Monday News Drop: Education Reform, Pharmacy Savings & The Future of Healthcare Workforce This week on The ASHHRA Podcast, co-hosts Bo Brabo, Luke Carignan, and Jeremy Sadlier tackle three headlines shaking up healthcare HR and workforce strategy: education pipelines, rising benefit costs, and how leadership can get ahead of both. 💡 Inside This Episode: 1️. Healthcare Education Reimagined With healthcare staffing shortages projected into 2030, the hosts explore how health systems can tak...

In Episode 184 of The ASHHRA Podcast, host Luke Carignan sits down with Amanda Ellis, Vice President of Total Rewards at SSM Health, for an inspiring conversation about her dynamic HR journey and innovative approach to total rewards. Amanda shares her story, from her Florida Gator roots to marrying her high school sweetheart and raising a family while climbing the HR ladder. Starting with an internship in Gainesville, she navigated talent acquisition, benefits, and compensation, leading...

We’re excited to bring you the latest episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, where host Luke Carignan sits down with Jennifer Law, CHRO of Vail Health, for a truly heartfelt conversation about the realities—and rewards—of working in healthcare HR nestled in the picturesque mountains of Colorado. Here’s what you’ll find inside this episode: Life & Work in “Paradise” Jen kicks off by sharing what it’s really like working in Vail, Colorado—beyond the stunning views and outdoor perks. From the logist...

Recorded live at the 2025 ASHHRA Executive Summit in Savannah, host Luke Carignan (sans traveling co-host Bo Brabo) sits down with Jaclyn Thomson, Director of Employee & Labor Relations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. Jaclyn shares her unique journey from psychology and counseling to HR mastery, blending empathy with strategic ER. Amid talent shortages and operational challenges, she offers practical wisdom on investigations, union avoidance, and fostering positi...

We’re excited to bring you highlights from this week’s “Monday News Drop” episode of The ASHHRA Podcast! Co-hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo were back in the studio to tackle two of the hottest topics shaping healthcare HR today: a shakeup in leadership expectations and the non-stop momentum of AI. Episode Highlights 1. No One Wants to Lead! Luke and Bo dove into an eye-opening article on “Conscious Unbossing” – a rising Gen Z trend where employees are opting out of formal leadership roles in...

In this engaging solo-hosted episode (Bo's out traveling!), Luke Carignan chats with Erica Samalis, Director of HR Business Partners at Tufts Medicine. Erica shares her pivot from pre-med to HR via business school, her 12 years at Children's National in DC, and her return to New England roots. Amid talent shortages and industry shifts, she discusses elevating HRBPs to strategic roles, workforce development, AI's potential, and fostering engagement in a changing healthcare landscape. Key takea...

In this lively episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo welcome Michelle Nicholl, CHRO in Las Vegas, NV. With a diverse career spanning call centers, hospitality, banking, and 15 years in healthcare, Michelle shares her unscripted journey—from building and dismantling an HR department during an FDIC closure to tackling talent shortages in Vegas' competitive market. Amid casino perks and nursing gaps, she discusses innovative strategies for recruitment, retention, and em...

In this dynamic episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo chat with Suzanne Kercher-Liedke, Director of Talent Acquisition at Hoag Health System in Orange County, CA. From her unexpected start in recruiting (post-agricultural business major) to scaling Hoag from 2,700 to 10,000 employees, Suzanne shares her 22-year journey and forward-thinking approaches to talent challenges amid shortages and competition. Explore Hoag's evolution into a fully integrated system, emphasiz...

In this week’s Monday News Drop, co-host Bo Brabo is joined by Jeremy Sadlier for a deep dive into three powerful stories shaping the future of healthcare HR. From building tomorrow’s workforce to protecting today’s talent, this episode connects the dots between education, staffing, and leadership sustainability. 💡 Here’s What You’ll Learn: Healthcare Systems Are Building High Schools. Bloomberg Philanthropies just announced earlier this year a $250 million national initiative to partner wit...

In this insightful episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo welcome Cyann Peterson, Recruiting Operations Lead at Tenet Healthcare. With a unique journey from agriculture and NASCAR roots to agency recruiting at Apex Systems, Ascension, HCA, and now Tenet, Cyann shares her evolution into TA Ops. She dives into optimizing processes, tech stacks, and team enablement in large-scale healthcare recruiting—drawing from experiences like boosting Ascension's career site to mill...

