HAP's 2024 Workforce Summit

Summit Registration and Continential Breakfast
 

Welcome Remarks
Nicole Stallings, President and Chief Executive Offer, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania
 

How to Improve Engagement and Spark Innovation through Humility and Ambition
Amer Kaissi, Professor of Healthcare Administration, Trinity University

In the post-COVID world of emotional exhaustion, staffing shortages and financial challenges, improving employee engagement and sparking their innovation and creativity is an uphill battle for most leaders. In this session, Amer shows that leaders who have the confidence to make hard decisions in uncertain environments and the humility to admit mistakes, can better connect with their team members, while empowering them to integrate novel ideas into how they solve problems. Building on the latest research evidence and his experience as a coach with high-level executives, he makes a convincing argument that humbitious and open-minded leadership is the best way to lead in difficult times. He provides specific take-home behaviors for leaders to implement immediately and transform the way they lead.
 

Strengthening the Health Care Workforce—Innovative Strategies

Moderator:

• Paula Agosto, RN, MHA, SVP & System Chief Nursing Officer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Panelists:

• Kimberly Brister, MBA, CPDC, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, WellSpan Health
• Melissa Ferraro, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Allegheny Health Network
• Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, EVP/Connelly Foundation Chief Nurse Executive Officer for Jefferson Health, Professor and Associate Dean for the Jefferson College of  Nursing
• Michael Makosky, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer, Fulton County Medical Center

A talented, qualified, engaged and diverse workforce is at the heart of America’s health care system. However, hospitals and health systems face mounting workforce challenges, including critical staffing shortages, which could jeopardize access to care in the communities they serve. During this session, we will hear from a panel who will discuss current challenges and share strategies to grow the talent pipeline, optimize care, and leverage community partnerships.
 

Networking Break
 

Ignite Talks: Training the Next Generation: Developing Career Pathways
 

Building the Pipeline: Apprenticeship Programs and Community Partnerships
Victoria Montero, MPH, Network Director, Community Workforce Development, Department of Community Health, St. Luke’s University Health Network

Hospitals and health systems are leading the way in growing the next generation of health care professionals to care for Pennsylvanians and our communities. St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) created an apprenticeship program through community partnership that provides on-the-job training for English language learning individuals with low-income and gives them the opportunity to enter the medical field. During this session, you will learn how to implement interventions to address health care worker shortages including the creation of pipeline programs that engage learners about health care careers.
 

Addressing Health Care Shortages: Emerging Career Program 
Kenya Pitt, Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Penn Medicine-Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
    
Penn Presbyterian’s Emerging Career Pathways Program opens the doors to opportunity and connects recent graduates from West Philadelphia high schools to employment opportunities within Penn Medicine by providing them with extra coaching, training, and mentoring. During this session, you will learn how to implement strategies to better reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the workforce and address health care worker shortages by creating pipeline programs that engage high school students about careers in health care.
 

Preparing Physicians in Rural Areas: Innovative Workforce Residency Program  
John N. Boll, Jr. DO, FAAFP, Program Director, UPMC Rural Family Medicine Residency, Associate Director, UPMC Williamsport Family Medicine Residency

The UPMC Rural Medicine Residency Program serves as a vital link between the health care needs of the local community and the training of future family medicine physicians. The residency is designed to provide comprehensive medical education and training to doctors who wish to specialize in family medicine with a focus on rural health care. During this session, you’ll learn how to develop an innovative program that prepares physicians and other health care professionals in rural areas by training them in communities where they would work. 
 

Building an Effective Return to Work Residency Program 
Heather Franci, Chief Nursing Officer, Penn Highlands Health Care

Penn Highlands Return to Work Residency Program is an accelerated educational option that focuses on nurses who already have completed a nursing degree program. It focuses on courses that will assist nurses who have been out of the field for a significant amount of time to regain the necessary knowledge to care for patients again. By utilizing the experience and knowledge already gained, the program eliminates portions of a typical college curriculum. During this session, you’ll learn how to develop an innovative program for nurses to build on the skills they already have while acquiring knowledge needed to provide patients with the highest level of care. 
 

