Interview with: Michael Ceballos, Chief Operating Officer, Mount Carmel Health Partners “To get through the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitals must focus on doing what is right for the patient,” says Michael Ceballos, Chief Operating Officer, Mount Carmel Health Partners.

1. Interview with: Michael Ceballos,
Chief Operating Officer, Mount
Carmel Health Partners
“To get through the Covid-19 pandemic,
hospitals must focus on doing what is
right for the patient,” says Michael
Ceballos, Chief Operating Officer, Mount
Carmel Health Partners.
Ceballos runs the Mount Carmel Health
Systems’ Incident Command Center,
and has a value-based expert’s view on
how health systems should respond to
the pandemic. He is the Chairperson at
the marcus evans National Health-
care CXO Summit Fall 2020, taking
place in San Diego, October 18-20.
What are the frontlines looking like
right now?
They are hopeful and determined, that
no matter what comes through the front
door, there is a determination that they
will handle it. But that optimism and
determination is combined with bouts of
fear, exhaustion and sadness.
How should hospitals and health-
care organizations respond to this
pandemic? What operational best
practices have been working for
you?
Surge planning. I believe that “Fortune
favors the prepared mind”, so the more
table top exercises, stress tests, and
scenario planning a system can do, the
better.
Cross-region coordination is also
advisable. A pandemic, by nature, is a
tragedy of the commons, and thus is
best handled in regional coordination. It
is important to minimize duplication, aid
county/state-based services, and string
for as much efficiency as possible.
What lessons are being learned in
this crisis? What practices/
strategies will hospitals implement
once the pandemic is over?
Telehealth is one area. Not only for
primary visits, but also inpatient tele-
consultations and annual wellness visits.
Also supply chain diversification. I see a
world where “essential equipment and
supplies” will become a designation,
requiring health systems to procure a
percentage of their “essential equipment
and supplies” from US-based manufac-
turing / supply chain.
There is also a need for cross-training.
In preparation for a Covid-19 surge,
there was a need for many regulations
around which licensed professionals
could perform which tasks, as well as a
team-based nursing model to serve
increasing numbers of patients. I see a
need for additional cross-training and
team-based models to create a “top of
licensure” approach for a team, not only
for individuals.
How can healthcare organizations/
hospitals ensure financial sustain-
ability in this landscape?
I am not sure that they can, as we are
all Covid-19 combatants at this time,
and are not seeing anything but urgent,
non-emergent surgeries. Best advice to
offer is to focus on documentation,
telehealth, and on doing the right thing
for patients.
What trends should they prepare
their organizations for? How?
Telehealth. A potential pause on value-
based risk-bearing contracts until 2022.
Pent-up demand and sicker patients at
every level of care (primary care,
outpatient, inpatient, etc.). An elective
surge.
Were hospitals prepared for this
pandemic? How can they ensure
they are ready for the next big
disaster?
Sadly, post-9/11, post-Katrina and
post-Sandy Hook, hospitals have drilled
on various scenarios, however the
emphasis of those have been in
r esp o nse to o ne - t ime ev ents
(earthquake) or short-term events
(hurricane).
Even pandemics had been planned out,
but not for this duration or level of
lethalness. This seems to be a black
swan event, even for scenario planners.
How Hospitals Should Respond to
the Covid-19 Pandemic
There is a
need for
cross-training

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