Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh

The Power of Health Tech Advocacy: Lisa Rawlins and Senator Ana Rodriguez

• Grant McGaugh CEO 5 STAR BDM • Season 6 • Episode 38

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Unlock the transformative potential of healthcare technology and policy with me, Grant McGaugh, on the Follow the Brand Podcast. Join our enlightening discussion with State Senator Ana Marie Rodriguez and Lisa Rawlins, Senior Vice President of the Gardner Group, as we explore the intersection of tech, advocacy, and healthcare in South Florida. Senator Rodriguez shares her compelling journey from local governance to the state senate, offering a unique perspective on healthcare policy and legislative advocacy. Lisa takes the lead in an insightful interview, drawing out the senator's vast knowledge in health IT and emphasizing the role of technology and collaboration in shaping Miami-Dade County and beyond.

Discover the power of advocacy in bringing about legislative change, especially for individuals with special needs and the pursuit of healthcare interoperability. We highlight a groundbreaking initiative in Florida that helps law enforcement identify special needs conditions via vehicle registration and discuss the efforts by the South Florida HIMSS group in enhancing data sharing across state agencies. These initiatives aim to streamline access to benefits like Medicaid, WIC, and SNAP, illustrating the slow but impactful journey of transforming governmental systems. From the Florida Health Information Exchange's long road to acceptance, we demonstrate how policy, technology, and advocacy are crucial in advancing healthcare for Florida's residents.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of Follow the Brand. I am your host, grant McGaugh, ceo of 5 Star BDM, a 5 Star personal branding and business development company. I want to take you on a journey that takes another deep dive into the world of personal branding and business development, using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips to improve your personal brand. By listening to the Follow the Brand podcast series, you will be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and allow you to build trust with prospective clients and employers. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make it one that will set you apart, build trust and reflect who you are. Developing your five-star personal brand is a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. If you have any questions from me or my guests, please email me at. Grantmcgaw spelled M-C-G-A-U-G-H at 5starbdm B for brand, d for development, m for masterscom. Now let's begin with our next five-star episode on Follow the Brand. Welcome to the Follow Brand Podcast. I am Grant McGaugh, ceo of Five Star BDM, where we help you to build a five-star brand that people will follow, and today we are diving deep into the intersection of healthcare technology and advocacy right here in South Florida, and whether you are working in healthcare, interested in health tech or passionate about shaping policies that affect our communities. This episode is for you, and, as someone who has spent over 20 years helping organizations transform and grow, particularly in the healthcare and technology sectors, I am excited to explore how innovation and legislative advocacy can drive real, meaningful change. So today's conversation is especially timely as we prepare for the upcoming PEMS Integrate Conference, a premier event that focuses on advancing health care through technology and collaboration. I am very happy to have two highly respected leaders with us today. Leaders with us today. First, we have State Senator Anna Marie Rodriguez, representing Florida's 40th District. Senator Rodriguez has a unique perspective, having served on both the local and state level, and she's been a key advocate for healthcare policy and technology initiatives in our region. Also joining us is Lisa Rollins, senior Vice President of the Gardner Group. With over three decades of experience in healthcare administration and policymaking, lisa brings a wealth of knowledge on how advocacy and policy directly impact healthcare systems and the people they serve. In today's episode, we'll be pulling back the curtain on how healthcare policy, technology and advocacy intersect and what it means for South Florida and beyond. We will also touch on what you can expect from the upcoming PIMS Integrate Conference, including key things like health IT legislation and how advocacy plays a critical role in shaping the future of healthcare. So, whether you are attending the conference, working healthcare or just want to understand how technology and policy shape the care we all receive, you are in for a very insightful discussion. So let's get started on the Follow Brand Podcast, where we are building a five-star brand that you can follow.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Follow Brand Podcast. This is Grant McGarugh, your host, and today we're going to keep it local, right here in South Florida. We're going to have a conversation around healthcare, around technology, around advocacy from a state level, a legislation level, things that really don't a lot of people don't know. They need to find out about as we make this journey further down the line into healthcare, what healthcare will mean for our people, specifically in the Miami-Dade County area and beyond. So let me get some people on the news. We're going to have a conversation that's a little different than what I've done in the past, meaning I'm going to have Lisa Rollins interview Senator Anna Marie Rodriguez, and we're going to do this in a style that has never been done before on the Fellow Brand Podcast, to give you a little bit more insight into the upcoming CHEMS Integrated Conference. So I'm going to give it away to Lisa. Get things rolling and I'll be back in about a half hour or so. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2:

