How Emplify Health Leaders Use a High-Performance Operating Model to Drive Results for Today and Tomorrow

In this episode of Habitual Excellence, Ken Segel speaks with Heather Schimmers, President of Emplify Health, about leading through change while building a stronger, more unified health system. Heather shares how Emplify’s high-performance operating model creates a shared way of working, helping teams align around strategy, outcomes, and execution.Drawing on her journey from nursing to executive leadership, Heather discusses the importance of clarity, consistency, trust, and removing barriers for frontline teams. She also shares an optimistic perspective on the future of healthcare, grounded in her belief that leadership starts with love and that disciplined systems can empower people to solve problems, adapt to change, and deliver better outcomes.

In this episode of the Habitual Excellence Podcast, Ken Segel sits down with Dr. Tracy Gosselin, Chief Nurse Executive, Senior Vice President, and Enid A. Haupt Chair in Nursing at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to discuss what it takes to lead healthcare organizations through today's challenges while preparing for tomorrow's opportunities. Tracy shares why workforce well-being must go beyond wellness initiatives and become a leadership priority, emphasizing the importance of listening to frontline teams, fostering psychological safety, and creating systems that support collaboration and continuous improvement. She explains how daily huddles, peer support programs, and multidisciplinary problem-solving help leaders better understand frontline challenges and remove barriers to excellent care.The conversation also explores leading across generations, building strong cross-functional teams, embracing innovation and AI, and preparing future healthcare leaders through mentorship, honest feedback, and succession planning. Throughout the discussion, Tracy reinforces that great leadership starts with humility, curiosity, and a commitment to helping people learn, grow, and deliver better care together.

Communication is one of healthcare's greatest challenges, and one of its greatest opportunities. In this episode of Habitual Excellence, Ken Segel is joined by Richard Evans and Coleen Dunkley of New York-Presbyterian to explore how communication shapes the experiences of patients, families, and the healthcare workforce.Together, they discuss common misconceptions about generational differences, why today's workforce values connection, feedback, and purpose, and how leaders can create environments where people thrive. They also share practical strategies for strengthening communication, improving patient experience, leveraging technology thoughtfully, and building a culture where both caregivers and patients can succeed. It's an insightful conversation for healthcare leaders looking to strengthen their teams and improve care through better communication.

In this episode of Habitual Excellence, Ken Segel speaks with Dr. James Shamiyeh, Chief Operating Officer at University Tennessee Medical, about the organization’s Everyday Excellence journey and what it takes to build sustainable improvement in healthcare.Dr. Shamiyeh shares how UT Medical is moving beyond traditional improvement efforts by creating a frontline-driven operating system centered on daily problem-solving, coaching, and leadership development. He reflects on the lessons learned through implementing tiered huddles, empowering teams to solve problems to root, and building a culture grounded in psychological safety and collaboration.Together, they discuss the realities of leading transformation work in healthcare today, including the importance of reflection, vulnerability, and long-term commitment. The conversation highlights how investing in people closest to the work is helping UT Medical strengthen engagement, improve safety, and create lasting operational and cultural change across the organization.

In this episode of the Habitual Excellence Podcast, Ken Segel speaks with Ben Schwartz, MD, a physician leader at Banner Health, about what it takes to lead large academic health systems in a time of rapid change and rising expectations. Drawing on his journey from practicing surgeon to health system executive, Dr. Schwartz shares how leadership today is less about having all the answers and more about creating the conditions for teams to succeed.Together, they explore how culture drives patient experience, why trust and collaboration are essential to performance, and how healthcare organizations can stay focused on fundamentals while navigating complex demands around strategy, metrics, and value-based care. Dr. Schwartz also discusses the importance of strong partnerships between health systems and universities, and how shared governance and relationships built on trust can accelerate innovation and growth.At its core, the conversation reinforces a simple but powerful idea: when organizations invest in their people, align around purpose, and work together as one team, better outcomes for patients naturally follow.

How a systemic approach to continuously strengthening relationships builds high performing systems of care In this episode of the Habitual Excellence Podcast, Ken Segel, CRO for Value Capture, speaks with Jeremy Blanchard, MD, System Chief Medical Officer for North Mississippi Health Services, about what it takes to make value-based care real. Drawing on his background as an internal medicine physician, intensivist, military-trained critical care specialist, and healthcare leader, Jeremy shares how his career has been shaped by a commitment to dignity, respect, and giving voice to patients, caregivers, and communities.Jeremy explains that value-based care is not a destination, but a journey rooted in relationships. At North Mississippi Health Services, that means listening deeply to patients, staff, and communities, then building systems that reflect what matters most. He describes expanding residency and fellowship programs, strengthening workforce pipelines, reducing reliance on traveling nurses, empowering frontline teams to own quality and safety, and building stronger connections across the region they serve.Throughout the conversation, Jeremy emphasizes that transformation happens when people feel heard and valued. Through mindful listening, servant leadership, and practical innovation, North Mississippi continues to improve care delivery and strengthen its culture.The episode closes with a reflection on conflict, trust, and growth. Jeremy describes “mining for conflict” as a way to uncover insight, strengthen relationships, and create conversations that lead to better outcomes - showing how values, when operationalized through leadership and systems, can improve care and community health.

