Why social and environmental factors matter for children: An interview with Michael Fisher
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is McKinsey on Healthcare, a podcast series about visionaries, leaders, and problem solvers shaping the future of healthcare. On today's episode, McKinsey partner Erica Koh is joined by Michael Fisher of Cincinnati's Children's Hospital.
Michael, it's great to be speaking with you today about the topic of social determinants of health, such a critical topic given 40% of health outcomes are determined by social determinants.
How did Michael Fisher come to lead Cincinnati Children’s Hospital?
Would love to start with just understanding from you, how did you find yourself leading a children's hospital?
Eric, it's great to be with you. And I had the privilege to be on our board of trustees, and it gave me a firsthand view of the incredible work that we were doing for children, both on the research and clinical care side, but also to make a difference in the lives of children, their families, and our community. And having been an entrepreneur for many years, I really saw the opportunity to give back to our community, to bring some of that innovative spirit and that notion of really better serving customers, in this case, patients, families, and communities.
What were some of the pivotal moments growing up that shaped who you are as a healthcare leader today?
What early life experiences shaped Michael Fisher’s leadership values?
I was fortunate to be in a loving and caring home, had great parents as role models who taught me how to care for others and treat everyone with respect and dignity and try to make a difference. I also went to a large urban public high school and really began to appreciate the values of diversity. I had a chance to go to Stanford, and I think there learned a lot about collaboration, pursuit of excellence, innovation. And then I spent the bulk of my career growing an automotive supplier globally and learned a lot about what was going on internationally. But I think specifically on the healthcare leader side, learning from great mentors and teachers, colleagues of mine at Cincinnati Children's, like Dr. Uma Kodagal, one of the real leaders in
equality, safety, and community from people like Maureen Bisignano and Don Berwick from IHI and so many others.
How did a tragic patient event influence Cincinnati Children’s focus on safety and community?
And I think there was an event early in my time as the CEO at Cincinnati Children's where we lost a little boy. That made a profound impact on me. I already knew the importance of being focused on safety and quality, but I think that just drove really deeply into me the enormous responsibility we have for children, the responsibility we have to the community. I would say in the early shapings was to spend time with new moms out in the community, outside the hospital. And here are the challenges they were grappling with in these areas of social determinants or what some are increasingly calling health drivers. And it became clear to me that we as a children's hospital in particular and certainly as an anchor institution had to find ways to do more and to be a better partner.
How does Cincinnati Children’s screen and address social determinants like food insecurity and housing?
Picking up on your third reason around social determinants, I think it is probably an understatement to say that Cincinnati Children's Hospital has really been a leader in this space and with this topic. There's been considerable research demonstrating that social and environmental experiences in childhood can really affect outcomes later in life. Would love to understand from you either a little bit more about your experience out in the community with those new moms, or more broadly, how you see social factors affecting whether it be education, housing, violence or other trauma, food insecurity, really playing a role in children's health.
We see this in our primary care clinics. We've put in food pantries because it's been clear to us that some of these children and their families literally don't know where their next meal is coming from. So of course, the ability to be healthy, to be on a medication regimen is compromised in that kind of way if they don't have basics like food. And so we now for a decade plus have built in a really thoughtful and appropriate screening to figure out
Why are partnerships with schools and community organizations critical for pediatric health outcomes?
whether it's food insecurity, whether it's housing issues, or other kinds of things that might inhibit a child from being healthy, how to build that into the initial intake of a child during a well visit, and then to connect them with all of the right partners who we work closely with to help address those issues.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:32
2
How did Michael Fisher come to lead Cincinnati Children’s Hospital?
0:32–1:13
3
What early life experiences shaped Michael Fisher’s leadership values?
1:13–2:08
4
How did a tragic patient event influence Cincinnati Children’s focus on safety and community?
2:08–2:57
5
How does Cincinnati Children’s screen and address social determinants like food insecurity and housing?
2:57–3:57
6
Why are partnerships with schools and community organizations critical for pediatric health outcomes?
3:57–5:36
7
How does Cincinnati Children’s measure impact and finance social-determinant interventions?
5:36–7:00
8
What strategies have worked to convene diverse partners to tackle child poverty and environmental risks?
7:00–15:43
Speakers
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