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In the 10 years that Pete November served as chief financial officer of Ochsner Health, he was at the side of then-CEO Warner Thomas, helping negotiate a series of acquisitions and partnerships that expanded the health system’s footprint from eight hospitals and 38 clinics in 2012 to 48 hospitals and over 300 clinics today.
Now, November is in the driver’s seat. He was tapped late last year to succeed Thomas, who stepped down to lead California-based Sutter Health System.
As he settles into his new role, November is trying to manage Ochsner’s growth while keeping a lid on rising health care costs, addressing worker shortages and continuing to develop wellness and other care facilities around the Gulf South.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
It’s only been a couple of months since you took over as CEO, but do you have any more specifics on new developments, growth plans, that you will be leading in the year ahead?
We are always looking at different opportunities to increase the number of patients in the markets we’re in, but I am really focused on how do we provide the best possible patient care in the markets we are already in — how do we make sure our providers have the best possible resources they need. While I am focused on growth, I am very focused on making sure our operations are optimized and the best they can possibly be.
You have stepped into some big shoes. Has it been stressful trying to figure out how to fill them?
I really don’t think so. I guess I have been here a long time and have always felt a responsibility to make sure the organization is successful and that we are doing the right thing for our patients in the community. I have felt that responsibility for a long time. One of the things is that as you go out and spend more time with the organization, you realize it’s not all on you.
With LCMC’s recent acquisition of Tulane University’s hospitals, New Orleans is just a two-provider market with two giant systems — Ochsner and LCMC. Is that a good thing for the patients and for the market more generally?
Obviously, I am aware of that transaction, but I don’t get up in the morning and think about what LCMC is doing or what other providers are doing. We get up and see what we need to do to be the best organization we can be.
The trend toward consolidation really varies from market to market and organization to organization. If an organization continues to focus on the right things, regardless of consolidation, then there can be lots of good things that result from it.
Rising health care costs continue to be a huge challenge confronting health care organizations. How is Ochsner dealing with this and trying to help its patients?
As you know, the workforce challenges in health care are significant. I’ve worked in different aspects of health care and I have never seen anything like this. All of my peers would say the same thing. So that is driving up costs. We also have inflation and all the post-pandemic cost pressures.
We believe we need to continue pushing in a direction where we are taking risk and doing everything we can do to help people manage their care so they are not ending up in our facilities. That means engaging in wellness, investing in our clinics and digital technology and all sorts of other things to make sure they do not end up in our emergency departments and hospitals. The only way to drive down costs, ultimately, is to manage care more proactively.
Since you mention workforce challenges, what are you doing to attract and retain workers and where are the shortages most acute?
I would say it’s across the board. Certainly, nursing is a significant part of it, but it is across the board so you are seeing us investing in different workforce programs to grow the pipeline of nurses and assistants.
We are also spending a lot of time around leadership development, employee recognition, doing everything we can to create the place where people want to be.
What about pay increases?
Absolutely. They have gone up significantly, and we have made lots of pay adjustments. We look at that daily.
Later this year, Ochsner will open its new clinic and ambulatory care facility at Clearview. It also has wellness services and a spa. Are we going to see more of these popping up around the market?
There is absolutely a greater shift in health care toward outpatients and ambulatory care. As an organization, you have to be great at inpatient care and there is a huge need for that. But to be successful, we know now you have to have these outpatient ambulatory care points. The Grove in Baton Rouge is a good example. Clearview is a good example. It’s where health care is headed, and for us, it’s a market-by-market thing.
We are always looking at that but we don’t have another one planned today for this market.
Ochsner also has several adult-care clinics around the state, including one on the north shore and in Baton Rouge. Will we see more of those in the near future?
I think you will see more of those clinics and that is not unique to Louisiana. Those types of clinics are being built in many different locations and I think what we have seen is that the patient experience is great in those settings because physicians have more time to help work with their patients to manage chronic diseases and the unique types of services the population may need.
So, the outcomes are better, and the access is easier and we’re keeping people healthy and at home enjoying their lives. So these are definitely a priority and we have several under construction.
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