Grant, thank you so much. I appreciate you inviting us here today and good afternoon everyone. I am Lisa Rollins, senior Vice President of the Gardner Group. I have spent the last 30 years in our health care system from hospital administration and from the policymaking side, as a former staffer in the Florida House of Representatives Committee on Health Care and spent some time over at the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration as well. From a regulatory side.

Speaker 2:

I also served formally on the South Florida HIMSS Board as the advocacy chair and I am so delighted to introduce to you, ms Senator, anna Marie Rodriguez, a true trusted friend and colleague to me for over many years. And, interestingly, anna Marie Rodriguez is the state senator for Florida's 40th district, which includes portions of Miami-Dade County and all the way down to the end of Monroe County and all the way down to the end of Monroe County. She was elected in November of 2020 and re-elected in 2022 for a second term. She served previously in the Florida House of Representatives 105th District from 2018 to 2020. And before being elected to the state house, she served on the city of Doral City Council from 2010 and 2018. And, senator Rodriguez, it is such a pleasure to have you join me today.

Speaker 3:

Lisa, thank you so much for inviting me. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk a little bit further about HIMSS and everything that people will be expecting during advocacy days and whatnot is the fact that she comes to the table from a true health IT perspective.

Speaker 2:

When Senator Rodriguez served on the Doral City Council, we worked together with the South Florida Regional Extension Center. It was a federally funded grant program that helped small physician practices from Indian River down to Key West adopt electronic health records. So Senator Rodriguez is unique in the fact that she comes to the table with hands-on experience in health information and technology. But today we're going to speak about the Integrate Annual Meeting, the South Florida HEMS Annual Meeting, around advocacy. We have a panel discussion scheduled for that event, where Senator Gail Harreld will also be joining us. But in lieu of that event, I did want to speak a little bit about the value of advocacy. South Florida HEMS is planning an advocacy day at the Capitol, as they have in years past, and, senator Rodriguez, I really wanted to get your opinion on the value of advocacy at the state Capitol value of advocacy at the state capital.

Speaker 3:

Well, lisa, I cannot overstate the importance of advocacy, not just at our state capital, but at the federal level as well as the local level. But so much of what we do and so much of what impacts electronic health records and this industry is decided at the state level. And so I think it's important for people who are in this industry to attend their advocacy days in Tallahassee and get to know their legislators and meet with them and explain, obviously, the importance of why investing in this technology is important for the state and for all Floridians. And so you know, I think, as you mentioned, I served on the city council for eight years and I was a state representative and now I'm in the state Senate.

Speaker 3:

But the relationships that I've built over the decades, such as you know, with people like yourself, who you know, taught me the importance of it and gave me the opportunity to work in this cutting edge industry, really taught me a lot, and I'll talk a little bit more about my background. As far as you know, professionally I worked at Baptist Health prior to working with you at the South Florida Regional Extension Center and, of course, I knew the importance of you know, electronic health records and technology and healthcare in general. But having worked in that field with you opened my eyes even more and taught me so much. But now, as a policymaker, as a decision maker in Tallahassee, I feel like I've come full circle and I'm just so honored to be part of your panel at the conference, so I'm very excited about that.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you, senator.

Speaker 2:

And speaking of advocacy, what you've mentioned, you know, when I worked in the Florida House of Representatives, you know of Emergency Physicians, the Florida Hospital Association Advocacy Days, and that really gave me an opportunity to meet what I call the boots on the ground type of individual who's working in this industry. And I found those advocacy days to be extremely valuable because often what I would do is, you know, I would collect the business cards of those individuals in the advocacy day at the Capitol and if I had a question that came up in a bill I was analyzing or a bill that I was writing for the House of Representatives, I would often call on these advocates that would give me a real-life picture on any possible unintended consequences in drafting a law that would say X Y, z. That without that input from the boots what I call the boots on the ground, the operational people I would have not considered in the past. And I'm wondering, senator Rodriguez, in your position as senator, how do you use these advocates that you meet through these advocacy days at the Capitol?

