In today’s segment we continue the interview with healthcare leader Eric Barber, president and CEO of Mary Lanning Healthcare in Hastings, Nebraska. Barber takes this opportunity to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of running a hospital in a small community.
When given the opportunity to choose between Hastings or Chicago, Barber chose Hastings, a small community with a population of about 25,000. Barber notes:
“One of the things that works to our advantage is we are the largest employer in the community and county, so we are very relevant from that perspective.”
While the view of Mary Lanning from the community is great, Barber notes one specific disadvantage:
“We are just isolated enough that it can be difficult to retain the type of talent we need in our organization.”
Barber continues to explain that many of the specialty services like urology are hard to fill, especially when they could probably take their pick of any hospital in the country. However, in spite of this issue, he has enjoyed his time at Mary Lanning and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
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