Bill Klaproth (host): Welcome to the ASHRM Podcast, made possible by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management to support efforts to advance safe and trusted healthcare through enterprise risk management. You can visit ashrm.org/membership to learn more and to become an ASHRM member. I'm Bill Klaproth. And with me today is Matthew Hill, Risk Manager at Allina Health as we meet in ASHRM Rising Stars Award winner. Matthew, welcome.

Matthew Hill: Hi, Bill. Thanks for having me. Great to be here.

Host: Yeah, it's great to talk with you and congrats on the award. That's really, really cool.

Matthew Hill: Thank you. It was a great honor to receive.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. So, let me ask you this, can you briefly clue us in? Give us the bullet points about your journey into the field of healthcare risk management? How did you get to where you're at?

Matthew Hill: Yeah. So, I appreciate the question. I think, risk management, I got into it the same way a lot of people do, quite frankly. You kind of fall into it either by accident or it wasn't a planned journey. And that is similar for me. I was a paramedic for the first part of my career, providing clinical care in EMS helicopter, inner facility emergency department type settings.

I went into some roles related to quality. And the organization I was working for at the time, an equality role had, some incidences related to risk and liability. And at the time, they did not really have a risk management presence for a particular side of the organization, more of the outpatient ambulatory side. And so, I was asked because the leaders in charge there kind of knew I had an interest in the legal side of healthcare. They asked, "So, do you want to be a risk manager for the ambulatory division of our health system? And I said, "Sure. Sounds like fun." And the rest is history. That's how I got into risk management.

I've done some education and training and a Master's of Jurisprudence degree through Loyola and an MBA. But really, I kind of fell into it because someone knew I had an interest in it and asked me if I would be interested, and that was about 10 years ago.

Host: Wow, that's amazing. So interesting to hear the career paths of people. You started out as a paramedic and here you are, risk manager at Allina Health. I think that's really, really cool. So, Matthew, what does this mean to you to be recognized as one of ASHRM's rising stars personally and professionally?

Matthew Hill: First of all, it's very humbling. I was a little shocked and floored when I did receive the notice. But I think it is great that ASHRM is starting to recognize and wants to recognize those who are kind of the next generation of risk managers. And ASHRM has been such an integral part of my development in risk management. The supported networking has been phenomenal. And I couldn't be more appreciative of what ASHRM has provided, the opportunities they've given me. That I think is the biggest part, is really if you want to grow professionally in your career, the resources are there. And ASHRM does provide them and provides a whole network of individuals to connect with opportunities to volunteer and opportunities to learn and grow in your profession. So, it's just been a great experience.

Host: Matthew, I'm talking to all of the Rising Award winners. And they all say the similar thing about ASHRM, how instrumental it's been in their career development. So, thank you so much for sharing that. So, let's talk about you and Allina now. Can you discuss any successful risk management projects you've led at Allina Health?

Matthew Hill: Yeah. And so, we're focused here at Allina on really being as innovative as we can. I think right now everybody knows the financial pressures that exist in healthcare. And I think very few of us, if any, are immune to that. And so, we want to learn how to work smarter necessarily and not necessarily harder.

And so, one of the things that I've done, and really one of the focuses that I've really kind of pushed our team at sometimes ad nauseum is integrating automation and technology into our workflow. So, I've been able to integrate a process that was completely manual prior that required, essentially, copy and pasting into spreadsheets from event reports, for lack of better terms, to get information to a different audience for a certain type of event reviews that we do. I was able to utilize some technology and some products that were already native to our system and environment to completely automate that process.

So, the information that was needed for the reviews flowed automatically between the systems. And those who needed to see the information were then able to interact and engage offline in real time so that when we would come to these meetings, you know, there's already been the information needed to review these cases. And the opportunity to weigh in so that we have that information ahead of time and it just speeds up the process. And also, as someone who is self-described as very disorganized, it really changed my way of going through my workload and not having to do the last minute, you know, "Oh no, I forgot to get that spreadsheet updated," and furiously copied and pasting five minutes before a meeting. It's really helped make our flows more efficient.

So, I'm always looking at ways, that's just one example, but a lot of what I look at doing is helping us try to work more efficiently and exploring opportunities to use technology to make us work faster without losing the quality of the work that we're doing and, honestly, allow us to focus more on the quality of the work we're doing, rather than the administrative tasks that can sometimes kind of bog us down.