Networking Lunch
 

Creative Staffing: The Role of AI in Improving Productivity & Reducing Burnout
Cristal Mackay, Vice President, Customer Success, Workforce AI, Aya Healthcare

Nurse burnout remains a central concern for leaders striving to enhance retention and elevate patient outcomes. While many nurse leaders are undergoing organizational and policy changes to address burnout, AI-enabled technology may be an additional tool in your burnout toolkit that shouldn’t be overlooked. This session will explore the potential of technology to alleviate burnout and enhance the well-being of managers, clinicians, and patients. During this session, you will learn how to develop a holistic approach to nurse well-being and job satisfaction, explore practical AI tools and platforms to balance workload and improve productivity, address concerns and ethical considerations with AI, and develop strategies and best practices for implementing technology.
 

Ignite Talks: Virtual Strategies to Enable Better Care
 

Developing Competencies in Providing Virtual Intensive Care 
Christopher LaCoe, DBA, RN, FACHE, Penn State Health, Vice President, Virtual Health, Penn State College of Medicine, Assistant Professor, Surgery & Public Health Sciences
                
In the past year alone, virtual care at Penn State Health expanded from its base of board-certified critical care physicians and critical care nursing services to include respiratory therapy and emergency room care. During this session, you will learn how to develop competencies in providing virtual intensive care and gain additional clinical expertise and experience in providing these services respond to the unique needs of the ICU patient. 
 

Advancing Nursing Practices and Patient Safety Through Technology
Fallon Hughes, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, Senior Director of Nursing Practice, Innovation, Research & EBP, WellSpan Health
Amanda Nye, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Director of Nursing, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital

The nursing workforce challenges call for the use of technology to advance nursing practice, enhance patient safety, and boost nurse retention. Hear from the team at Wellspan as they discuss their Artisight platform and learn how to enable team members to provide quicker responses to patient requests, improve patient safety, reduce strain, streamline administrative tasks, create more support at the bedside, and improve employee engagement and satisfaction.
 

Networking Break
 

Ignite Talks: Retention and Wellness
 

Strategies to Enhance Workplace Safety
John K. Oast, Jr., MS, CHPA, Director, Security Training and Special Programs, Geisinger Health System

The health care profession has become a most dangerous environment with regard to workplace violence, with 75 percent of all workplace violence occurring in he health care setting. During this session, participants will learn from how to establish a security officer field training program, leverage multiple technology assets, and gain tangible next steps for implementing new safety strategies.
 

Easing The Transition for New Graduates: Nurse Residency Program
Joanna Dixon, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CEN, Lead Clinical Nurse Educator, Nurse Residency and Onboarding

The nursing residency program at Main Line Health is a year-long program designed to ease the transition to practice for new graduate nurses in their first professional role. Emphasis is given to nursing leadership behaviors, nurse-driven outcomes, and professional development. The curriculum is designed to enhance the graduates’ critical thinking skills and their ability to use outcome data to promote patient safety. During this session, you’ll learn how to create a nurse residency program to assist new or recent graduate nurses in the transition from student nurse to professional nurse. 
 

Next Generation Approach for a Sustainable Workforce
 

The Learning Curve: Workforce Initiatives Outside of Health Care
Terry Wiltrout, President, Washington Health System Greene & Board Chair of the Pennsylvania State Workforce Board

Hospitals and health systems continue to face acute workforce challenges. Competition for labor remains intense, particularly for nurses. Staffing costs are skyrocketing, especially in small rural hospitals that often find it hard to attract workers. During this session, we will hear Terry Wiltrout, President of Washington Health System Greene and Board Chair for the Pennsylvania Workforce Board, who discuss new ways of thinking about the health care workforce by learning how to adapt change, build community support with outside partners and your hospital, and analyze strategies to enhance workforce initiatives.
 

Adjourn