Celebrating 100 Episodes of the Value Capture PodcastTop 10 Conversations That Shaped How We Think About Healthcare ExcellenceOne hundred episodes. Hundreds of leaders. Thousands of moments that challenged how we think about leadership, systems, and what’s truly possible in healthcare.To celebrate the 100th episode of the Value Capture Podcast, we’re highlighting our Top 10 most impactful podcast episodes—conversations that resonated deeply with listeners and sparked meaningful change in organizations across the country.These episodes explore what it really takes to move from chaos to clarity, from heroics to systems, and from good intentions to sustainable results. You’ll hear from courageous leaders, frontline thinkers, and operational excellence practitioners who are reimagining healthcare by asking better questions and building better systems.Whether you’ve been with us since episode one or you’re just discovering the podcast, this collection captures the heart of what we believe: better is possible and it starts with how we lead and how we work together.Thank you for listening, reflecting, and leading alongside us. Here’s to the next 100.Top 10 Value Capture Podcast Episodes:(Counting down from #10)Ken Segel on Zero Harm and Theoretical LimitsPublished: June 1, 2020 · 382 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenTony Milian on Preoccupation with FailurePublished: May 18, 2020 · 385 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenBill O’Rourke on Using Paul O’Neill’s PlaybookPublished: June 15, 2020 · 387 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenLeading With Safety: Leah Binder and Dr. Rick ShannonPublished: July 25, 2022 · 392 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenGeoff Webster on the Meaning of Habitual ExcellencePublished: June 8, 2020 · 395 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenSandra Geiger on Strategy Development and DeploymentPublished: January 17, 2022 · 421 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenUnderstanding Moral Injury in Healthcare with Wendy Dean, MDPublished: February 8, 2023 · 444 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenDr. Lisa Yerian on Patients First at Cleveland ClinicPublished: June 22, 2020 · 450 Streams/Views👉 Read / ListenJohn Collodora on Sensitivity to Operations👉 Read / ListenHSS CEO Lou Shapiro on Culture as StrategyPublished: November 2, 2022 · 899 Streams/Views👉 Read / Listen🎧 Top 10 Value Capture Podcast Episodes🔟 Ken Segel on Zero Harm and Theoretical Limits9️⃣ Tony Milian on “Preoccupation with Failure”8️⃣ Bill O’Rourke on Using Paul O’Neill’s Playbook7️⃣ Leading With Safety: Leah Binder and Dr. Rick Shannon6️⃣ Geoff Webster on the Meaning of Habitual Excellence5️⃣ Sandra Geiger on Strategy Development and Deployment4️⃣ Understanding Moral Injury in Healthcare with Wendy Dean, MD3️⃣ Dr. Lisa Yerian on Patients First at Cleveland Clinic2️⃣ John Collodora on Sensitivity to Operations (High Reliability)1️⃣ HSS CEO Lou Shapiro on Culture as Strategy

In this episode, Ken speaks with Meghan Scanlon, Director of Operational Excellence at Penn State Health, for a candid and hopeful conversation about a question many healthcare leaders quietly wrestle with: Why does chaos persist—even when we know better systems exist?Rather than placing blame on individuals, Meghan reframes the issue as one of implicit learning and inherited systems. Most leaders aren’t choosing chaos intentionally; they’re often operating within patterns they were taught, rewarded for, or never given the time or support to redesign. The result is a culture of firefighting and heroics that feels necessary—but ultimately limits performance, safety, and sustainability.The conversation explores how leaders can move beyond individual excellence to team-based performance, drawing lessons from sports, coaching, and high-reliability organizations. Meghan emphasizes that real progress comes when leaders act as coaches, build capability across the system, and create environments where small problems are surfaced early—before they become crises.Ultimately, this episode is a message of optimism. Healthcare doesn’t need more heroics. It needs better systems, stronger coaching, and the courage to make the invisible visible. When leaders commit to developing operating systems that support learning, safety, and alignment, better outcomes—for patients, teams, and leaders themselves—are not just possible, they’re repeatable.

Welcome to Episode #98 of Habitual Excellence, presented by Value Capture. In this inspiring episode, Geoff Webster, Chair of the Pittsburgh Futures Collaborative, and Ken Segel explore what it takes to create healthier, safer, and more thriving communities. Geoff shares how his public-health roots and community work taught him that real change begins when leaders challenge themselves, step into uncomfortable spaces, and keep learning. He highlights the transformational gun-violence reduction effort in Pittsburgh—where a neighborhood once experiencing around 35 non-fatal shootings a year saw that number drop to just 4. Geoff calls it some of the most powerful work he’s been part of, proving that what once seemed impossible becomes achievable when communities come together with courage and conviction. Throughout the conversation, Geoff and Ken emphasize visionary leadership, systems thinking, and the belief that people thrive when they’re supported to grow. The conversation underscores how data, collaboration, and consistent leadership practices can drive meaningful progress in communities.

In this episode, host Ken Segel talks with Donise Musheno, Vice President of Perioperative Services at Lancaster General Hospital (Penn Medicine), about leading large scale operational transformation through trust, culture, and systems thinking. When she began, her team faced a 30% instrument defect rate and 9% case delays, issues that undermined efficiency and morale. By focusing first on relationships and trust, then simplifying priorities around quality and efficiency, Donise helped her team achieve dramatic improvements: defects dropped to 4% and delays to less than 0.2%. She emphasizes real time problem solving, transparent data, and empowering frontline leaders to test and learn quickly. The conversation highlights how building culture first enables sustainable excellence, turning crisis into collaboration and measurable, lasting results.