Virtual Conference: Improving Well-Being in the Workplace – Strategies for Healthcare Leadership

Bio: Heather Spies, MD, MBA, FACOG, serves as Physician Director of Clinician Experience and Well-being at Sanford Health. Dr. Spies is a board-certified OB/GYN physician and has been with Sanford Health since 2006. Dr. Spies actively practices in women’s health and also leads clinician experience and well-being for the health system. She has an MBA in Organizational Leadership, completed the Executive Chief Wellness Officer Course with the Stanford Medicine WellMD & WellPhD program, is Hogan Personality Assessment Certified, and serves as a peer clinician coach. Dr. Spies has applied her leadership skills and knowledge to improve the well-being of the clinicians at Sanford Health through the development and support of many initiatives focused on the overall experience of clinicians. She developed & implemented the Enterprise Clinician Well-being Council, is the co-creator & administrator of Sanford RISES—Sanford’s premier leadership development program for clinicians—and she publishes the quarterly Clinician Experience Newsletter. She also partners with Clinical Informatics Leadership to continuously improve Efficiency of Practice for clinicians.Under Dr. Spies’ leadership, the American Medical Association recognized Sanford Health as a Gold Level recipient of the Joy in Medicine™ Health System Recognition Program. The AMA distinction recognized an elite group of health systems for their demonstrated commitment to preserving the well-being of healthcare team members by engaging in proven efforts to combat work-related stress and burnout. As a result, Sanford has been recognized nationally as a leader in this area and has been highlighted in and participated in several meetings, industry articles, podcasts, and interviews. Recently, Dr. Spies appeared on the front page of the Midwest Medical Edition of MED Magazine as a recognition of these efforts, and was honored this year with Sanford Health’s “Doctor’s Doctor” Award.Dr. Spies is also a clinical associate professor of OB/GYN for the USD Sanford School of Medicine. She attended medical school at the University of South Dakota and completed her OB/GYN residency at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

Bio: Dr. Rob McGregor is currently in his 12th year as Akron Children’s Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor of Pediatrics at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and clinically still practices medicine as part of the pediatric hospital medicine inpatient team.Dr. McGregor graduated from Juniata College with high honors. He then graduated from medical school at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Dr. McGregor served as a pediatric resident followed by a fourth year as Chief Pediatric Resident all at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital and remained on the faculty as part of their prestigious Diagnostic Referral Group. From Pittsburgh Children’s he moved to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA, where he ran the pediatric training program. Six years later, he returned to a traditional free-standing children’s hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, where he spent 16 years as the Pediatric Program Director and multiple administrative roles including interim Chair of Pediatrics and Pediatrician in Chief. Dr. McGregor has received numerous teaching awards and was inducted into the honorary organization Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. McGregor has attended additional programs at Harvard School of Public Health and completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) from Harvard Business School in 2019. Most recently, he completed certification as a Healthcare Peer Coaching Practitioner through the Physician Coaching Institute and is actively enrolled in the PCI Cohort of the Physician Development Coach program to be certified as a Physician Executive Coach.In addition to being a board member of the hospital, he oversees all the physician and advanced practice leaders and their team members in their care delivery, physician, and APP recruitment, with the Chief Quality Officer reporting to him as well as the Medical Staff Office and the Wellness Committee of the medical staff. For the almost three years of COVID operation, along with the Chief Operating Officer, he served as co-incident commander. As his avocation working along with the medical education teams at Summa Medical System and Akron Children’s, he and Dr. Joe Varley founded a 501C3– Akron Physician Wellness Initiative (APWI – providing barrier-free, concierge mental health and well-being services for all trainees and medical staff members for both organizations) and served as their inaugural Board Chair.Outside of work, he is active in Akron Rotary serving on their Board and Past-President 2019-2020. He is also dedicated to his own well-being and resilience. Rob, a recovering marathoner, remains an avid exercise enthusiast including road cycling, weightlifting and most recently pickleball. Rob practices Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY Breathing) almost daily.

TOPIC: Department Enhancement Projects: Integrating Frontline Clinicians in the Culture Change Process

Bios: Lisa Williams, MSSA, is an empathetic disruptor, guiding organizations through transformative processes to tackle systemic causes of burnout, enhance professional fulfillment, and create cultures of organizational well-being. The Associate Dean for Wellness and Well-Being at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lisa established the university’s first Office for Wellness and Well-Being. Prior, Lisa was an adjunct assistant professor in the UK College of Health Sciences and Emotional Intelligence Advisor to the Physician Assistant Department. She has served as a leadership coach and organizational consultant, a co-founder of the High Impact Leadership Project, and an executive leader for various organizations, including the former University of Kentucky Institute for Workplace Innovation.