Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Dr. Kenneth Altman, Chair of Otolaryngology at Geisinger and rural head and neck cancer specialist. He discusses expanding access across a rural network, building interoperable systems and pooled tumor boards. He talks about empowering frontline clinicians, prioritizing professionalism and service, and cutting delays in cancer care to improve timeliness.

Dr. Vikram Kashyap, vascular surgeon and cardiovascular executive leading a major Heart and Vascular Institute, discusses uniting cardiology, surgery and vascular care across a health system. He covers systemwide efforts to review and reduce mortality, practical teamwork and documentation changes that improved outcomes, anesthesia workforce shifts and the move to integrate pulmonology for stronger clinical and research collaboration.

Ericka Powell, VP of Medical Affairs and emergency physician, leads quality and flow improvements at WellSpan Ephrata. She discusses reducing length-of-stay variation and standardized multidisciplinary rounds. She covers data-driven care pathways and dashboards to tackle consult delays. She highlights workforce stability, value-based performance, and balancing urgent operations with transformational change.

Dawn Maroney, longtime Medicare leader and CEO of Alignment Health Plan, brings decades of senior-care and Medicare Advantage experience. She discusses seniors adopting digital tools and the trust needed for uptake. She explores evolving payer–provider relationships, the gap between strategy and execution, real-time data challenges, regulatory pushes for tech, and pressures on plan margins.

Christopher Burks, Vice President of Laboratory and Support Services at Brown University Health and trained microbiologist, walks through integrating acquired hospitals and aligning lab and revenue operations. He talks staffing and infrastructure discoveries, planning lab capacity for ambulatory growth, and using data and benchmarking to guide expansion decisions.

Deirdre Salanger, COO of Strong Memorial Hospital and leader of operations for a regional level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center. She talks about stepping into a new leadership role after maternity leave. Highlights include workforce engagement, juggling access and capacity under financial pressure, disciplined investment in projects, and using digital tools and academic partnerships to drive growth.

Dr. Bill Cooper, Senior VP for Professionalism and Clinical Excellence at Vanderbilt and pediatrics professor, leads systemwide culture and safety work. He discusses Vanderbilt's credo and value-based evaluations. He explains brief peer 'cup of coffee' conversations, timely feedback after incidents, high success rates of peer interventions, and tiered responses for repeat issues.

Clair Kuriakose, Vice President and Chief Advanced Practice Officer at Stanford HealthCare, leads nearly 1,000 advanced practice providers. She discusses intentional team-based care that boosted ambulatory APP visits, capacity solutions like an inpatient-at-home program, strategies to curb ED visits, and building governance to scale AI and frontline-driven innovation.

Alen Brcic, Chief Human Resources Officer at Methodist Health System, leads workforce strategy and AI-driven talent solutions. He discusses lowering turnover and boosting engagement to top percentiles. He talks about personalizing ambulatory surgery experiences. He outlines AI for sourcing and recruiting spend, and strengthening a people-first culture with leader accountability.

Dr. Janice Walker, inaugural Chief Nursing Officer at UF Health and seasoned system nursing leader, discusses building an integrated nursing strategy across hospitals. She covers listening tours and regional collaboration. She outlines a seven-day, candidate-centric recruitment model and ways to boost retention through shared governance and multigenerational leadership.