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Host: Jarvis T. Gray, The Quality Coaching Co.
Guest: Paul Wilder, Executive Director at CommonWell Health Alliance

In this insightful episode, Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Paul Wilder, an expert in health IT and interoperability, to dive deep into the challenges and opportunities facing healthcare leaders today. The conversation covers leadership philosophies, the evolution of patient data access, risk-taking in career decisions, and the crucial importance of data accuracy in healthcare.

Key Topics & Highlights

1. Leadership Mindset

• Paul Wilder
• emphasizes action over overthinking: “A poor plan executed well is still better than the best plan executed poorly.”
• Jarvis T. Gray
• echoes the importance of vision and action for healthcare leaders, preferring to “take action” rather than “pontificate.”

2. Journey into Healthcare

• Paul Wilder
• shares his unique path into healthcare, from declining a coveted MD program to working in biomedical science and health IT.
• The tangible impact and meaningful stories within the industry inspired his continued dedication.

3. Data, Technology & Interoperability

• The shift from doctor-driven decisions to data-driven care is explored, with
• Paul Wilder
• championing interoperability—the seamless exchange of data between providers and patients.
• The next big wave? Empowering patients with access to their own health data and enabling them to engage meaningfully with that information.

4. Patient Data Accuracy

• Paul Wilder
• shares personal anecdotes about data errors and the potential downstream effects, likening health records to financial statements that require regular accuracy checks.
• Jarvis T. Gray
• adds a real-world example of using AI to interpret lab results, showing new ways patients are taking charge of their health.

5. AI, Data Tools & Patient Empowerment

• Real stories demonstrate the value of AI, not just for clinicians but for reassuring and informing patients during stressful moments.
• The use of AI for personalized health decisions is discussed as a growing trend—and game changer—for both patients and providers.

6. Leadership Challenges & Advice

• Paul Wilder
• recounts a pivotal career moment, the importance of aligning with leadership, and taking calculated risks.
• Advice for rising leaders: Take smart risks, seek feedback, and work with those who teach you valuable skills.

7. Trust in Healthcare

• The episode addresses trust as both the biggest challenge and opportunity in healthcare—especially regarding data sharing, patient engagement, and regulatory evolution.

Recommended Resources

• Podcasts: Freakonomics, Planet Money (for broader business and economics insights)

Connect with Guest

Find Paul Wilder on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paullwilder

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Guest: Jeffrey Simms, Associate Chair for Alumni and External Affairs & Assistant Professor, UNC
Host: Jarvis T. Gray, The Quality Coaching Co.

In this impactful conversation, Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Jeffrey Simms, a “rock star” in healthcare leadership and education, whose journey from North Carolina tobacco fields to academia is both inspiring and deeply insightful. Jeffrey Simms shares his guiding leadership mindset: always strive to leave every interaction better than you found it—a philosophy shaping his work with students, alumni, and healthcare professionals.

Together, they discuss:

• The importance of professional development and connecting alumni with future healthcare leaders
• AI and technology trends, workforce development, and improving access to care
• Real challenges facing rural healthcare organizations, and strategic planning for these providers
• The value of partnerships and not duplicating work—collaboration over competition
• Personal stories about overcoming early career challenges, imposter syndrome, and leading teams as a young professional
• Lessons on vulnerability, the power of lived experience, and always finding/including missing voices in decision-making
• Influences from family and pivotal mentors, and the vital importance of community engagement in healthcare delivery
• The biggest challenges and opportunities for healthcare leaders today, including workforce morale and purpose-driven leadership
• Inspirational advice: keep learning, know your “why”, and don’t forget to celebrate wins (and take vacations!)

Key Highlights

• AI & Workforce Trends: Emphasis on necessity for leaders to engage with AI, even if it feels intimidating, and making workforce retention/safety a top priority.
• Rural Healthcare & Strategic Partnerships: Discussion about supporting rural health organizations through strategic planning and partnerships with academia.
• Early Career Lessons: Navigating leadership roles at a young age, relationship building during difficult decisions, and the importance of including diverse voices.
• Purpose & Resilience: Advice on leading with purpose, staying curious, and remembering that patient care is at the heart of all healthcare work.

Rapid Two-Minute Drill

• Career Advice: Never stop being a student, and always carry a pen and notepad to ask questions and learn.
• If He Could Start Over: He’d prioritize his own wellbeing and take more vacations.
• Recommended Resources: Assembly Required podcast by Abrams, North Carolina Institute of Medicine resources, ACHE publications, and the power of reading fiction for balance.
• Looking Ahead: Excited to celebrate his son’s graduation, upcoming student successes, and innovative problem-solving in the face of healthcare challenges.

