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B U S I N E S S truly don’t know how I would have made it through this pandemic without Holly’s leadership.” Staffing became a big challenge throughout the pandemic, with out-of-state hospitals and agencies offering top dollar to recruit SMH caregivers. “Funding has been a challenge in healthcare for as long as I’ve been in the industry,” says Holly. “It continues to be more difficult to keep expenses down while also providing quality care, which was all elevated during the Covid19 pandemic. Thankfully, we have an extremely dedicated team at SMH, and through that dedication and teamwork, we were able to keep a core team together and survive.” While her career has been filled with many large projects, Holly is about to tackle the largest and most exciting project to date: a three-story operating room suite addition. SMH is currently campaigning for bonds to fund the $36 million O.R. suite expansion that will replace the existing suites, which were built in the 1970s. The new state-of-the-art suites will handle high-end surgical technologies that the current facilities are too small to accommodate. “We are also developing some new technology for in-patient tele-medicine, which became really popular during Covid-19,” says Holly. “Doctors will be able to talk to a patient through a monitoring system outside of the room to help reduce contact.”
Holly Sanchez
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, SLIDELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Over the last ten years, Holly Sanchez has
Behind the technology upgrades is Holly’s commitment to her community and her passion for creating a better healthcare system that will
business systems, in addition to implementing
benefit everyone. “It’s all about listening. Active
been at the forefront of modernizing Slidell
new electronic medical record systems. The new
listening is something that I practice every day so
Memorial Hospital’s technology systems.
systems assist the SMH team in providing quality
I can understand everyone’s challenges and help
care for patients and allow for easier healthcare
them come up with a solution. It is the single most
Information Officer to Chief Operating Officer in
access to the community. “Holly’s ability to
important thing for anyone in a leadership position.”
August 2020 and now oversees daily business
understand the workflow processes involved with
operations as well as the information technology
caring for patients—not just IT functions—is what
healthcare industry includes time spent as assistant
department. She was first brought into the SMH
sets her apart,” says CEO Sandy Badinger. “She has
director of IT at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans,
team as an independent consultant in 2007 to
done outstanding things in her short time as our
assistant director of management information
help sort out IT issues. After accepting a leadership
Chief Operating Officer, has had a huge impact
systems at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital
position in 2011, she spearheaded a complete
on all of Slidell Memorial’s facilities and has been
in New Orleans and IT/engagement director at
transformation of the hospital’s clinical and
instrumental throughout our Covid-19 response. I
Siemens Medical Solutions in Pennsylvania.
Holly made the transition from Chief
Holly’s 35 years of experience in the
Slidell Memorial Hospital, 1001 Gause Boulevard, Slidell, LA 70458, (985) 280-2200, SlidellMemorial.org. May-June 2021 79
