Transcript Generated by AI 00:05 Hey, Mark Parkinson back with Park Place, and we are beginning our deep dive on 00:10 North Carolina. 00:11 What is it like to operate facilities in North Carolina? 00:15 And the reason we're covering the state is because all of a sudden, 00:18 everybody around the country is talking about North Carolina. 00:21 It's a kind of a sleepy state that in the past was not considered to be one of the 00:25 greatest places to have nursing homes. 00:28 But over the last 10 or 15 years, that has definitely changed. 00:32 And now all of a sudden, everybody wants in. 00:34 So we're going to spend the next 5 weeks trying to figure out what is the deal 00:38 with North Carolina, what is happening there, 00:40 and why all of a sudden is everybody talking about North Carolina? 00:44 We're here to kick it off with the perfect person to talk to, Adam Sholar, 00:48 who is the President and CEO of the North Carolina Healthcare Facilities 00:52 Association. 00:53 And when you do a deep dive, you learn that Adam has been central to 00:58 this incredible growth in the popularity of operating in the state. 01:03 All of a sudden, everybody wants to be there. 01:05 So Adam, we're really appreciative that you're 01:08 willing to join us today. 01:10 Yeah, Thanks, Mark. 01:11 Good to be here. 01:12 And thanks for your for your comments that I would say I may be the perfect 01:16 person to talk to, but a lot of the credit for that goes to 01:20 our team and our members. 01:22 Yeah. 01:22 So I know you're going to spend this whole video not taking any of the credit 01:25 for what's happened in North Carolina. 01:27 And I think that's part of the reason that you're so successful and the members 01:31 of there have been so successful. 01:32 Let's just so let's just talk about it. 01:34 When when I look at the success of North Carolina, 01:36 one of the things that jumps out at me is the how the members are unified. 01:41 You know, in a lot of states, there's multiple associations. 01:43 You got a bunch of people that aren't members of the association. 01:45 Tell us about the unity in North Carolina. 01:48 Yeah, no. 01:49 So to your point, we've always been unified and had a, 01:53 a high membership percentage. 01:56 When I got here, became president about 10 1/2 years ago, 02:01 our membership percentage was, it was 90 and it's around 94 today. 02:06 So you know, really I think we've maintained high, 02:10 high membership. 02:12 When you talk about unity, there's unity in terms of numbers, 02:17 you know, how how many facilities or members in a 02:21 state, but there's also, you know, unity in terms of, of our action. 02:27 And you know, we have a diverse range of opinions 02:31 within our membership and we have vigorous debate within the membership, 02:36 certainly on our board of directors and we have an outstanding board that engages 02:42 in robust debate. 02:43 But once a decision's made, we're very unified in our, 02:47 in our execution. 02:49 Now, how a lot of states, you know, look at 94% of folks belonging to the 02:53 association, be very jealous of that. 02:55 How, how have you achieved that? 02:58 So I, I learned from, from members, leaders and staff that came before me. 03:03 You know, I remember I followed a person in this 03:07 role who, who'd been in the role for 40 years and 03:10 he would share stories with me about, you know, he and the, 03:14 and the board chair of the time would drive around to, 03:18 to all 100 counties in our state and, and talk to, to facilities about, 03:23 about joining. 03:24 And, you know, we still do that today. 03:28 And not only do we travel the 100 counties of the state, 03:32 but increasingly we travel across the country to to have discussions with 03:37 operators. 03:39 And, you know, we've been successful through really 03:42 strong member to member engagement and, and making sure that, you know, 03:47 we we always want to have everybody in our membership because collectively we're 03:52 we're always more successful than anyone anyone would be individually. 03:59 North Carolina is considered to be a managed care state or high penetration of 04:03 managed care. 04:04 Tell us about that. 04:06 Yeah. 04:06 So we're about 58% Medicare Advantage so, so top ten in the country in terms of 04:13 Medicare Advantage penetration. 04:17 We are also a Medicaid managed care state, though fortunately not yet for long stay 04:23 nursing facility residents are our short stay Medicaid population is in is in 04:29 managed care. 04:31 But that's something we've really seen increase, you know, 04:35 probably in the last Medicare in the last 15 years and Medicaid in the last six or 04:41 seven years. 04:43 Now one of the things that's remarkable about what you've achieved is some pretty 04:48 important increases in Medicaid, the Medicaid rates. 04:52 So tell us about your relationship with the governor and the legislature and how 04:55 you have achieved the relationship that you have. 04:59 You know, so again, a lot of the credit here goes to to our 05:03 members and our staff. 05:05 You know, it's a similar to making sure or making 05:10 sure that we maintain a high percentage of membership building and maintaining 05:16 relationships with all stakeholders, including policy makers, 05:22 both elected and appointed, is, is really ongoing relation relational 05:28 work. 05:30 So, you know, we want to make sure we develop and 05:33 maintain relationships across the spectrum. 05:36 We're a bipartisan state. 05:38 We have a, a Democrat governor and Republican 05:41 legislature. 05:43 So, you know, we, we work with, with all parties. 05:47 And I think, you know, as you, I'm sure it's this way in, in many places, 05:52 but you know, as you, as you talk to people, 05:55 we all really share the same goals. 05:57 You know, we we all want the right care to be 06:00 delivered in the right place at the right time for the right price. 06:04 And you know, we, we may have differing opinions on how we 06:08 get there, but you know, we, we share the same goals. 