Joey Wahler (Host): Welcome to the Healthcare Executive Podcast, providing you with insightful commentary and developments in the world of healthcare leadership. To learn more, visit ache.org. Our guest, bill Santulli he's president of Advocate Health Midwest region and Chair of ACHE's Board of Governors for 2024 to 2025. Thanks for listening. I am Joey Wahler. Hi there, Bill. Thanks for joining us.

William Santulli: It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Host: Great to have you aboard. So first, let me congratulate you on your role as chair of the ACHE Board of Governors for the current year.

William Santulli: Thank you. It's a tremendous honor and privilege.

Host: I'm sure. And in terms of

background, you grew up on Long Island and eventually became interested in Sociology. So, how did you go from that to this? In a nutshell, tell us a little bit about the keys to your career journey and what exactly attracted you to healthcare.

William Santulli: I was a Sociology major while I was an undergrad at Notre Dame and then was heading to grad school in Sociology, and my intent was to become a sociology professor. The summer between undergrad and grad school, I randomly landed in a 35-bed mental health hospital in Norristown, Pennsylvania, near where my parents were living at the time. And in addition to working in the billing department during the day to make extra money, I also worked on the second and third shifts as a nursing assistant. And in that role, you know, I did a variety of tasks, including having to put a patient in full leather restraints because, you know, he didn't really know where he was. I had to bathe the patient that was covered with feces because he didn't know any better. And the list went on.

I also had the opportunity to talk with administrators about nature of their work. That summer inspired me to think hard about healthcare. So, I focused my studies in Health Services Research and Medical Sociology while at the University of Florida. But then immediately, when concluding my master's there, went right to the University of Minnesota's Master in Health Administration Program because I was frankly so inspired by that summer experience. In part, for me, healthcare is a nice intersection between a social good and a complex business.

Host: And it seems, Bill, doesn't it, like so many people that go into healthcare, in all branches of the industry, do so largely because of an experience like yours that hit them in a positive way early on, yes?

William Santulli: I completely agree with that. Many of the colleagues that I've had the privilege of interacting with over the years had similar experiences, whether you know it was growing up in a house with a mom that's a nurse or, you know, a dad that's a respiratory therapist, or perhaps, you know, an experience with a loved one in a healthcare setting to really inspire them to get out into this wonderful field and make a difference.

Host: Once you get further along professionally, what and who would you say you credit for your professional growth? Was there a particular experience or mentor along the way there?

William Santulli: Joey, I've been very fortunate and blessed during the past 40 years, particularly early on. I had very supportive mentors and coaches. I would point to three very quickly. First, Dave Hamry, who was the CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington. He gave me my first management administrative job, and I had no managerial experience. And at that organization, I really had the opportunity to focus on leadership fundamentals. Second, I spent almost four years with UniHealth America out of Los Angeles. And Paul Teslow at the time was the CEO, one of the most innovative leaders in the country. And he trusted me and gave me tremendous opportunities and responsibility. And then third, about 28, 29 years ago, I connected with Jim Skogsberg, who is still one of my co-CEOs today. And Jim trusted me on so many levels, gave me lots of opportunities, believed in me to make decisions. We had a lot of successes together. We had failures. And, you know, he trusted me that I'd learn from my stakes and continue to move on. But I've been very, very fortunate to have tremendous leaders that have supported and coached me along, you know, my professional journey.

Host: That's great. And speaking of which, as an accomplished leader yourself now, Bill. I'm sure you could talk quite a while and in great detail about what you feel goes into making an effective leader, particularly in healthcare. But if you had to narrow it down, if you're giving someone a piece of advice, a fellow leader in this business, what would it be?

William Santulli: Several things, not in any particular order. One, getting along well with others and building strong relationships. Two, seeking to understand before being understood. Three, committing to lifelong of learning. Four, supporting those that are around you and helping them to grow, develop, and to realize more of their potential.

Host: You said looking to understand before being understood. It's important to be a good listener as an effective leader, isn't it?

William Santulli: Absolutely. That's one of the leadership fundamentals. That's a Covey quote, first seek to understand, then be understood. And listening is absolutely fundamental to that. I think by listening actively, listening to others. That's how you understand where they're coming from, their point of view. I'm absolutely confident when you do that. It helps you not only to learn, but helps you to make better decisions.

Host: As you all know, so much is happening in healthcare, advances in artificial intelligence and technology, challenges among the healthcare workforce as well. What do you think healthcare leaders at all levels need to address to continuously be innovative going forward?

William Santulli: From my point of view, it's two-pronged. First off, leaders need to continue to work hard at getting better regarding the fundamentals, because a leader never fully arrives. Drawing from General Stanley McChrystal, that's one of his key conclusions, is that we as leaders never arrive. So, it's a lifelong journey. You got to focus on the fundamentals, some of which we've already touched on: communication skills, active listening, learning from our missteps and mistakes, you know, along with you've got to have domain expertise. You've got to build your business and financial acumen. So, those are all foundational skills along with, you know, building solid relationships.

As we move forward, as you said, I think we're at a major pivot point in healthcare and particularly in healthcare delivery with the emergence of enabling technologies, artificial intelligence with significant equity, gaps that exist, across our country. It's going to be critically important for leaders to know their way around enabling technology and how to incorporate it into, not only their strategies, but also into operational planning and workflows.

