July 9, 2012
Shop Talk
Q&A With Mary Ann O'Connor Of VNA Care Network & Hospice
PHOTO/RICK SAIA
Mary Ann O'Connor, president and CEO of VNA Care Network & Hospice
By Rick Saia
Mary Ann O'Connor, who assumed her new role as head of VNA Care Network & Hospice in February, has more than 35 years of health care management experience, including 24 years in senior, executive-level roles. We spoke with her the day before VNA reached a preliminary agreement to acquire UMass Memorial Home Health and Hospice from UMass Memorial Health Care. Here, O'Connor addresses the role of organizations such as hers in today's ever-changing health care industry.
It's hard for someone to stay in the same industry for so long today. What is it that keeps you in the business of health care?
I have a lot of interest in clinical issues. I have a lot of interest in trying to make it less costly. And I really like the research and trying to improve patient outcomes. It just really keeps me interested.
Especially in all this change that we're going through, do you think that having come up here you're in a good state geographically for health care, where there's a lot of change happening?
I think it's outstanding. I think Massachusetts is really ahead of a lot of other states. And things are happening more rapidly here.
Is home health care, in your opinion, a “win win” for everyone, from patient to provider?
I really believe in home care. I believe that during this time of change, we even have more of an opportunity to prove the value of home care and really help families and patients do well staying at home. I think it's a good opportunity to even take it to the next level.
What's the most challenging situation a visiting nurse faces when it comes to delivering homebased care?
The first thing that comes to mind … is making sure that the staff is safe. But that isn't really too much of an issue where we are. In some of my past jobs, we've had to have guards go with nurses.
The second, I would say, is, prior to all this health care reform, we were in our silos. And home care and hospitals and nursing homes and physicians were not working as closely together as they are now. Right now, all of the levels of care, at least in my experience, are working diligently to try to understand each other.
A long time ago, there were plenty of doctors who would make house calls. Is today's emphasis on home health care a better use of resources?
We're going to be working a lot more with visiting doctors. Our hope is to bring primary care to the home.
Our focus is on the frail elderly. We really want to keep them home and safe (from) the infections (that come with) higher levels of care. If we can really get out in front of this and be more proactive and engaging with, let's say, the Parkinson's patient, and make sure they get enough therapy and we know what their issues are, (we can) keep them out of the emergency room.
Does the average patient recognize the current strains on the U.S. health care system?
I think they probably do. I think that we have a tendency to talk to patients and families in ways that make total sense to us, but I'm not so sure that they're getting it. A lot of times in home care or hospitals or nursing facilities, we say to (patients) "If you start to have shortness of breath or … some other type of symptom, please call us right away." Well not everybody can relate to "right away." It's kind of a foreign thing. Whereas if you say to them, "Could you call me if you don't have a good day?", they get that — right away. So I think a lot of this is how you figure out, how you communicate to them better so they can communicate to you better. Because they're scared when they're having a bad day. These people are sick. They're not sitting around having some sort of minor issue.
Nursing education has moved toward a greater emphasis on college degrees. How much has that helped the profession?
I don't want to overemphasize the college degree. But if you were in it because you're good at it and you've got advanced degrees, you would be even better. n
Video
Mary Ann O'Connor of VNA Care Network & Hospice
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