Better Together at the 17th HSSF Executive Conference
Our Annual Event
Imagine hanging with 75 of your fellow support services leaders from 25 health systems, representing such non-clinical departments as EVS, food and nutrition, patient transport, laundry and linen, health and safety, facilities, security, supply chain, and guest services.  You enjoy three days of tours, presentations, conversations and networking, and bring back proven practices and innovations to your workplace. You come away with new friends to stay in touch with throughout the year. So it went at our 17th annual conference, at Duke Health.
Attendees represented systems from around the country, including, to name a few, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, City of Hope, Duke Health, Johns Hopkins, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Health System, Mass General Brigham, NewYork-Presbyterian, UAB Medicine, UCHealth, UCLA Health, UNC Health, UC San Diego Health, and Yale New Haven Health.
How did it go? Here’s what a few attendees wrote on their feedback forms:
“I liked that we were able to interact and share ideas and practices. Loved the open conversation.”
“Collegial – warm, friendly, networking. Different every time!”
“Amazing information sharing. Incredible campus at Duke.”
“I loved the agenda, the format, and meeting new people.”
Our Host: Duke Health
Each year an HSSF member organization volunteers to host the annual conference. This past year Kristie Barazsu, Associate COO, Duke Health, raised her hand for 2024. Duke Health includes four hospitals. Duke University Hospital, with 1082 beds, is recognized as one of US News’ 2024-2025 Best Hospitals.
 With its gorgeous campus with integrated hospital area, Duke was a perfect place for our conference. We kicked off the event with a tour of the offsite Duke Raleigh Hospital, then returned to the main campus in Durham for meetings, tours, two receptions and a dinner.  We enjoyed quick breaks to visit Duke Indoor Stadium, sacred home of the Duke Blue Devils NCAA Division 1 men’s and women’s basketball teams, and the impressive Duke University Chapel. Duke food service put out amazing spreads for our lunches and breaks. Our receptions and dinner were at the elegant on-campus JB Duke Hotel and Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club.
Some Highlights
If last year’s “Back to the Future” theme reflected a transition from COVID focus back to nuts and bolts of performance improvement, this year’s theme “Better Together” reflected Duke’s and other systems’ initiatives to meld their strategies, processes and organizations into single systems.  Similarly, this gathering of like-minded support services professionals demonstrated that by collaborating we can advance both our health system employers and our careers. Our sessions demonstrated members’ pursuits of proven practices, performance standards, and organizational effectiveness to tie together their systems’ assets.
Here are a few highlights from the sessions held over three days:
 Networking: Early in the event Duke’s Amy Files Fuqua led attendees in fun breakout group exercises and trivia, paving the way for productive conversations. Tuesday’s reception at the impressive JB Duke Hotel, and Wednesday’s reception and dinner at the classy Washington Duke Hotel and Golf Club helped guests relax and get to know each other. Also, for the first time HSSF provided a mobile app that made it easy to identify and connect with colleagues.
The Pursuit of Systemness: We heard from Duke’s senior leaders about the challenge to operationalize the Better Together vision. Particularly inspiring was a spirited and inspiring presentation by Rhonda Brandon, Sr. VP and Chief Human Resources Officer, who reminded us of the importance of the work support services team members at all levels do every day. She reminded us "we are human first and then, we lead" and asked us to ask ourselves, “What am I doing to make sure my people feel they belong?”
Self-op vs Outsource: Ever wonder whether it’s better to operate EVS or food service in-house or outsource them? Jason Silk, Associate VP, Universal Health Services, presented his system’s evaluation of tradeoffs, and the decisions they took as a result.
Hurricane Preparedness: This conference took place just two weeks after hurricanes Helene and Milton inflicted massive loss of life and property damage in Florida and the Southeast. We asked attendees from hospitals in Florida (Tampa General, Johns Hopkins All Children’s in St. Petersburg, and UF Health in Gainesville and other locations) to tell us about their experiences preparing for the storms and during the actual wind and flooding events. In a related presentation, Alex Joffriet from Duke told us how they have dealt with the shortage of IV fluid since storms shut Baxter’s plant in North Cove, NC.
 AI Application to a Command Center: You know it’s coming. How will AI affect your departments? Kristie Barazsu, Associate COO, Duke Health shared details of Duke’s project in partnership with GE – enabling quick planning of support services resources in response to changing conditions.
Workplace Violence: Our employees see it all too often, and might have personally experienced it. Calvin Fakkema, Director Support Services and Safety Officer, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and Nathan Tabita, Manager of Environment of Care and Emergency Management, UCI Health, presented their collaborative programs, including compliance with CalOSHA requirements. A discussion about weapons detection practices followed.
 Open Forum: Conference attendees consistently tell us they highly value time to talk to each other. This year, we set aside a session to do just that – no presenter, just attendees posing questions to each other, with facilitated discussion. Topics included:
- What support services needs should be included in new building design?
- Helping support services employees feel respected by other departments
- Ways to get feedback on patient satisfaction that enable HCAHPS improvement
- Motivating long-time employees who seem to have lost their mojo
 These are just a few examples of the conference’s content. Members can click the link below to log in to the HSSF conference website to view and download presentations.
Could Not Have Happened Without Them
The Duke conference planning team, while tending to their demanding day jobs, and in the face of several unanticipated personnel changes, gave attendees an experience they’ll not soon forget. The facilities, food, transportation, Duke-led sessions, and special touches were top notch. Special thanks to Kristie Barazsu, Joanna Kane, Amy Files Fuqua, Doug McGhee, Michael Melgar, Alyssa Huckestein, Cindy Turner and Charles Mallett.
Thanks also to the conference sponsors – Leading Sponsor Aramark Healthcare+, and Contributing Sponsors dormakaba; Daniels Health; FeedbackNow; Med-Stat; and Xanitos. Finally, thanks to Carrie Kuempel, our VP Member Services, and - full disclosure - my wife.
Stay tuned for announcements about next year’s conference. Free registration is a benefit of being an HSSF member. If you’re not a member and would like to learn more, contact me.
Jeff Wickham
Managing Director, HSSF
[email protected]
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