06:12 We continue to talk, explore ideas and, and we get to a, to a reasonable, 06:18 reasonable place. 06:19 But I mean, Adam, what you've achieved is really not normal 06:22 across the country. 06:23 And, and I'll give you an example. 06:24 When the COVID crisis said, I had your members calling me saying, wow, 06:27 this is incredible. 06:28 The governor's just announced, you know what the approach is going to be 06:32 during COVID. 06:32 And at the press conference, Adam Scholler standing right next to the 06:36 governor, you know, that's not the kind of thing that we 06:38 typically see. 06:39 So how, how have you created that kind of 06:41 relationship? 06:44 Well, I think it's, you know, it's not, it's not, it's not me, it's, 06:49 it's our members. 06:51 I mean, certainly we, we work together, but there, 06:55 there is an incredible amount of trust that's been built over over the years 07:00 between members and policy makers. 07:04 And, you know, when, when we are in a challenging time, 07:08 whatever the, whatever the challenge, you know, we, we have a, 07:13 a mutual relationship of, you know, seek, seek first to understand, 07:19 then be understood. 07:20 And so, OK, if you're facing a public health crisis, 07:24 what do you need? 07:25 And then let's have a conversation about it and, and how can we get there? 07:29 And, you know, I think in that particular crisis, 07:33 policy makers rightly trusted our members to say, what, 07:38 what resources do you need to combat this pandemic? 07:42 And if we can provide those, we will. 07:46 And, and with trust comes accountability. 07:48 I mean, there's a lot of sharing of information 07:51 and, and sharing of data of reporting back. 07:54 And so, you know, transparency and, and trust and accountability and, 07:59 and continue conversation and collaboration or, 08:01 or how we get there and how we maintain those relationships. 08:06 So I'm sitting here laughing because I, you know, we're, 08:08 we're 6 or 7 minutes into this and I knew this was not going to be how it was going 08:12 to go. 08:12 You're not going to take any of the credit. 08:14 You defer all the credit to the members, which is great. 08:17 Even the first time of the credit to the policy makers, which is rare. 08:21 And I knew that this would happen because you're, 08:24 you're humble and you're quiet want and you win. 08:27 I mean, I and the, one of the things I can't, you know, 08:30 get across here on this video, it's just the, the, 08:33 the importance of the wins that you've had and the size of the wins that you've 08:37 had are really just short of shocking. 08:39 One of your members and I was asking about you, he said, I, 08:43 I think of Adam as a quiet assassin, which which I, 08:45 I think is absolutely the perfect description for you. 08:49 You're sitting here, you won't take any credit, you, 08:51 you won't reveal any secrets, but before you know you're going to win 08:55 somehow you're going to win. 08:56 So, so Adam, tell us, tell us about your, your, 08:59 your kind of your leadership philosophy, your philosophy towards leading the 09:03 association. 09:04 Tell us about that. 09:05 And I know you won't take any credit, but tell us anyway. 09:07 Well, you know, it's a, it's an interesting phrase and I had to, 09:12 to chuckle a little bit at it, But you know, and I, 09:16 I don't want to be presumptuous. 09:18 I, I haven't served in the military, so I want to be very respectful when I 09:24 say this, But sure, you know, that may be the what, what folks see, 09:28 but there are thousands of men and women behind that person, you know, 09:33 supporting and enabling what they do 10s of thousands. 09:37 So again, it's, it's not one person. 09:41 It's, it's the collective and, you know, and, and on the, the, the comment about, 09:48 about the winds, I mean that that is a word that could be 09:53 used to describe them. 09:55 But at the same time, it's, you know, what do members need to provide great 10:01 care to residents who need it? 10:04 Like that's what we're talking about. 10:06 And you know, at a, at a certain point in time, you know, 10:10 we try to get, we, we always try to get the resources that, 10:14 that members need. 10:16 I mean, that never stops. 10:17 And if, if you get it, you know, today, tomorrow there will be other or different 10:23 needs. 10:24 And so it's just like maintaining membership, 10:27 just like maintaining relationships with policy makers. 10:32 It, it never stops. 10:33 So you just, you wake up each day and you, you do it again. 10:37 And sure, there's, you know, a track record, 10:41 but that's part of what enables trust and accountability. 10:46 And, and it all feeds on itself. 10:47 It's a bit, it's a bit of a flywheel. 10:49 So, you know, my, you asked about leadership philosophy. 10:54 This is a member driven organization. 10:56 My job is to, to do the best of my ability, 10:58 what our members want. 11:00 So I wake up every day and, you know, the members kind of designed the flywheel 11:05 and I just try to make sure it keeps turning with a lot of support and from a 11:10 great staff and an outstanding board of directors. 11:14 And I've been pretty fortunate in my time here to have excellent member leaders. 11:18 So, you know, it's kind to say, but but the credit belongs elsewhere. 11:24 Adam, thanks a bunch. 11:25 Thanks for the success that you've had for really great for some of the best 11:28 proprietors in the country are in North Carolina. 11:30 And it's for you to be able to succeed for them is personally. 11:33 I appreciate it and thank you for being with us here today on Park Place. 11:38 Thanks for having me, Mark, Good to see you. 11:40 So I think today's interview is sort of a master class in humility, 11:44 and it's exactly what I suspected. 11:46 Adam ain't going to do any victory laps or anything like that, 11:50 but he and the members and the providers there are really doing some great things 11:54 in the state, and we're glad to feature him today. 11:57 And we appreciate your continued support of Park Place.
