):
now and I'm like, no, you're wrong, We're right. So
I think if you just, you know, keep doing the
right thing, be true to your values that you were
believe in.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
And uh, I think you know, that's that's what I
would say. Number one.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Number two, maybe try to have some fun with it. Uh,
you know, we're trying. You know, it's hard times, especially
in the field that we're in, but you get some
good people around you. You have a few laughs too.
And if you I tell you, I love what I do.
I don't consider it work. And I love the people
I work with and I and I just love what
we do. And I'm so proud of what they're doing.
It's easy for me to go out and advocate for them.
(16:31):
They're doing the hard work. They're the doctors, the nurses,
the evs, stay aff facilities, they're they're they're seeing the patients.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
They're the ones that have to go in and talk
to their families.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
And and and treat, you know, the wounds and illnesses.
But I'm behind them saying, listen this, look what they're doing.
And I'm you know, I'm the number one cheerleader.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
So uh.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
At that point, I think, just you know, just don't
give up and keep keep working hard and just try
to enjoy well well as it's as it's happening.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
Yeah, I love that. That's great advice.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Looking back at your career, has there been one experience,
one lesson that really stood out that you're grateful for
that really has shaped you to the leader you are today.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Well, I had a few.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I will say over the over the over the When
you say decade, I feel old, but I will say
over the past few months especially, I will just mention.
About a year ago, last May, we had, uh, we
had a little girl coming the same age as my
daughter on a Friday night to the emergency room and
she was she was mulled by one of her dogs
and she was in uh she was in foster care,
(17:34):
and uh, you know, we got to know her and
she went into our hyperbarrack chamber for the wounds, and
she was with us for about a month.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
We had a birthday party there. She had a new
set of.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Foster parents that came uh that that took her home,
and we really, uh, you know, bonded with this girl
and our whole staff. I mean, this is just that's
and that's when you see just how great our staff is.
You don't have to even mention you have nurses coming in,
uh you know, because we you know, whether we whether
we have children in that age or or or nieces
or nephews or whatnot, you can relate.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
So we kept in touch with.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Her and and this one girl, you know, she's one
of probably a dozen, you know, children especially that we
got to meet over the past year. And uh, when
I when I get down or I think, you know,
what am I doing this for? I'm like, wait, we
got to do this for you know, these people and
these kids they need us. And I still talk to
her to this day, and and she came to our
(18:26):
gala and and you know, we're gonna stay in touch
and we're gonna make sure that she's okay.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
And there's so many.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Of these people, these and these children like this, So
I guess that's my I'm grateful that I met her,
and I'm grateful that I was able to help her,
even if we're just for a little bit.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So and we're grateful that you guys were able to
help her as well. We'll talk about inspiration to keep
to keep pushing and fighting and really, uh have that visual.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And that's I'm sorry. That's why it frustrates me.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And I wish that the people that have the the
purse strings would come down. They refuse to meet with us,
they refuse to uh take a meeting or take a
tour or you know, see see these patients, because I
think that we would one hundred percent change their mind
once you do a tour with us.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
We had a few over the summer with uh, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
People in big positions, They're like, we didn't know you
were doing all this, You're doing a great job.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
I'm like, can you put that in writing?
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Could you?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Could you put that source?
Speaker 3 (19:16):
So I think, you know, if if people would just
give us a chance and open their minds and hearts,
I think they would be very proud of the work
that we're doing. Well.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Absolutely should be very proud.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
I am, I am.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
We talked about a lot today.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Is there anything we might have missed or is there
a key takeaway that you want everyone that's tuning in
to know about your mission?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
That's a lot, okay, baby.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Now, I think healthcare is a right, especially uh you know,
I think no, I know it is. And I think
just being able to treat people with dignity and respect
is a human right and that's something that we should
preserve and we should celebrate. And I think, you know,
that's our mission and we're doing that every day and
that should be respected. And I think, you know, that's
(20:01):
something that we need to do better at. Uh, I
guess locally and and and just uh just making sure
that we take care of each other.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
So I guess that that was my takeaway.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Yeah, if anyone and that so needs numic of course,
that's right.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
If anyone is tuning in, wants to find out more
or they want to help in any way.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
What is the best call to action.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Oh, I've done a few this year, and I've gotten
trouble a few of them. But I would say if
you can call your legislators wherever you live in New
York State and say, you know, please find NASA University
Medical Center. We don't need to stay takeover. We need
local control over our own healthcare. For information, up to
(20:45):
date things, our social media has all the facts. Our website,
we put documents out there. I pump things out all
you know, once a week.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
It's NAS.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
It's uh ww dot n U, MC dot E d
U and uh of course I know our information on
the website. You could always contact me. I don't want
to minimize this, but I'll talk to anyone about how
great we're doing in the hospital. So you know, we're
we're eager to uh to talk to community groups, meet
with anyone if any's any questions and just get the facts.
(21:13):
So we're you know, we're happy to chat with anybody.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
That's awesome. Well, Megan, thank you so much for coming.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Thank you, thank you, appreciate you telling your story, learning
more about you as an individual, but it's definitely inspiring
to see your passion and your drive for all the
amazing work that you're doing with the hospital. So congratulations
to you and your entire team. Thank you so much
and look forward to seeing what's next. Thank you, More
to come, more to come. Absolutely, thank you everybody for
tuning into this week's edition of CEOs You Should Know
(21:39):
tune in next week.
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