Connect with Jeffrey Simms

• LinkedIn: jefferysimms
• Email: jsimms@email.unc.edu

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Guest: Dr. Jeff Doucette, SVP & Chief Nursing Officer at Press Ganey

Welcome back to Excellence In Healthcare! In this inspiring episode, Jarvis sits down with Dr. Jeff Doucette for a deeply authentic conversation about leadership, resilience, and driving excellence in healthcare. Together, they dive into Dr. Doucette’s unique career journey, the critical importance of humility, and real-life stories of growth, challenge, and transformation in healthcare leadership.

Key Topics & Takeaways

1. Leadership Mindset & Ego Check

• Dr. Jeff shares his go-to leadership mantra from author Cy Wakeman: “Your ego is not your amigo.”
• The conversation centers on the strength found in humility and how authenticity and confidence, absent of ego, create stronger, more effective leaders.

2. Dr. Jeff Doucette’s Unconventional Path

• Nursing wasn’t Jeff’s original plan—he wanted to be a pilot!
• A childhood experience in a hospital opened his eyes to the power of compassionate care, leading him into various frontline and executive nursing roles, and eventually to Chief Nursing Officer at Press Ganey.
• Emphasis on career flexibility, mentorship, and saying “yes” to opportunities.

3. The Employee-First Revolution

• Top-performing healthcare organizations prioritize employees first.
• Dr. Jeff discusses the importance of separating “accountability” from “availability,” advocating for genuine work-life boundaries—especially for leaders.

4. Lessons in Leadership—Adversity as Growth

• Jeff opens up about a pivotal, tough feedback experience at Duke University that forced him to reflect and develop a more compassionate, humble leadership style.
• The importance of vulnerability, transparency, and how supporting and investing in others creates exponential impact.

5. Challenges & Opportunities in Healthcare Today

• Current political and economic uncertainties pose significant challenges for healthcare delivery, especially for vulnerable populations.
• At the same time, Dr. Jeff expresses hope, seeing resilience and compassion in the next generation of healthcare leaders, especially Gen Z and Millennials who value meaningful work and life outside the job.

Connect with Dr. Jeff Doucette

• LinkedIn: Connect with Jeff
• Press Ganey: Follow the Press Ganey page for insights
• Email: jeff.doucette@pressganey.com

Quotes to Remember

• “Your ego is not your amigo.” – Cy Wakeman
• “Sometimes you have to just go out there and lead with excellence.”
• “You can be accountable for your 24/7 operation, but not be available 24/7.”

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Host: Jarvis T. Gray
Guest: Ellen Smalley, Owner of Creekside Health Coaching

Episode Summary:
Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Ellen Smalley of Creekside Health Coaching to explore best practices for growing a mission-driven health coaching business. Ellen shares her journey from exercise physiology and cardiac rehab to becoming a national board certified health coach. The conversation covers the unique value of health coaching, actionable strategies for business growth, and Ellen’s personal motivation rooted in family and caregiving.

Key Topics & Takeaways

• Ellen’s Origin Story & Motivation
  • Lifelong passion for health and service.
  • Personal experiences (family loss to heart disease) shaped her drive to support clients in lifestyle changes.
• Client Experience: Ellen’s Approach
  • Starts with a vision of the client’s desired life six months out.
  • Incremental weekly tasks, regular check-ins, ongoing tweaks.
  • Programs typically span 3–6 months, emphasizing sustainable change.
• Alignment of Personal and Professional Values
  • Focus on stress management and support for parents/caregivers, especially those with neurodivergent children.
  • Ellen’s personal story as a working mom resonates with her clientele.
• Business Goals & Strategies
  • Ellen’s recent emphasis on business growth (post-board certification).
  • Key business goal: Networking with clinics, therapists, and referral partners.
  • Website improvements (adding referral forms) to streamline collaborations.
  • Importance of setting quarterly, written goals for business focus (finance, faith, family, fitness suggested by Jarvis).
• Lead Generation & Conversion
  • Networking via platforms like Alignable, local events, and direct outreach.
  • Workshop/webinar strategy: Hosting regular events to establish expertise and build traction.
  • Create a detailed client avatar to target marketing and partnership efforts.
  • Joint ventures with relevant service providers (e.g., therapists, diet services, interior organizers).
  • Use of automated systems (CRM/Square) for appointment reminders and touchpoints.
  • The power of personal follow-up calls for conversions—human connection trumps automation.
• Quarterly Goal Setting
  • Structure goals around business growth, lead gen, conversion, and service delivery.
  • Adjust strategies to fit around work and life commitments.

Actions & Advice for Health Coaching Entrepreneurs

• Set clear, quarterly business goals.
• Build repeatable workshop/webinar processes.
• Leverage personal stories—value-driven follow-up is key for conversion.
• Build referral networks across complementary professions.
• Use CRM tools to automate, but always prioritize genuine human connections.
• Develop a detailed client avatar for clarity in marketing and partnerships.