Host: I'm glad you said that. I'm sure other people are hearing you say that and agreeing. "Yeah, that's me too." So, thank you for sharing that and talking about automation in workflows and how those things have helped you out using technology to assist in those things, which is really a smart thing to do. And as you said, working more efficiently is one of the things you've been working on. It really sounds like you love what you do. Can you tell me why you're so passionate about risk management?

Matthew Hill: I think, risk management as a profession, you know, if you look at risk management in other industries, it may look different than it does in healthcare, but I think what really drives me about risk management is the impact that we make day to day on not just the patients, but also our staff. And I've just really always been someone who loves being the person that people go to with problems and being the one that can then help and guide them and provide them, support and help kind of reassure the situation and then, ultimately, hopefully come to a successful conclusion or if we have a situation that's not so great, you know, that's okay. We'll work through it, we'll get through it together, and we'll manage it as we need to. But in risk management, the legal side really initially drew me to it.

As I've evolved, I'm less interested in that part of it, but it still is very much a part of what we do. But where I really look at the opportunity that risk management provides and you mentioned it on the onset here, enterprise risk management and the ability for us to be able to be a resource to not necessarily be a subject matter expert in every domain, but to help drive the discussion so that when decisions are made, I look at it as a Venn diagram, everybody has their lens of input. And to make sure that when decisions are made, the appropriate lenses have all been considered, and that information's been provided to the decision makers so they can make good informed decisions.

And a lot of times, decisions can be made in a vacuum or they can be made based on the loudest voice at the table. Enterprise risk kind of really strives to get a good collaborative effort and get a full view of a situation. And I really like where, in the past, probably decade or so, risk management and healthcare has really evolved to be that resource in a lot of organizations.

Host: Well, it's easy to see why you're a Rising Stars Award winner. It's understandable why you've excelled in this position. Matthew, can you talk about some people around you that helped you? Any mentors that have helped you along the way?

Matthew Hill: Yeah, a great question because you can't succeed without people kind of being a champion for you. And I try to give that back in everything I do. I've had some great leaders who have really put a lot of faith in me. And the ones that stick out are the ones who have allowed me to be autonomous, and allowed me to essentially succeed and fail, and then support me when outcomes are less than ideal, help guide and, mentor me and, help me develop without it being a punitive mindset or disappointment.

So, I've had numerous leaders in my EMS career, I had a vice president of our ambulance services for a service that I worked for prior that was a very large ambulance and helicopter service who was a very instrumental in helping me actually get into risk management when I had that opportunity to present to me at the time. He wasn't a barrier. He actually advocated for me and was happy to see me succeed. I had a Chief Compliance Officer at that same organization who I then reported to, and the role was relatively new, very supportive, very trusting and allowing me to really kind of just dive in. Trusted me to keep her up to date and bring her in when her input was necessary, but allowed me to be very autonomous.

And then, today, I just have a very great supporting cast of peers. In my initial risk management role, I was literally the only risk manager, ended up being the only risk manager for that large health system. At my current organization, I have a cast of peers that support me. And we run things by each other all the time. But there are also individuals at the site that I support that also really champion and advocate and really try to elevate some of the things I try to bring forward. And those are the people that I look forward to really work with and engage, is ones who can really see what value you bring and help develop, guide, and encourage you along the way.

Host: Yeah, it sounds like you've had a great group of people around you. And as you climb the ladder, I know that you'll reach behind and help pull people up the ladder as well. I bet you'll be a great mentor to young newcomers into the field of healthcare risk management. Speaking of that, Matthew, what advice would you give to any newcomers into the field of risk management?

Matthew Hill: I think, risk management is an evolving profession. I think there's a lot of things that I've noted. A couple in particular in recent times is people used to get into risk management and they spent their entire career in it, and they didn't get into it. A lot of them fell into it by accident, kind of like I said, but they stay in it. We're not seeing that as much anymore. People are coming into the profession and then taking different roles later on. So, we don't have as many of the 25, 30-year career professionals. What we do have is a lot of engaged and excited energy.

And so, I think if you bring that to the table, if you understand that risk management is a field where the gray is what we work in, I think my motto or tagline is something a little edgy like risk management is about helping make the best decision out of five bad choices. And if you could be comfortable in doing that and providing support, being confident in the support you're providing, and growing and learning as you go along with that, that is the best pathway that I can guide people and also utilizing the resources like ASHRM, like your local state chapters, really network, really learn from them and really push the envelope.