Speaker 3:

So those are great points, lisa, at the Capitol. So those are great points, lisa. And it's funny because I do meet with all kinds of industry groups, whether it's healthcare, housing, transportation, education, you name it and I think it's important for advocates such as yourself and South Florida HIMSS to know that lawmakers are not subject matter experts on everything. So we do depend greatly on people such as yourself and people from your organizations to come and teach us even more, even though, as you said, I'm one of those unique cases and, senator Harrell, where we you know, because of our professional backgrounds, we do know a little bit more than other lawmakers, but the vast majority may not know exactly why your issue is important.

Speaker 3:

So, breaking it down to a very basic level, you try to keep all your information on one or two pages of information which you would leave behind for the lawmaker or the staff person who is in the process of crafting the legislation that needs to get more information, I think, being readily accessible as well, whether it's giving them your cell phone number, your email, some way that they can contact you if they have questions or not sure how to phrase something properly.

Speaker 3:

That's always really important, and then just trying to be brief when you meet with your legislator. A lot of them are on very tight time schedules, so just making sure that you know, when you go in to meet with them, you know, be kind, be nice, but you don't necessarily have to, you know, like be in their face for an extended period of time. You need to just try to get your message across as quickly as possible and as succinctly as possible so that they can move on with their day and then, if they have questions, they're always able to call you back and, you know, ask you any questions they may have. But for the most part, I think those are the tips I would give somebody who's advocating at our state.

Speaker 3:

Capital is, again, you know, try to keep your information on one page. You know, try to keep your meeting concise, stick to the point and try not to get into the weeds Because, again, not all of us are subject matter experts. So I think it's important for you to just touch the high level points about what your legislation is trying to do or what your organization is trying to accomplish.

Speaker 2:

That's a really good point. I remember as a staff and writing bill analysis. We would, you know, write an analysis on every bill considered in committee and in that bill analysis regardless if it was a one-page bill or a 150-page bill we would do an analysis. But the cover sheet of that analysis was less than one full page long and we would have to summarize in high-level bullets the important changes that were being considered in the proposed legislation. And you make a really good point.

Speaker 2:

Legislators hear from constituents across the state and typically only have a few minutes to meet with their constituents when they're at the Capitol. And to be able to summarize in very succinct messaging really I think helps to convey your position and help to educate the members on what's happening in the industry. So I love that recommendation on keeping it succinct when you meet with the members of both the House and the Senate. You know. Also, I was wondering, senator, do you have like a real life example where an advocacy group really changed the direction? Either you were considering on a piece of legislation or an advocacy effort that actually inspired you to draft legislation and or help support legislation?

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 3:

Well, I actually have multiple examples of this, not just as a state legislator, but when I was on the advocacy side and seeing my efforts influencing the outcome of legislative changes. And I want to touch on something important, lisa, because, as you said, you know, you were in the staff in the Florida House of Representatives and I was on the advocacy side when we met just a few years ago right, so over 20 years ago and you were a baby, then I was a baby, you were a baby too.

Speaker 3:

We were both babies and it's funny. You know, having a good relationship with staff is also extremely important. I can't underestimate. You know how you know people think oh, just meet with the legislator and, like I said, not all of us are subject matter experts. I think it's important for you to always, as an advocate, make sure you keep the contact information of the staff person in that department or that works for that legislator, because those are the ones who are going to be staying in the office late. They're going to be drafting the bills, that are going to be making sure everything is perfect in the in the bill, right? So I just wanted to touch on that real quick. But there there's many examples of of advocacy. You know where I was influenced and I was able to make a really positive change.

Speaker 3:

One of the things that I'm really passionate about is people with special needs, and I have filed several pieces of legislation to improve the lives of these individuals in the state of Florida.

