Patient-Focused

Regional Health’s new chief operating officer weighs patient needs in all decisions

BY KAYLA PRASEK

Davidson’s career in health care started when she was still in high school working in housekeeping at a hospital. She says she quickly learned how things work in a hospital setting. “There was something about the environment that I liked.” While earning her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Davidson continued working in health care, including in positions as a patient financial services file clerk, admitting counselor and switchboard operator. “I was doing everything I could to learn about a health care organization,” she says.

Davidson’s first job out of college was as an assistant in a clinic business office, where she eventually became business manager. Davidson then took on leadership roles at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, Ill., and Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion. She has also served as chief operating officer and vice president of hospital operations at Indiana University Health Goshen Hospital in Goshen and CEO of Nebraska Medicine’s Bellevue Medical Center in Bellevue.

Davidson came to Regional Health from Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where she was chief human capital and patient experience officer. “The opportunity (in this position) is what led me here,” Davidson says. “I came from a much larger organization, but this offers something more unique. We provide patient care in a wide range of settings, and we’re able to care for a patient on the whole continuum. Because of that, it’s important we provide great, low-cost care.”

As chief operating officer, Davidson says her focus is to “ensure our teams are moving in the same direction to meet the priorities our organization has set.” It also includes “identifying which services we’re providing in each community we’re in and which services we aren’t providing. Over the next 12 months, we will see what our expansion plans will be. We’ll be seeing some of the largest building projects for the organization in years.”

Davidson is working on solidifying Regional Health’s expansion plans and is seeking community involvement and input to ensure each project will be the right fit for the organization. “We want to provide convenient, accessible, high-quality facilities for our patients,” Davidson says. “At the same time, we need to address what is happening, in terms of health care and growth, in our communities. We’re also working on developing immediate and acute care settings so our patients don’t have to go to the emergency room after hours and can receive better, lower-cost care.”

The building projects will bring an additional challenge for Davidson — hiring new physicians and nurses. “We are the largest employer in the region and have extremely talented caregivers, but we know we’ll need to grow, which can be difficult in a rural area,” Davidson says. “We need a diverse group of caregivers, and we will need to invest in our people, while also attracting people who want to be part of something bigger than themselves.”

She says the health care industry as a whole is in a “transformational” stage. “I’ve been in a leadership role for 30 years. Health care is always in constant change, but new technology, new treatments and health care reform are all driving more change than we’ve ever seen. It’s a great thing, but it can be difficult to provide high-quality, low-cost health care.”

In the end, Davidson says the “patient is at the center of everything we do,” something she also advises other health care organizations and professionals to keep in mind. “We keep the patient’s voice at the center of all decisions, and we’re using that to help plan our buildings and programs. We’re focused on removing waste and redundancies, improving safety and wellness and preventing illness, which is what many systems are trying to accomplish.” PB

Kayla Prasek Staff Writer, Prairie Business 701.780.1187