The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of senior housing, skilled nursing, home health and hospice care. To see this year’s future leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
Shawn O’Conner, chief business development officer for Healthcare Management Partners, has been named a 2022 Future Leader by Skilled Nursing News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40-years-old or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action and an advocate for seniors.
O’Conner spoke with Skilled Nursing News about how Signature HealthCARE COO Chris Cox became his mentor in the space, why the possibilities in skilled nursing are limitless, and how curiosity and relationship building are the two greatest tips for his younger self.
SNN: What drew you to the industry?
Shawn: About 15 years ago, I met a gentleman and he said, ‘would you be interested in learning more about nursing homes?’ This particular leader, Chris Cox, the way that he interacted with [residents] and the satisfaction that he got, the way that they seemed to just appreciate people stopping and showing an interest in them, caring for them, I was like, wow, OK, I want to do this. Coming from a sports background, he said, ‘It’s just like playing sports. You’re part of a big team. You’re a coach, you have to lead people, grow them, develop them. That’s your number one job.’ I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
SNN: What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in this industry?
[The industry] is always changing and we must be agile, and continue to evolve, or we’re going to get left behind, and our elders are going to get left behind. We’ve got to continue to change with the industry, weather all the storms that come our way. It’s not going to be easy.
SNN: If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of skilled nursing, what would it be?
Collaboration with CMS and operators. CMS has good intentions, but they should bring operators to the table and allow us to be part of the solutions, help them solve some of the problems instead of pushing regulation after regulation down our throats.
SNN: What do you foresee as being different about the skilled nursing industry looking ahead to 2023?
A big need for us to become diverse. Patients with more clinical acuity … are coming our way already. How are we going to actually be able to care for them and draw the workforce in? We’re going to have to be more open to taking a more clinically acute patient.
SNN: In a word, how would you describe the future of skilled nursing?
Limitless. Opportunities are limitless as long as we continue to evolve and grow and adapt to what the population needs – there’s going to be a need for us, the opportunities are there, and they are unlimited. We just have to adapt and get the programs in place to be able to meet the need.
