Leading with Purpose, Empathy and People with Loudrige Jean-Philippe

In this episode, Loudrige Jean-Philippe, MBA, Chief Operating Officer at Palm Beach Health Network Physician Group, shares her journey from frontline care to executive leadership, insights on balancing empathy and accountability, and her focus on digital transformation and workforce resilience in today's healthcare environment.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast.
My name is Chanel Banger. Today, I'm thrilled
to speak with Ludrich Jean Philip, the chief
operating officer at Palm Beach Health Network physician
group, who joins the podcast today to share
insights in her background, health care attorneys she's
keeping her eye on, leadership advice, and a
bit more. Ludridge, thank you so much for
joining me. Could you get us started out

(00:21):
by introducing yourself and telling us a bit
about your background and organization?
Hi. Thank you, Chanel. It's a pleasure to
be here. My name is Ludridge Jean Philip.
I am the chief operating officer at Palm
Beach Health Network Physician Group, part of Tenet
Healthcare.
My focus is on operational excellence, strategy execution,

(00:41):
and performance management.
A little bit background on Palm Beach Network.
Palm Beach Health Network physician group is one
of the fastest growing physician groups in Southeast
Florida.
We're passionate about expanding access to care and
improving the health and wellness of the communities
we serve.
We are mission driven, and our mission is

(01:03):
to improve the life of every patient who
enters our door.
228
physicians and ATPs,
29 specialties,
proudly with a 4.8
PFS course, which means our team of physicians,
APPs, and team members provide
excellent patient experience.

(01:24):
Perfect. Thank you so much for the introduction.
Now digging a bit deeper into your background
and your leadership approach,
can you talk about what personal experiences has
shaped your approach to leadership in health care?
Yes.
My journey started in high school.
I was part of a health science program,
and that lit the spark. I had the

(01:45):
opportunity
to spend time in nursing homes, hospitals, and
even funeral homes.
My very first
job was in a small community pharmacy.
I worked the front desk and I saw
firsthand
just how personal and complex health care is,
even at on the smallest scale.

(02:06):
In college, I worked front office at my
university clinic, checking students
and patients in and out, filing charts,
the days of the charts.
Eventually, I became an ultrasound tech working in
a radiology,
the ER and patient units and, outpatient clinics.
That job was hands on. Doing ultrasound studies,

(02:29):
assisting our radiologists,
and even other doctors with procedures
pushing that heavy machine ultrasound around.
But even more than that,
it was hard first. I got to spend
quality time,
you know, with patients
and that had significant impact on my life
in terms
of human connection and getting to know and

(02:50):
understand
joyful moment,
and then see the emotional side of health
care up close. Every patient,
again, some of their worst moments
with cancer and some of that happiest
happiest moments,

(03:11):
just as, for example, pregnancy confirmation.
Back then, really, I wasn't thinking about operations
or strategy.
I was just focused on doing good studies,
helping people, delivering good care,
and having fun with my within my department.
That experience, though, it grounded me.
But over time over time, I started noticing

(03:33):
the bigger picture, how workflows,
communication,
and leadership decisions
impacted
both the patient experience
and staff experience.
So that curiosity,
I would say, led me into management,
and then now leadership roles and eventually
into operations.
So to this day, however, I carry

(03:56):
that frontline perspective with me.
It reminds me that every data point we
look at is connected to a real person,
you know, whether it's a patient
or a team member.
That's amazing. I love that you truly grew
up professionally in health care.
And now we all know that health care
is a fast moving, fast paced thing,

(04:18):
and there's always something going on
particularly today. But with that, can you share
some mindset or habits that have helped you
stay strong as a leader during health care's
most challenging moments?
And in times of crisis, what strategies have
you used to keep your teams focused and
motivated?
Oh, great question.
So

(04:38):
when pressure is high,
and I have to say we're living in
those days now,
I believe it's about,
resilience,
clarity,
and leading with empathy.
Solid operational performance
and metric matters. Of course. That's my life,
literally. Like, that's that's my life as an

(04:58):
operator. We track things like throughput, quality,
patient experience,
employee engagement,
and growth.
But
truly,
it's how we get there that defines us.
One thing, I've learned is that in time
of crisis, people don't need perfection. Over the

(05:19):
years,
I've been in health care
and in a management, they need leadership. They
need someone who's calm,
honest, and present. I I mean, grew up
and from practice manager,
one administrator, and now here, here we are.
Truly, they need someone who's calm, honest, and

(05:39):
present. Someone who explains the why,
not just the what.
It's also important to push for innovation, operational
discipline, and cross
functional collaboration,
but I believe never at the expense of
human connection
because, ultimately, a strong leader
doesn't just drive outcomes, they sustain the people

(06:00):
delivering them. And, also, for me, faith and
discipline keep me steady.
I, start each morning with reflection and intention.
And if I'm not grounded, I can't expect
my team to be.
I would like a story that have stayed
with me over the many years, Janelle. I
remember

