He says that hospitals should keep young workers in the know about leadership opportunities, and everyone aware of the need to seek out talents that the current administration, led by older people, may lack. And he discusses in a Q&A how to get along with a staff many of whose older members might be dismissive of a young leader.
He ranks among his biggest successes so far readmission rates that have dropped to 35 percent from as low as 12 percent and a 30 percent rise in outpatient surgery over the past few years driven by new service lines.
Tejeda told H&HN that youthful hospital execs should play into the stereotype that they’ll be energetic and enthusiastic.
“That’s one of the preconceptions that should be taken advantage of. Allow yourself to be dynamic. Allow yourself to have that energy and enthusiasm. People will feel it. They will want it. People who have been at the hospital for a long time have wonderful ideas that need to be implemented, but they haven’t had that spark. They haven’t had someone who is the impetus to get things done. If they see that you have that energy, they will latch on and together you can accomplish wonderful things.”