Connect with Ellen Smalley

• Website: https://www.creeksidehealthcoaching.com/

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In this inspiring episode, host Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Alyssia Crews, a healthcare executive with a rich background in healthcare operations and oncology leadership. Alyssia opens up about her personal journey into healthcare, lessons learned from mentors, overcoming adversity, and the role of emerging technologies like AI in modern leadership.

Key Topics & Highlights

• Alyssia’s Leadership Philosophy:
  Alyssia shares her go-to Maya Angelou quote and how making others feel valued forms the core of her approach—emphasizing relationships and compassion at all levels.
• From Sports Management to Oncology:
  Alyssia reveals how an unexpected opportunity sparked her career in healthcare, and how personal loss led her to specialize in oncology, combining passion and purpose in her work.
• Climbing the Leadership Ladder:
  Strategies that fueled Alyssia’s progression from operational roles to executive, including seizing stretch assignments, building mentor relationships, embracing challenging tasks, and seeking out developmental opportunities.
• The Power of AI in Healthcare Leadership:
  Alyssia discusses how AI tools, such as Copilot, are revolutionizing productivity—streamlining administrative tasks and allowing leaders to spend more quality time with their teams.
• Dealing with Adversity:
  Alyssia candidly describes a pivotal challenge she faced after losing her father, and what she learned about authenticity, empathy, and supporting team members through tough times.
• Mentorship and Influence:
  The impact of key mentors—especially Dr. Goodwin, whose calm leadership style and focus on relationship-building left a profound effect on Alyssia’s own approach.
• Current Trends & Challenges in Healthcare:
  Alyssia identifies workforce engagement and retention as the most pressing challenges, particularly post-pandemic. She discusses strategies her organization uses, including robust leadership development programs and tailored career summits.
• Celebrating Wins & Looking Ahead:
  Alyssia outlines her excitement for expanding cancer research programs and further developing her team. She emphasizes the importance of intentionally pausing to celebrate team accomplishments.

Rapid-Fire Insights

• What inspires Alyssia: Creating innovative solutions for patients and helping team members discover their own “passion plus purpose.”
• Best career advice: Be bold and proactive—don’t wait for opportunities to come to you.
• Biggest lesson: Building confidence to speak up sooner in meetings and not being afraid to share credit and collaborate.
• Recommended reads:
  • Who Moved My Cheese? (Spencer Johnson)
  • Hardwiring Flow in Healthcare (Quint Studer)
  • Anything by Simon Sinek

Connect with Alyssia

• LinkedIn: Alyssia Crews

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Host: Jarvis T. Gray
Guest: Shlomit Liberty, Founder & Owner, Patient Path NYC

Episode Summary

In this engaging episode of the Excellence In Healthcare podcast, host Jarvis T. Gray spotlights small business innovation in healthcare by interviewing Shlomit Liberty, founder of Patient Path NYC—a unique independent patient advocacy service in New York City. Shlomit delves into her journey from clinical healthcare roles at leading hospitals to building her company focused on helping patients and families navigate complex hospitalizations and transitions.

Key Topics & Highlights

• Shlomit’s Background & Inspiration
  • Decade-plus experience as a medical speech language pathologist in top hospitals in NYC and California.
  • Firsthand experience with families overwhelmed by unexpected hospitalizations inspired her to launch Patient Path NYC (“personal medical crisis manager”).
• Independent Patient Advocacy: What Is It?
  • Board Certified Patient Advocate — how the role differs from traditional hospital-based advocates.
  • The independent advocate works only for the patient and their family (not hospitals/insurance), empowering informed healthcare decisions without giving medical advice.
• Services Offered by Patient Path NYC
  • Bedside support during hospital stays.
  • Medical chart reviews, translation of complex medical language, and direct communication with care teams.
  • Community education: Talks and workshops for the public, caregivers, assisted living staff, and healthcare providers.
• Business Insights & Strategies
  • Challenges: Low public awareness of independent advocacy and timing—families often discover services too late.
  • Marketing advice: Building “customer avatars” to identify and target ideal clients, whether aging individuals or caregivers navigating complex care for loved ones.
  • Recommendations for expanding reach through educational movements, lifestyle integration, partnerships, and potential consulting/licensing models for healthcare organizations.
• Scaling Thoughtfully
  • Shlomit discusses scaling her business while maintaining intimacy and quality of service.
  • Establishing strategic partnerships with elder care lawyers, social workers, and physicians.

