E147 How Jefferson Health Is Redefining Clinical Excellence with Dr. Trisha Henwood, MD

In this powerful and wide-ranging conversation, Michael Stamatinos welcomes Dr. Trisha Henwood, Chief Clinical Officer at Jefferson Health, to the Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show for a masterclass in clinical leadership, system transformation, and values-driven innovation.

With responsibility for the clinical operations of a 32-hospital system, Dr. Henwood is pioneering what clinical excellence looks like in a world shaped by complexity, constrained resources, and the need for rapid yet thoughtful change. Her leadership has been tested and proven in the most demanding environments, including Jefferson’s nationally recognized OnPoint program and her global health work responding to Ebola and COVID-19.

This episode explores how to scale innovation with intention, design sustainable systems of care, and lead teams through uncertainty with clarity, conviction, and compassion. Michael and Dr. Henwood dive deep into the operating system behind high-performing health organizations and what it takes to build a culture that thrives, even under pressure.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

* What it truly means to lead through crisis, and why composure is more effective than control

* How Jefferson Health operationalizes resiliency engineering across teams and functions

* Why understanding a problem deeply is the first step in driving sustainable innovation

* How working in resource-limited global environments shaped Dr. Henwood’s approach to care delivery in the U.S.

* What makes innovation "implementation ready" and how to recognize the right time to scale

* The importance of interdisciplinary teams, and how trust and relationship equity accelerate progress

* A thoughtful take on whether dashboards, strategic retreats, and leadership books are useful or distractions

* Practical advice Dr. Henwood gives to rising leaders, especially those feeling overwhelmed or uncertain about their path

Dr. Henwood also shares how parenting, mentorship, and years of front-line experience have shaped her ability to lead complex systems with grace and precision. This is a conversation grounded in both global perspective and deep operational expertise.

Whether you are a health system executive, policy leader, clinician, or innovator working to improve the future of care, this conversation is rich with insight and grounded wisdom.

Timestamps

0:00 – Welcome and introduction

2:40 – Early global health work and pivotal moments

5:45 – Innovating with limited resources

10:00 – Creating consistency while honoring local nuance

13:30 – Resiliency engineering at Jefferson Health

20:00 – Leading through challenge and staying composed

24:00 – Designing for sustainability and system-wide change

32:00 – Overrated or underrated: leadership tools and strategies

35:30 – The evolving role of mentorship

38:00 – Closing thoughts and where to learn more

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Thank you for being part of this community. Together, we’re advancing healthcare by amplifying the voices of those who are doing the work with purpose and integrity.

The Advancing Healthcare Innovation Show started with the idea of wanting to highlight stories of what healthcare innovation truly looks like in action. Our mission, highlight real people who are really innovating within healthcare. Guests include healthcare entrepreneurs, providers, payers, and professionals from the investment community. We showcase little wins as well as valuable lessons learned from setbacks through these interviews. The real innovators in healthcare are often the ones in the trenches doing the work with razor-sharp focus. We find these innovators and bring their stories to light.

Find out more about how we are building bridges within healthcare. Join our group, Advancing Healthcare Innovation Forum on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7056196/