Speaker 3:

One of them is creating a special designation on your vehicle registration that indicates it's a voluntary program. It's not mandatory, but would let someone say I have a person with special needs in my car, whether it's a spouse, a child or so, that when, if they get pulled over or some for whatever reason, the law enforcement officer will know that there's somebody you know with a special need in the car ahead of time, because sometimes these people have very, you know, adverse reactions to, you know, to traumatic situations or if there was a car accident or something of that nature. So this was something that was brought to me by an advocacy group for people with special needs and it was a big deal when we passed it last year. So I always like getting ideas from specific groups that can tell me, hey, this is something that will make our lives better, this is something that's going to help us out. So, yeah, I think any good legislator will always take into consideration information from advocacy groups who know best what's best for their industry.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a really good example and it reminds me too of some of the work that the South Florida HIMSS group did a couple of years ago back in 2019. Himss group, whether that's interoperability between EHRs through the care continuum or utilizing data, interoperable between state agencies and I know the South Florida HIMSS group, got very active a couple of years ago with Representative Grant's bill that mandated interoperability between state agencies and the result of that advocacy efforts led to the passage of that bill which created the Florida digital system under Department of Management Services system under Department of Management Services. So right now, at the state agency level it's specifically at the HHS agency level, like Medicaid and Department of Health and Department of Children and Families, we're starting to see a lot of sharing of information that can help the constituents of Florida. So, for example, one of the things you know sort of a use case that we discussed with the South Florida Hounds Advocacy Days back in 2019 was the value of sharing data from Department of Children and Families. So if a family had applied for WIC or SNAP benefits, you know you typically have to complete a comprehensive application, but these same family groups also may qualify for Medicaid coverage and one of the things we were trying to achieve was that if an individual filled out an application for SNAP or WIC benefits the Department of Children and Families, that application could be what we call interoperable, so that it would also be shared with the state Medicaid agency to determine whether or not that individual qualified for Medicaid.

Speaker 2:

And another great use case of interoperability between state agencies that we advocated for back then was the fact that when parents go to register their children in school you actually have to have the child's vaccination record. Well, interestingly enough, the Department of Health in Florida has a registry, a vaccination registry called SHOTS, that records all vaccinations in the state of Florida. Pediatricians report that up to the state of Florida. And one of the use cases we discussed was the value of, when the parent came in to register their child at school, that instead of having to go to the doctor and get copies of everything, that the Department of Education should have access to the SHOTS database to check and see if that child has met all the vaccination requirements. So that was an interesting advocacy process that we went through several years ago and I'm happy to say that's a real life example of Bill's passing based on advocacy efforts from the South Florida Hymns group.

Speaker 3:

And I think it's important to know, and, if I may, a lot of the things you said. They sound so easy and so smooth, like it just took like one session. And you know, and I know, and I think anyone who's in the advocacy world knows, a lot of the things you just said have taken years, if not decades, to happen. Right, because there's always a tremendous resistance to change and there's always a, you know, resistance to sharing information, because people feel like information is power.

Speaker 3:

And why am I going to share my information with you, even if it's all part of the government? You know, taking care of Floridians, right, and, like you said, there could be a Floridian that has an issue in the Department of Children and Families but is also facing other financial, you know, some other crises in their life. Why not make it easy for us as the government I mean, I know you're not in the government anymore, but in my world it should be easy to connect all those dots right and to make it easy for us to say, okay, this person has X, y, z needs, let's close the loop and have a continuum of care where we could, you know, make sure this person has all their needs taken care of and so, like you said, it was a big puzzle kind of like to put together, but honestly, you know it's well worth it because it does make Floridian's life much easier. It makes our life on the government side easier as well to help that person in their totality.

Speaker 2:

You make a really good point and you know, just as a real example, one of the bills that passed during last session was a mandate that all licensed healthcare facilities actually had to participate in the Florida Health Information Exchange, and that was in 2024. So, if we push the reverse button, I actually headed up the initiative in the state of Florida, under Governor Bush, to create the Florida HIE back in 2004. And you know we had, you know, the program up and running in its infancy as far back as 2006. But to your point, senator, harold, it actually took almost two decades before the industry was willing to accept the fact that a health information exchange throughout the state and sharing information from provider organization to provider organization or to provider was of value.