(06:21):
a patient had been waiting over an hour,
passed their appointment time.
They were upset.
A front desk team member
overwhelmed
called the supervisor.
Okay? And instead of approaching with empathy, the
supervisor led with authority.
And that's when I realized leadership is not

(06:41):
about asserting control,
it's about creating connection
even under pressure.
There's something we do now in our practices.
It's called I am the patient experience where
we are there for the patients no matter
what,
good or bad. And and and in times
when
the visit didn't go well,

(07:03):
how can we better create
a patient experience and what service recovery we
have in place to ensure
that that doesn't happen again? And we took
care of that patient.
Got it. Got it. And now you've, mentioned
leading with empathy.
Can you kind of expand on that and
talk about how do you balance
compassion and accountability to drive high quality results?

(07:28):
Yes. So leading with empathy and also balancing
compassion and accountability,
another great question.
It starts with culture.
Accountability
and compassion,
they're not opposites. They're really partners when you
think about it.
Like,
we hold our team to high standards.

(07:49):
So for example, when things get hard
and, again, we're in those times, staffing issues,
workforce
challenges,
and ensuring that we keep turnover at
the lowest as possible,
lots of change management,
consistency,
and transparency goes a long way.

(08:10):
The best results to me when balancing compassion
and accountability and to get the results
that's needed,
it's when people feel valued, they feel supported
and part of something bigger.
And it's not an option to do it
sometimes. It's continuous.
Like, for example, we meet with our team

(08:31):
weekly
to keep them connected to the mission and
to us.
Team members
such as
practice leaders,
administrators,
they're expected to meet with their providers
in a month on a monthly basis. Of
course, they work with them on a day
to day basis,
but the minimum monthly

(08:52):
review is to provide a full overview of
practice operations to the physician, to the APP.
And then for us leaders too,
weekly rounding is part of our culture.
And my job as a leader is to
set the bar and to to give the
team
the tools and the trust,
the belief that they can reach

(09:14):
that high quality results.
Right?
So being there, being transparent, and being consistent.
Got it. And now we've talked about how
health care has always has a lot going
on, but can you talk about the trends
that you're currently watching in your role today?
And what are you most focused on in
the next six to twelve months?

(09:34):
Yeah. So I'm I'm watching two things closely.
I think we most people in health care
are.
That's digital transformation.
Right? And the other one for me is
workforce
resilience.
On the tech side,
AI and digital
first patient experience are changing how we deliver

(09:55):
care.
But at the same time, the people behind
those systems are physicians.
Frontline teams need support like never before.
So, yes, the future is data driven. We
all know that, and it's digitally integrated.
But I believe it also has
to be deeply human centered.
For me, we rolled out AI for our

(10:17):
team and have gotten
positive feedback,
and we're continuing to monitor all you utilization.
And it is at the national
level.
We're happy with our progress.
And the other thing I say I would
be focused on, I'm focused on growth,
which is strategic
meaningful growth. Personality, of course. Right? We all

(10:40):
have we we we continue to grow as
leaders and then also
strategic meaningful growth
for our team.
Absolutely.
And now we begin our conversation
speaking about leadership, so it's only fitting that
we end it the same way.
And I could tell in a short conversation
that we've had so far that you're extremely

(11:02):
passionate about what you do. And with that,
can you maybe share some advice that you
would give to evolving health care leaders maybe
looking to have that same passion and drive
in their careers as you? And what's one
leadership lesson you wish you learned earlier?
Another great question, Chanel.
No. I would say advice to give to
evolving leaders,

(11:23):
no matter what.
No matter what, rise above it. There is
power within.
Also, stay grounded and keep learning.
Treat people with dignity and communicate with respect,
and don't underestimate
the power of showing up with purpose
every day.

(11:44):
Don't underestimate
the power of believing in yourself and also
the power
of others believing in you
and then also in your growth potential.
I'm grateful throughout my career for my family
and leaders
who believed in me. I mean, I I
was thinking back in the beginning of my
career, Tony.

(12:06):
I work in a private practice,
then Ted, Marcela,
Pat, and my now CEO, Eric,
and other mentors
who believed in me. I did not get
here alone. So don't underestimate the power of
first believing in yourself
and also the power of others believing in

(12:27):
you.
Simplify things in chaos.
Be consistent. Be intentional.
Leadership is not about being the loudest
voice in the room.
Leadership is about bringing clarity.
And I guess, an advice, a lesson I
wish I'd learned earlier,
network, network, network,

(12:49):
and don't chase titles. I I had the
opportunity to speak to a group of graduate
students
this past week. And one of the things
I shared with them is don't chase titles.
Chase impact.
Be patient with yourself
and lead through example.
Excellent advice. Well, Ludrin, that's a perfect place

(13:11):
to end today. I wanna thank you once
again for your time today and for sharing
your insights on the Becker's Healthcare podcast. Thank
you so much.
Awesome. Thank you so much. Thanks for having
me, Chanel.