
Expanding Access and Transforming Care for Children with Special Health Needs with Dr. Matthew McDonald
Becker’s Healthcare PodcastSummary
Hospital and health system leaders face a complex strategic agenda, including market growth, sustainable margins, and workforce challenges. The upcoming CEO CFO Roundtable aims to address these issues, bringing together over 1,500 executives and nearly 400 speakers to help leaders refine their priorities for the coming year.
Dr. Matt McDonald, CEO of Children's Specialized Hospital, highlights the institution's commitment to serving children with unique healthcare challenges, particularly those with special needs. The hospital is on track to serve 50,000 children this year, focusing on quality outcomes and patient-centered care. McDonald emphasizes the importance of innovative strategies to enhance access to services, especially in pediatric behavioral health and specialized care for conditions like autism and Down syndrome.
To address workforce shortages, Children's Specialized is implementing clinical fellowships and adapting care delivery models to maximize the potential of existing staff. McDonald notes that traditional recruitment methods are insufficient to meet the growing demand for pediatric services, prompting the need for long-term solutions in workforce development. He also admires RWJ Barnabas Health CEO Mark Madigan for his effective leadership and commitment to excellence in healthcare.
Show Notes
In this episode, Matthew McDonald, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Children's Specialized Hospital, RWJBarnabas Health, discusses expanding access to pediatric rehabilitation and specialized services while addressing workforce and funding challenges. He shares how innovation, new care models and a focus on family-centered care are helping more children reach their full potential.
More from Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
In this episode, Dr. Sanjiv Shah, Chief Medical Officer, MetroPlusHealth, discusses how care management, provider partnerships, and timely information exchange have helped MetroPlusHealth earn consecutive four star Medicare Advantage ratings. He also shares strategies for closing care gaps, improving transitions after hospital stays, and preparing providers for digital quality reporting requirements.
In this episode, Dr. Alice Chen, Chief Health Officer at Centene, discusses how health plans can use evidence based prevention frameworks to improve outcomes, guide investments, and reduce waste. She shares lessons from food as medicine initiatives and explains why interventions must be supported by rigorous data, tailored to underserved populations, and proven effective before scaling.
In this episode, Moshim Kukar, MD FACS FSSO, Professor and Chair, Surgical Oncology, Program Director, Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses how specialized teams, robotic surgery, and structured training improve surgical outcomes.
In this episode, Penny Jefferson, RN, Director of Clinical Documentation Integrity Services in the HIM Division of Patient Financial Services at UC Davis Medical Center, joins the podcast to discuss whether AI is truly improving workflows and the importance of supporting the entire patient journey. She also shares insights on the growing need for clinical documentation integrity within workflows and how she defines success as a leader.
In this episode, Kevin Neese, MD, Co-owner, Helix Advanced Medicine, discusses building a prevention focused primary care model, improving healthspan, and using early risk detection to keep patients healthier and out of the hospital.