Actionable Advice & Takeaways

• Patient Advocacy Is for Everyone
  • Not just for seniors—vital support for younger patients, caregivers, and families through unexpected health crises.
• Build Awareness Early
  • Proactive education can prevent missed opportunities for advocacy.
• Strategic Growth
  • Document partnerships, develop targeted marketing, and consider consulting/lifecycle service models for broader impact.

Connect with Shlomit Liberty & Patient Path NYC

• Website: patientpathnyc.com
• Email: shlomit@PatientPathNYC.com
• LinkedIn: Shlomit Liberty

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In this episode, host Jarvis T. Gray welcomes Dr. Daija Smith for a lively and insightful conversation about leadership, career growth, and the future of healthcare. Dr. Smith shares her unique journey—from an accidental start in healthcare to becoming the first doctor in her family—and discusses the leadership philosophies that guide her work and life. Together, they explore current trends like artificial intelligence, the importance of mentorship, maintaining boundaries, and leading with integrity and authenticity.

Key Topics & Highlights

• Leadership Mindset & Quotes:
  Dr. Smith introduces her signature “Be GREAT” mantra (Genuine, Resilient, Eager, Ambitious, Tenacious) and talks about the difference between management and leadership: “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
• Personal Journey:
  Dr. Smith shares how a mix-up in high school placed her on the healthcare path, the influence of her mother’s health challenges, and how mentors opened doors along her career.
• Current Role & Organizational Impact:
  Serving as senior advisor for system nursing operations (without being a nurse herself), Dr. Smith discusses bridging clinical and business operations and supporting leaders across a large health system.
• Emerging Trends:
  The duo dives deep into the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare operations, workforce planning, and communication. Dr. Smith offers practical ways she leverages AI daily to communicate more effectively across different roles.
• Mentorship & Influence:
  Dr. Smith shares how mentorship has been critical to her development, emphasizing the importance of finding multiple mentors and using her voice to advocate for others.
• Challenges & Opportunities:
  Health equity stands out as a pressing challenge, especially when it comes to cost and access. On the opportunity front, AI and organizational engagement in community health are spotlighted.

Rapid Fire Insights

• What inspires her: Her family, particularly her younger sisters, and the importance of being a role model.
• How she inspires others: By creating a vulnerable, safe environment and supporting authenticity.
• Best career advice: “Take up space, speak up, and trust that evolution is necessary.”
• Biggest lesson: The importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing rest early in one’s career.

Connect with Dr. Daija Smith

• Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Daija Smith

Final Thoughts

This episode is packed with actionable leadership wisdom, inspiring stories, and practical strategies for thriving in healthcare. Whether you’re an up-and-coming leader or a seasoned executive, Dr. Daija Smith’s story and insights are sure to motivate you on your own leadership path.

Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the show! Connect with Jarvis and Dr. Smith on LinkedIn, and tune into future episodes for more conversations on excellence in healthcare leadership.

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Hosts: Jarvis T. Gray, The Quality Coaching Co.
Guest: Soulara Sevier, Founder & CEO, Soul Reiki Health Beauty and Wellness

Ready to elevate your approach to leadership and wellness in healthcare?

In this inspiring episode of the Excellence in Healthcare podcast, hosts Jarvis T. Gray and Soulara spotlight the transformative journey of Soulara Severe—nurse-turned-entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Soul Reiki Health Beauty & Wellness. Soulara shares how her experiences with burnout as a longtime nurse fueled her mission to bring holistic, human-first leadership solutions to healthcare executives and organizations.

Tune in as this episode dives into:

• Personal Transformation: How prioritizing self-care, energy mastery (Reiki), and holistic wellness can reshape healthcare leadership—starting from within.
• Business Growth Strategies: Real-world tips for building predictability in your consulting or coaching practice, with actionable advice on networking, partnerships, and event marketing.
• Leadership Values: The vital role of self-awareness, healthy communities, and the art of effective delegation for leaders who want to break cycles and drive meaningful change.
• Collaboration & Connection: Behind-the-scenes on how to cultivate powerful strategic alliances—and why building a business “ecosystem” is essential for serving executive and healthcare clients at the highest level.

Whether you’re a healthcare leader, executive, or entrepreneur seeking practical inspiration or real-world strategies to build a thriving, resilient culture—this conversation is for you.

Special Segment: Learn how to define your target client avatar, build your professional circle, and leverage event marketing to scale your impact—insights you won’t want to miss!

Follow, rate, and subscribe for more episodes featuring the brightest minds and most innovative disruptors in healthcare leadership. Connect with guest Soulara Severe on Instagram (@reikiwithsolara) and stay tuned for part two, where we’ll dive even deeper into her growth journey.

Excellence. Energy. Empathy. Transform how you lead, serve, and succeed—one episode at a time.

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Thank you for tuning in! Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast for more insights into achieving healthcare excellence.