I think one of the things that I've really focused on is, in healthcare right now, where we're at, I've often made the point that we need to start thinking differently. And I think really pushing and thinking differently is where you're going to find a lot of enjoyment and come in, look at something, even if you're new and say, "Why do we do it that way? And could we try this instead?" Because the opportunities are there especially if you find the right leader to help support you and lift you up and elevate you. There's a lot of opportunities to really explore and innovate in this field right now.

Host: Helping to make the best decision out of five bad choices. That is a good tagline.

Matthew Hill: Little edgy, but I think it really highlights how I feel about the work I do some days.

Host: And that does really put it into perspective, so thank you for your insights on that. You said you like it when people come to you. You like being the go-to person. So, it sounds like anybody that brings that, as you said, engaged, excited energy and has some of that same passion and desire, work ethic to help others and try to solve problems and find solutions, it sounds like they would excel at being a risk manager as well. Is that fair?

Matthew Hill: Absolutely. And, you know, one of the kind of untapped roles, for example, that I've always found actually transitioned well into risk management is, for example, patient representatives. And that's because they spend a lot of time dealing with upset individuals. They spend a lot of time troubleshooting and trying to build relationships with people who are upset. And it's kind of a progression for people in those roles. So, there are some roles that are a little bit less traditional than what we would generally see with like nursing tends to be a very common area that risk management is borne out of, but there are others out there like patient representatives.

Again, myself, I'm clinically a paramedic, so that's a little different. And that's the nice thing about having different backgrounds and varieties is you get different lenses joining your team. And if you're lucky enough to be a big team, having that variety is very helpful as you learn and strive to improve on your journey.

Host: Well, great to understand that and also great to want to hear those other viewpoints to try to see through those other lenses as well. So, that's great to hear, Matthew. So, do you miss being up in the helicopter?

Matthew Hill: You know, I think about that sometimes. I don't miss climbing in and out of it. I don't miss getting up at 3:00 in the morning, half asleep to do so. There's a lot of fun, and there's a lot of value that I put on. And this is where I really strive to help fortify those relationships. But there's a lot of value that I put on the work that I did in that role. And so, having the advantage to be able to say to some degree, "I've been there. I know what you're going through." Times have changed a lot since I've been very active. But just to have that is helpful in my role. But yeah, there are days where it's like, yeah, it was a lot of fun, but it's also very strenuous on the body and on the circadian rhythm as well.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. And it's great that you have that lens of that stage of your career to look through as well, and how you're drawing on that at times when you need it. So Matthew, this has really been great. I've really enjoyed talking with you. Is there anything else you want to add before we wrap up?

Matthew Hill: I'll just do a little bit of a shameless plug. I am presenting at ASHRM this year. My presentation is on essentially what will risk management look like in five years. So, we're going to take a little bit different approach on going through the day of a life of a risk manager, what that looks like today and what that could look like in five years.

And the goal is to really open up people's minds and get them to really ask questions about what could be, what could we do, what should we look into, and how could we incorporate some of these different technologies, concepts and approaches that will make our job easier so that we have even more time to spend on the important work that we do of helping keep our patients and staff safe and keeping a good running order in our healthcare system. I'll be presenting on Sunday at 3:45. So, feel free to join the session and keep an open mind if you come on in.

Host: Matthew, that's awesome. Thank you so much for bringing that up. That is awesome. And yes, we would love for you to attend the ASHRM Annual conference. Join 1500 plus members of the Healthcare Risk Management community, and you can come and see Matthew on Sunday at 3:45. The conference is September 28th through the 30th. Make sure you register at ashrm.org/annualconference. Matthew, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it.

Matthew Hill: Thanks, Bill. And just another quick thank you to ASHRM and a lot of the individuals who have gone out of their way to really accept me and mentor me in this profession. And I can't name them all right now, but there's been some people who have been very instrumental and very accepting to a new guy who was just showing a lot of interest. And I just appreciate what that's provided for me.

Host: Oh, that's so nice of you to say. And I know ASHRM certainly appreciates that. Matthew, thank you so much again. Looking forward to your session at the ASHRM Annual Conference. And make sure you go see Matthew. I think it's going to be great. And once again, that was Matthew Hill, sharing insights and experiences as a recipient of the ASHRM Rising Stars Award.

For more information on the award, you can go to ashrm.org/ashrm-member-spotlight. And the ASHRM Podcast was made possible by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management to support efforts to advance, safe and trusted healthcare through enterprise risk management. You can visit ashrm.org/membership to learn more and to become a member, and we would like for you to do that. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. Thanks for listening.