Q&A with CXO Rick Evans, Part 1: “We Came Together as a Team and Rapidly Adapted.”

When the one-year anniversary of the start of Covid-19 rolled around, it may have seemed like an opportune time to reflect on how affected so many aspects of healthcare, from the dramatic uptick in telehealth to the massive vaccination rollouts.

In reality, however, it simply isn’t the case. For those who are in trenches — including the ones providing support and leadership — there simply isn’t enough time for reflection, said Rick Evans, chief experience officer at NewYork-Presbyterian.

“We can’t rush to fully understand it,” he said during a recent interview. “It’s going to take a long time to put ourselves back together, put our health system back together, and put our country back together.” For Evans’ team, that has meant creating best practices for communicating through barriers such as PPE, and keeping a close eye on providers who are understandably exhausted.

But that’s just part of the picture. During the discussion, Evans talk about the “basic blocking and tackling” organizations must do to improve the experience for all patients; the need for healthcare to change its “suck it up” culture; how NYP is taking a stand against racism; and why his relationship with CIO Dan Barchi is so vital.

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Key Takeaways



* Health systems – especially those in Covid-19 hot spots – put forth a “Herculean effort” to ensure frontline workers were supported and patients were cared for.

* One of the biggest challenges for leaders was when “the adrenaline wore off” from the initial pandemic surges, and exhaustion started to set in for physicians, nurses, and other staff.

* Patient experience is about much more than food or parking; it’s about helping people “communicate efficiently and effectively,” which can benefit patients, caregivers, and providers.

* Physical barriers such as PPE can make it more difficult for providers and patients to connect. But something as simple as acknowledging those barriers can help overcome them.

* Understanding the full impact of Covid-19 is a critical piece in learning from the experience and developing better processes going forward – but it’s going to take time.





Q&A with Rick Evans

Gamble:  I definitely want to talk about biggest areas of focus are right now, but I feel it’s only appropriate to talk first about the pandemic. We recently marked the one-year anniversary, which is hard to believe, and so I wanted to get your perspective on what the past year has been like. What were you most proud of in terms of what your team was able to accomplish?

Evans:  Honestly, it’s bringing back a lot of thoughts, feelings, and memories.  We were talking the other day about how we went from having 5 or 6 patients with Covid to 500 within a few weeks. We peaked at over 2,800 in our beds, hundreds of them in the ICU. I think what I’m most proud of is how we came together as a team and really figured things out and rapidly adapted to the situation.

Healthcare can be known as an industry that moves very slowly, and some of that’s justified in terms of reputation. But in the spring of last year, we didn’t know what we’re dealing with. People forget that now. We weren’t even sure about masks. We never ran out of beds, equipment or PPE. But it was a day-by-day effort — a Herculean effort — to make sure our front line was supported. I just feel enormously proud of how we mobilized and stayed ahead of the tidal wave that that hit our city.

I’m also proud of the way that our health systems stepped up to support our front line.