Listen to this article 3 min
Doctors, nurses, and other health care practitioners are there at some of the best and worst moments of our lives — when babies are born, when pain is relieved, when we learn our loved ones are gravely ill or have died. We place our physical and mental burdens into their care. We place our trust in them and give them our hopes and fears. And this is why, for a quarter century, MBJ has honored these medical professionals in our annual Health Care Heroes awards.
Here are the finalists in the Administrative Excellence category of the 2023 Health Care Heroes.
Cristina Duncan
EVP of Operations and Clinical Services, Travel Nurses Inc.
Volunteering through the American Red Cross at a hospital when she was young, Cristina Duncan knew that her passion and calling was nursing.
With 30-plus years in the field, she believes that respect for nursing increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic — but there’s still room to go for nurses to not be considered subordinate to other medical professionals.
As every day offers Duncan a new set of challenges and priorities, she’d remind those entering nursing that it’s a field of hills and valleys, encouraging them to consider their passion about patient care that led them to this calling.
One of her favorite ways to give back is through her daily work of direct involvement in the lives of nurses. Duncan also loves rewarding nurses through recognition programs and awards, including nominating them for the DAISY Award, which recognizes an extraordinary act of compassion or care a nurse has created with a patient.
If you could change one thing about your field in the health care industry, what would it be?
Over the years, there’s been a dramatic shift away from direct hospital-staffing agency relationships. It’s now almost impossible to provide health care staff to hospitals without a third-party vendor’s involvement. This shift has taken away relationship-building opportunities with the hospitals that was necessary for ongoing trust. There are now barriers in every aspect of the recruitment and hiring process that makes it difficult to quickly provide the necessary help hospitals need.
I would love for the health care staffing industry to go back to more simple times, where we were able to build these relationships directly, through a simple contract and a phone call.
Teresa Hartnett
Senior associate dean of Finance and Administration, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Seeing the powerful impact of education on people’s lives, Teresa Hartnett loves that her role supports the education of future doctors and health care professionals “who will help take care of all of us.”
A typical day involves “working with brilliant people — faculty physicians, researchers, staff, and students — who continuously challenge me to even greater excellence.” She adds that a common misconception about her work is that it’s all spreadsheets. But that’s only part of her role — troubleshooting with colleagues, striving to advance UTHSC’s missions, is also a main priority.
Hartnett advises getting to know the world of faculty for anyone joining her field. She suggests attending or giving lectures, learning from others’ perspectives, and remembering that while it’s a financial role, the org’s missions are paramount. She enjoys giving back to her profession by participating on committees of the American Association of Medical Colleges’ Group on Business Affairs.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
That’s simple: the missions. Educating the health care workforce for Tennessee. Advancing research and discovery. Delivering quality care. Engaging with our communities to improve health and well-being.
If you could change one thing about your field in the health care industry, what would it be? Health care finance in the United States is problematic, with distortions in the market that make care challenging. If I could wave a magic wand, I’d realign incentives and payment structures to ease the financial burden of health care for our community, while valuing the hard work and commitment of our faculty physicians and all providers.
Linda Hughlett
SVP and chief nursing officer, Regional One Health
Linda Hughlett’s favorite part of her job is improving the care she and Regional One Health give and developing the nursing team to meet the requirements of today’s health care needs. That means overseeing day-to-day operations for the inpatient nursing department — not only working with nursing leaders and their teams, but serving as the senior leadership nursing representative.
There are three common misconceptions about her field that Hughlett would like to address: that due to the nursing shortage, it’s easy to get a hospital job; being a nurse is easy; and men have no desire to be a nurse.
Her career-defining moment was beginning her journey as a nurse leader, specifically as a chief nursing officer.
“This opportunity has allowed me to end my career by leading and mentoring others at the highest level,” Hughlett said.
That also happens to be part of how she gives back to the community: training the next generation of nurses.
What advice would you give someone entering your field?
Be a change agent and use the technology available, coupled with the skills that you have been taught, to enhance the care you give to those committed into your care.
If you could change one thing about your field in the health care industry, what would it be?
If the nursing profession is going to regain its respect, we must have standards. We must build processes, practices, and even culture to be advantageous for the patients we serve, while supporting those executing care. Reigniting the pride we once had for nursing is necessary for the survival of the profession. Simply put, get “back to the basics.”
Nathalie Occean
Chief operating officer, MedHaul
Though being a clinical provider wasn’t for her, Nathalie Occean found health care administration to be a perfect fit, allowing her to still impact the delivery of care from an administrative perspective. Overseeing all the company’s functional areas, she helps her team navigate how its services impact clinical outcomes.
“I feel validated in the work I do daily, especially at MedHaul, where I constantly hear stories of how much the work we do is needed,” Occean said.
She advises those entering the field to be open to new opportunities.
“Health care is so vast!” she said.
And she gives back through involvement with the National Association of Health Services Executives, as a member of the national board and chair of two committees. She also mentors up-and-comers, always keeping lines of communication open.
If you could change one thing about your field in the health care industry, what would it be?
I wish we were truly focused on improving health outcomes for all.
The current health care system is modeled around reactive care, [but] proactive care is where the biggest change can be seen.
Reactive care is costly, whereas investing in proactive care supports economic development across all industries.
When people are healthy, they can actively and more consistently contribute to their communities and society at large. Many people are in health care because we want to have a positive impact but often are deviated from that north star because of other priorities that are frankly driven by dollars that don’t often make sense in the frame of putting patients first.
Sally Pace
CEO, Connect Healthcare Collaboration
On any given day, Sally Pace has the privilege of leading the company’s teams of four business lines: benefits marketing, clinical advocacy, enrollment and onboarding, and a platform called The Granite List.
She loves that she gets “to engage with the most brilliant minds and learn from them.” For example, she and her team are designing and publishing a book for the Validation Institute and Walmart on former HR icon Tom Emerick.
Connect Healthcare Collaboration’s platform innovation, The Granite List, allows benefits leaders to search and source thousands of wellness apps and digital solutions in real time, during point of interest or need. It saves time, increases knowledge, and levels the playing field among new and emerging solutions and older ones that have brand recognition.
“We built The Granite List to do for the benefits arena what OpenTable does for restaurants,” Pace said.
Through The Granite List, users can easily find a specialty drug carveout, see info about Centers of Excellence, read or leave reviews, and much more.
If you could change one thing about your field in the health care industry, what would it be?
Transparency in fees. This is a massive problem — health care is one of the only industries where you aren’t sure what you’re going to have to pay until after services are rendered.
Can you imagine this scenario? Three people are in line at Subway, and each orders the same sandwich, same toppings, same size. Customer one pays $6, customer two pays $7.50, and customer three pays $5.67? We wouldn’t stand for it.
It’s time we do the same in health care.
Finalists for MBJ's 2023 Health Care Heroes awards