Host: There's no hiding from technology nowadays, no matter what business you're in, right?

William Santulli: Absolutely. And candidly, healthcare delivery has been trailing other industries. You pick it, whether it's banking, whether it's travel and air transportation, manufacturing, we've got to pick up the pace. I'm confident that our colleagues across the industry will do that.

Much of AI's been the buzz lately. While a lot of AI has been embedded into administrative tasks and rev cycle, and call centers, and some of our human resource operations, the next wave will start to embed into our core clinical operations to further enhance the precision associated with diagnostic and treatment.

Host: So Bill, how has ACHE membership and board certification been beneficial to you?

William Santulli: I would point to several things. So first, ACHE's offered me and our 48,000 members world-class education. Number two, it's one of the very best networking opportunities in the industry, provides tremendous support. You can lean in on your colleagues that are active in ACHE and helps you to really build a strong network and bounce ideas off of folks, you know, outside your organization and within your competitive market. And the third thing I would point to is ACHE has afforded me personally to serve in some awesome leadership roles, particularly on the board of governors.

Host: Now indeed, you've served, Bill, on numerous boards over your career in a variety of sectors. So, how would you say that impacts your role as a healthcare leader?

William Santulli: Yeah, absolutely. I've been fortunate to serve on both nonprofit boards. In addition to ACHE, I served on the Illinois Hospital Association Board for over a decade, had the privilege of chairing it in 2018. And I, more recently, over the last couple of years, have served on a couple of for-profit boards.

Every board opportunity is an opportunity to not only build new relationships, but also to learn from others, and I find those experiences translate so nicely into the day-to-day challenges that I'm dealing with. And it makes me a better leader as I gain insight from other board colleagues and the leadership teams of those organizations that, you know, I've been associated with.

Host: Switching gears, you're married with five kids. So to relax and unwind, what are some of the hobbies of you and yours or interests outside of work?

William Santulli: Yeah. My wife, Liz and I are blessed not only with five wonderful children, but we also have seven grandchildren, ages seven to about four months. So, you know, we do spend lot of time with our growing family. I'm also quite active. I love to exercise. I do so just about every day. My philosophy has always been that, when you show up at work, you got to bring 100% of yourself. And at least for me, one of the keys to be able to do that is to, you know, work out early in the morning. It helps me to rev up the engines to get going for the day. I love water sports. I love to paddleboard. I love to kayak. I also love to golf, although my handicap does need some work.

Host: All of that begs the question, Bill, how does a guy like you find the time for all that stuff, both in and out of the office?

William Santulli: To be honest, I had a long run while we were raising our children, I largely only did two things, or three things. I worked out in the morning, I worked, and I also coached several of my kids' lacrosse teams as they were coming through. And my wife has done everything, you know, managing the house, raising our children, she's just been a tremendous support every single step of the way. Without Liz's tremendous support, I would not have been able to dedicate so much time and energy to my work over the last 40 years.

Host: So, often there's a a significant other that's behind a successful leader like yourself. No question, right?

William Santulli: Exactly. I'm blessed in that regard.

Host: A couple of other things  mentioned earlier, your ACHE's 2024 to 2025 Chair.

Host: what are a few issues you're committed to addressing during your term? Several. So first off, ACHE is very intentional about engaging a three-year strategic planning cycle. We will do so in 2024 planning for 25 through 27. That's number one. Number two, ACHE, we are leaning in very heavily to supporting our members as they build more powerful cultures of inclusion to help them advance in their DEI journey. And the ACHE team has developed some very specific tools to support our members in that regard. Number three, one of our focus areas for '24 will be how do we do a better job of supporting our 76 chapters. The chapters are absolutely key to ACHE thriving as an organization. We're going to put energy into figuring out how do we strengthen those partnerships across the country.

William Santulli: Another very exciting initiative that's underway is that the team led by Debra Bowen is building out an ACHE consumer engagement platform that ultimately will make it much simpler and easier for our members to navigate and use our website for, you know, any number of activities and services.

Host: And so finally, Bill, in summary here, having just said that, mentioning a bunch of positive things that are on your plate coming up, what would you say has you most hopeful about the healthcare field right now?

William Santulli: I'm most optimistic about where the healthcare field is going on two fronts. One, I've had the privilege of coaching and mentoring a lot of early and mid career talent. I think they're very reflective of the next generation of leaders that are coming through the pipeline. And I'm absolutely confident that they will do a phenomenal job of taking healthcare delivery to a better place and amping it up to the next level.

Second, we have a tremendous opportunity to close, the health equity gaps that exist, in the United States. For a specific example, in one of my markets in Chicago, if you contrast South Side of Chicago versus Schererville, there's literally a 30-year life expectancy gap. It's the largest in the country. And I'm optimistic that our healthcare leaders will do a better job going forward of focusing on what steps do we need to take in partnering with others and at the local level to close those gaps so that we start to really chip away at it.

Host: Well, folks, we trust you're now more familiar with Bill Santulli. Bill, continued success. Good luck as chair in 2024. A pleasure. Thanks so much again.

William Santulli: Thank you very much. Have a great rest of the day.

Host: You too. And for more information, please visit healthcareexecutive.org. Again, that's healthcareexecutive.org. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media. I'm Joey Wahler. And thanks again for listening to the Healthcare Executive Podcast, providing you with insightful commentary and developments in the world of healthcare leadership.