Five Questions: Arlo Stallion

Last month, Arlo Stallion received the Missouri Quality Health Care Professional Award from the Missouri Hospital Association and the Missouri Association for Healthcare Quality. Stallion, administrative director of quality at CoxHealth, was recognized for her work in planning, coordinating and monitoring the effectiveness of clinical care. A 19-year veteran at CoxHealth, the nurse practitioner with a master’s in hospital administration says she thrives on the idea that she can simultaneously affect positive outcomes for many patients in an increasingly regulated and challenging health care environment.

Rack of Hats
“I wear many hats. I’m involved in medical staff quality, quality improvement activities, all the regulatory and accreditation functions in our hospitals and our clinics, emergency management – how well we are prepared for any disaster – and also, environmental safety, which includes building code [compliance], hazardous materials management and employee safety. I have other supervisors who assist me with managing all of our programs. We have a department of 16 (employees and) four managers.”

On the Ready
“If, for example, we have an emergency come up such as a bad storm, I’m involved with helping to pull our instant command system together. We have an emergency officer, and I’m his supervisor. We’re responsible for ensuring all the response processes work. With environmental safety, we might have a question about a code interpretation. A lot of times we’ll do consultations. Before someone is wanting to do something, they might ask, ‘What is required from a regulatory standpoint? Are we allowed to do this?’ And then we’ll research. In a given day, we can give several consultations or handle several requests.”

Selection Shock
“Being nominated and selected for this prestigious award was very humbling. … My husband and my staff got the information together and our CEO [Steve Edwards] sent in the application. I didn’t know any of that was going on until our CEO got a phone call. Then, he came and told me personally. I have to say I was shocked.”

Signs of the Times
I’ve worked for CoxHealth for 19 years, and I’ve been in quality management for 12. Even though I had career satisfaction, I always wanted to do more. It is always satisfying to take care of an individual on any given day, but in the position that I’m in, I have the capability of reaching hundreds of individuals (by) continually improving the care that we give.

“The times, since 2010 with health care reform, are challenging right now. We have decreasing reimbursements, costs have gone up, and the economic crisis has just put more demand on the system. We are tasked, at the same time, to lower those costs, change the way we deliver care and still deliver higher quality care. The health care industry is one of the most regulated industries in the world. These regulations were originally designed to ensure a minimum level of safety and quality. The last few years, I’d say they’ve become much more stringent. Payments are now tied to performance and outcomes, so being good isn’t enough anymore. Quality improvement is going to be essential to health care survival.”

Beyond the Bayou
“I’m from Louisiana. My husband and I took a leap of faith and sold our home to come here before either of us even had a job. … We wanted to find a good place to raise a family. Being in Louisiana, the environment wasn’t what it should be. We took out a map and wanted to settle within a day’s drive from family. We were looking at the major cities, the cost of living, the environment, education – all of those key factors. Springfield was our first pick. We visited here and loved it right away.

“I was coming from a place where there was a nursing shortage and upon arriving in Springfield discovered there really wasn’t one here at the time. It took me a few weeks to settle in. I looked at both health systems, and didn’t know which one would be better. They were both similar in size and service; both had excellent facilities. I finally decided on CoxHealth because of its patient care, and they seemed to treat employees like family. In the various roles that I’ve had, I have been allowed to be creative and to develop programs that led me to quality improvement.”