Speaker 2:

And change is not easy, as you've mentioned, and oftentimes we see a good policy idea. In my experience it's taken about typically three years on. Too was a project that was in process for about two or three years before we actually saw the legislation passed. So advocacy, you know, is a great way to educate our policymakers and, to your point, senator, also to educate the staff that are helping to support the elected officials. So my last question to you, senator, is what do you expect in the upcoming Integrate Conference, with our fireside chat between myself and you and Senator Harold, what would you like to see at the end of the day?

Speaker 3:

Well, Lisa, I think it's always great to you know, when we talk about advocacy, to kind of frame the picture and talk about, like you said, like kind of give people an overview of, kind of where all the steps that were involved to get to where we are today, and just kind of if we each had our own little crystal ball, like what would we like to see coming out of the next legislative session or two.

Speaker 3:

Because I think, you know, because Governor DeSantis is finishing his last two years in office, you know we need to just start planning ahead and there will be a transition in our, you know, governor's office and I think the governor's office, as you mentioned, under the leadership of Governor Bush, you know, years ago, you know this was something that was very important to him, right?

Speaker 3:

So whoever ends up taking that role in the future is going to be pivotal in deciding the future of HIE, and so we need to make sure that, whoever those candidates are, which we already know some of them may possibly be those are conversations that need to start happening early so that we explain the importance of why it's, you know, why they need to invest and why the state needs to continue being a forward-facing state in this arena and others, but particularly as it relates to this, because it affects so many people's health and just in so many different ways. So I think it's going to be a great conversation. I'm excited to see you in person and to see Senator Harrell, my dear colleague, as well.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

I tell you this has been wonderful. I want to thank you both for being on the Follow Brand Podcast and the visibility that you brought for the chapter on advocacy. A lot of people aren't familiar with the value that a HIMSS chapter brings specifically in their area, that they can be a voice for change, your service, the things that you've been doing for our people, that have made our lives just a little bit better than if you were not an advocate for health care in this state of Florida. So I want to thank you both again and, before I leave you, let the audience know, because I'm sure they're like hey, you know what? That was great intel. What is the best way to get in touch with each of you? And I'll let Senator Rodriguez go first and then we'll finish up with Lisa Rollins.

Speaker 3:

So the best way for people to reach me is through my legislative office. I'm actually located in Doral, florida, down near Miami International Airport. I'm also on LinkedIn. I also happen to be on Facebook and X and everything else and Instagram, but I prefer for legislative things to come in through my office, through my legislative office, excellent At the flsenategov wwwflsenategov.

Speaker 1:

Got it, ms Lisa Robbins.

Speaker 2:

Yes, grant, probably the easiest way for me. As I mentioned in my introduction, I'm serving as the vice president of the Gardner Group, based out of Tallahassee based out of Tallahassee but I also have a LinkedIn profile and I could be reached there or via email at lrollins at thegardnergroup would also be a good way to get in touch with me.

Speaker 1:

Excellent, excellent, excellent. And if anyone wants more information about the South Florida HEMS conference, please go to our website.

Speaker 1:

You can easily, google, hems South Florida, integrate. It will pop right up and it will be a sold-out event. So get there, get your tickets as soon as possible. We've got just a marquee line up and if you want to get in touch with me, you can look at all of our different episodes on the Follow Brand Podcast. It's 5-Star BDL, that is the number 5, that star the speed for brand. E for development, m for masterscom. I want to thank you both again for being on the show. Thank you, grant. Thanks for joining us on the Follow Brand Podcast. Big thanks to Full Effect Productions for their incredible support on each and every episode. Now the journey continues on our YouTube channel Follow Brand TV Series. Dive into exclusive interviews, extended content and bonus insights that will fuel your success. Subscribe now and be a part of our growing community, sharing and learning together. Explore, engage and elevate at Follow Brand TV Series on YouTube. Stay connected, stay inspired. Until next time, we will continue building a five-star brand that you can follow.