Sanford trustee, tech leader drawn to health care

If there is one member of the Sanford Wellness governing board who is familiar with engineering and understands the traits of our digital upcoming, it is Brent Teiken.

Teiken has served with Sanford Wellbeing Board of Trustees due to the fact 2009 and earlier served with North Dakota-primarily based MeritCare in Fargo, North Dakota, prior to its merger with Sanford Wellbeing.

But it was not Teiken’s expertise in leadership or engineering that drew him to provide in a governance role.

Why he serves on the board

“Everyone has a overall health treatment tale in their lifetime,” Teiken defined.

Teiken endured a own health scare soon immediately after he was married in 1995. He was in the long run identified and taken care of by then-MeritCare in Fargo.

“Here I am 30 yrs afterwards, wholesome, with a variety of suppliers to thank for that,” he said.

“You develop this deep relationship, appreciation, admiration and inspiration from the folks who addressed and cared for you.”

In transform, he needed to be a portion of that and give again.

He stated past his individual private health and fitness journey, he shared a enthusiasm for neighborhood and motivation with people he joined in board support.

“A major portion of it for me is as a group member and steward of the business, you have a hand in generating absolutely sure the conclusions getting manufactured — like the high-quality of health treatment — are the proper decisions.”

Distinctive expertise, standpoint in tech

Teiken delivers to the board a wealth of exceptional encounter in the technologies sector as co-founder and CEO of Sundog Interactive, a digital promoting and know-how consulting company, which was obtained by St. Louis-based mostly global firm Perficient in 2019.

Together the way, he did some consulting do the job for wellbeing care corporations and observed the sector from the outside the house hunting in.

“Once I turned a board member, I was equipped to see from the inside of out and it is a extremely different view when you are speaking to executives, knowing conclusions you make, arranging and system.”

Teiken is at the forefront of variations in technological innovation and has found about the several years improvements including going from mainframes to client/server computing, cell and the world-wide-web, the cloud and artificial intelligence.

“If you imagine about exactly where wellness care is going, variations in opponents, digital health and electronic transformation changing well being care, I can carry standpoint into the discussion on the Board of Trustees which few are capable to due to the fact of the knowledge I have had.”

Acknowledged for leadership

Teiken served as chairman of the board in 2020 through the start off of COVID-19 pandemic, just one of health care’s most tough occasions in new heritage.

Not only was it during a pandemic, but Sanford underwent its to start with CEO management transition in 24 many years and a governance reset.

As a result, his management led to recognition by Present day Health care for Excellence in Governance at Sanford Wellbeing in 2022.

“The initial thing I did was thank the rest of the board,” he claimed.

Admittedly, he cannot take all the credit rating but points to an “all-inclusive” board and govt crew for their collaboration in a pivotal exertion with a big shift in the organization’s method.

“We up-to-date our governance framework, some of the committees, how the executive crew and board collaborate on method improvement, and the conversation procedures and methods,” he recalled.

“I was incredibly humbled and grateful to acquire but it was quite substantially a board effort.”

He speaks really of today’s management crew together with President and CEO Bill Gassen.

“Bill introduced a renewed eyesight, sense of tradition and goal,” he reported. “His leadership type is one thing that was needed at that time.”

Pay attention now: Company culture is important to accomplishment, board member suggests

Due to the fact starting to be CEO, Gassen reminds the Board of Trustees typically that at the conclude of every decision and discussion is a patient and encourages customers to hold that at the forefront.

“I’ve bought very little but admiration for Invoice and respect the renewed function and vision he introduced with him as CEO.”

How the pandemic impacted wellness care

Though it still could be also early to pinpoint exclusively, Teiken is aware of the COVID-19 pandemic has definitely changed overall health treatment shipping endlessly.

There is extra emphasis than ever on digital care which has prolonged been a precedence for Sanford Wellbeing as a predominantly rural wellness supplier.

“It will change structurally how organizations work,” he explained.

The pandemic has extra velocity for new entrants to the sector from technologies sectors to well being insurance coverage, while accelerating many others who are including to theirs like Google, CVS and Apple.

“Ultimately, it has experienced a significant affect on know-how, the use of know-how, velocity and implementation about know-how and new entrants who were under no circumstances wellness care rivals just before by aiding them turn out to be competition,” Teiken added.

The part of the board

Sanford Wellbeing trustees are elected by the total board and at present serve up to three a few-yr phrases. The Board of Trustees Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for pinpointing, analyzing and recommending potential new customers based mostly on their skills and encounter. Trustees signify a wide assortment of backgrounds, with extensive knowledge in small business and finance, health treatment, technologies and the nonprofit sector.

The Board of Trustees oversees governance for the health and fitness process, guiding the pursuit of Sanford’s mission and furnishing oversight of the organization’s strategic route and monetary and operational overall performance.

“Everybody has a qualifications or skillset that is various and as we go via an inventory just about every 12 months to glimpse at the diversity in competencies, geography and backgrounds, we can draw from just one a further,” Teiken mentioned.

When he’s not having fun with the outdoors, Teiken is examining, finding out, discovering and enjoys currently being around his fellow board users to move the group ahead.

“Ultimately, I want to say that we are the finest put and we have the very best men and women and provide the greatest treatment.”

Discover far more

Posted In
Corporate Expert services & Administration, Management in Well being Treatment, Virtual Treatment