In this energizing episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo chat with Shaina Lane, Senior Leadership Development Specialist at AccentCare. With a background in sports medicine and healthcare operations, Shaina shares her pivot to HR and her passion for building better leaders. Drawing from her book Leadership Is Easy, Said No One Ever: 11 Habits to Learn Early So You Can Lead Expertly, she tackles common pitfalls like reactive "shitty" leadership and offers actionable s...

In this captivating episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Bo Brabo and Luke Carignan sit down with Dr. Tali Lando, a board-certified pediatric otolaryngologist at Westchester Medical Center Health Network in New York. Dr. Lando shares her inspiring path to medicine, from volunteering in NICUs and sign language interpreting to rigorous training at Cornell, Columbia, and CHOP. Now a mother of three, she balances high-stakes surgeries with family life, offering raw insights into the demands of pe...

Kick off your week with the inaugural "News Drop" episode of The ASHHRA Podcast! Hosts Luke Carignan, Bo Brabo, and new co-host Jeremy Sadlier (ASHHRA CEO) deliver a fresh weekly roundup of top healthcare HR headlines. From critical staffing shortages to AI's role in HR, they break down trends, stats, and implications—sparking discussions on innovative solutions for HR pros. Key headlines & insights: Staffing Shortages Escalate: Physician gap hits 124K by 2033; need 200K nurses yearly, wi...

In this special RxBenefits-sponsored episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Bo Brabo and Luke Carignan explore the dynamic pharmacy benefits landscape with experts Sarah Hearn and Wes Hill (Director of Compliance & Legal Operations). Amid the busiest legislative season yet—over 1,500 bills—they discuss PBM reforms, ERISA challenges, compounding alternatives for GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, 340B pricing, and emerging lawsuits. Gain insights on transparency, cost savings, and compliance for heal...

In this inspiring episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo welcome Lisa Kemph, CHRO at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, FL. With 30 years in HR across six industries, Lisa shares her journey from logistics to healthcare, emphasizing emotional intelligence, leadership development, and building a people-first culture amid rapid organizational growth. Lisa offers timeless advice on work-life balance, including marriage tips like maintaining humor, giving grace, and d...

In this dynamic episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo chat with Maxine Carrington, Chief People Officer, and Matt Kurth, Deputy Chief People Officer at Northwell Health. Fresh from the ASHHRA Executive Summit in Savannah, they explore how Northwell—a powerhouse with 104,000 employees, 28 hospitals, and recent mergers like Nuvance Health—navigates massive changes while fostering a bold, people-first culture. Maxine and Matt discuss leadership transitions (including CE...

In this inspiring episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo welcome Sandeep Randhawa, Chief People Officer at Renown Health in Reno, Nevada. Recorded in the dog days of summer 2025, Sandeep shares his transformative approach to creating a people-first culture at Renown, a not-for-profit health system serving a 100,000-square-mile region with 8,000 dedicated employees. Sandeep dives into Renown’s deliberate people strategy, emphasizing why "people first" is more than a bu...

In this powerful episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo sit down live from Savannah, GA, with Alysia Price, CHRO of UNC Health Appalachian. As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene approaches, Alysia shares her firsthand account of the devastating storm that ravaged western North Carolina, turning routine rain into catastrophic flooding, road washouts, and power outages. Discover how UNC Health Appalachian navigated volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (...

In this episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo chat with Dana Bradley, VP of Human Resources at Silver Cross Hospital. With a powerhouse background in operations and leadership at top universities like UChicago, Rush, Northwestern, and GWU, Dana reveals how an ops mindset supercharges HR strategy in healthcare. Key highlights include: Ops-First HR: The Ultimate Edge – Dana stresses starting in frontline ops shapes her "business person in an HR chair" approach, enablin...

In this episode of The ASHHRA Podcast, hosts Luke Carignan and Bo Brabo sit down with Eric Cole, Corporate Senior Vice President of HR at Scripps Health in San Diego. With a unique background in finance and hospital administration, Eric shares how blending operational insight with HR strategy has transformed leadership and culture at Scripps. Key highlights include: Operations in HR: A Game-Changer – Eric discusses why HR pros need ops experience to drive strategy, especially when workforce c...