Karen Hanlon: Highmark Health's Commitment to Diverse Workforce

At Highmark, we believe what makes us different makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster diverse skills which complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition by the USBLN and the American Association of People with Disabilities as a 2014 Disability Equality Index Best Place to Work. So we'll continue to celebrate diverse individuals because inclusion benefits us all. To find out more, visit highmark.com.

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Well, welcome everyone. Welcome to the show. I hope you all had a safe and wonderful New Year's. Starting off a new year, starting off a new year with all of our goals. I know at Bender we are so excited about 2025, and I am sure you are too. And hey, Australia, we saw you and your fireworks go off before we did. With the time change. But from Australia to Finland to Saudi Arabia, Germany, big listening audience. I want to thank all of you. I always thank you, but I want you to know, as I told the State Department, you are all so wonderful, such Great listeners. Now remember what I always say, go to any English-speaking location such as another radio show or even the embassy at the State Department and tell them about this show. You are helping me help others. And as you well know, throughout Asia, since I've been to Indonesia, South Korea twice, Japan. There is pervasive shame. And there should not be. I'll never forget the first time I went to South Korea and the doctor ran out before I spoke and he said, whatever you say, don't say that word epilepsy. Whatever you do, don't do that. So of course, if you know me, you won't be surprised that I said, hello everyone. Joyce Bender, and I'm living with epilepsy and I'm not ashamed because was that not the whole point? But my point to you, you can help so many people, can help so many people. And speaking of people, Richard Roberts in Brazil, a special shout out to you. You know I love you. And Gangyang Cho in South Korea, same thing, and everyone I met from Kazakhstan to Panama, everyone. And I'm excited to tell you, not only at some point this year will I be going to Brazil— I was supposed to go last year, but there were issues with the consulate— but guess what? I'm gonna go later this year to see you in Brunei, which, when the State Department called me, I'm ashamed, I'm going to admit it, that I said, where is that? And it is beneath the Philippines. But hey, I'll go where you need me to go. So happy New Year to everyone. Yoshiko Dark, I love you. A special shout out to you. Hey, Yoshiko, thank you for supporting us. Thank you for supporting Bender Leadership. Joyce Bender Consulting Services. You're my champion, Yoshiko. So you all know, why do I do that every show? I've told you for years now, I get very upset that if I went out on the streets and said, do you know who Justin Dart is? They would say no. In the meantime, he's what, the most famous disability rights leader that we lost several years ago. And I am hoping in our high schools and middle schools someday, with enough pressing, we'll be able to get our education in those schools. And Highmark— this is Highmark Month, and the reason is because this is how I started, and this year is the 30th anniversary of Bender Consulting Services. So I thought, wow, what would be better than recognizing the company that helped get me started? And I love our guest today. She is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Highmark Health. And For those of you with disabilities listening, you know how at some companies, yeah, there's someone at the top and they'll say, "Oh, yes, let me refer you to Chief Human Capital Officer," or whomever. Sometimes nothing happens. Oh, she's involved. Believe me, she is involved. So, Karen Hanlon, it's a pleasure to have you on the show again as we celebrate Hi-Mark month. So, um, as I just explained to everyone, in 1995 I went to the CEO of Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania. He actually was the CEO and was there for the merger where it became Hi-Mark, Bill Lowry. And I said, Bill, I want to start this company. But I, I need a partner. Would you bring on 6 people with disabilities and keep them on contract for 3 years? Okay. What are the odds of me going to a company today seeing that happen? Sadly, low. And it took him one day, one day to say yes. Only when the rest is history. Every CEO, do you know that it went from Bill to John Brouse to Ken Maloney to Bill Winkenwerder, and then, oh my God, David Holmberg, who was just on, is phenomenal. But so is his partner, Karen Hanlon. Welcome again. I think that, you know, that's unusual for all those CEOs to stand behind someone doing what I do.

Hi Joyce, well, happy New Year to you. And yeah, it's been a great partnership between Highmark and Bender over many, many, many years. And, you know, I think we've both found great enjoyment from the work, great satisfaction, fulfillment, great business results from the work. And so it's just been our pleasure to work with you. And your organization. You guys are amazing.

Well, thank you. But when I tell people that every CEO and the top female running the show— David, don't get mad at me— but my question is, why do you think that is? Like, that's remarkable. Why do you think that is?

Well, I think it's first of all because at Highmark, we believe that our employee base should represent the communities that we live in and be reflective of the communities that we live in. And that includes, of course, people with disabilities. And so, you know, we are committed to inclusivity and to having our workforce reflect the communities that we serve. And that includes, as I said, people with disabilities. Has continued for, for years. It's consistent with our mission as a company and who we want to be. And, and then add on to it that from a business standpoint, it's, it's been, you know, a great solution for us, especially when, you know, you're in periods where talent is, is tough to attract. It's, you know, a tight talent market in certain fields. And you and I both know, you know, we've had certain roles that we've been seeking talent for, and, you know, we tell you what those roles are and the sorts of skill sets that we're looking for and the capabilities we're looking for, and you have a knack for going to find those people. And, you know, sometimes within your, your existing base of employees, but sometimes probably not. And, but it's worked for us in terms of, you know, filling talent needs and finding solutions for roles that we've had. So it's met the business objective while it's also been reflective of what we want to see in our workforce.

Well, couldn't do it without a partner. But Karen, you are the first female Chief Operating Officer at Highmark, the very first. But for those of you around the world or even throughout the United States, because we have now 30 countries with listeners. But of course, across the United States, we have all these listeners. Would you mind explaining to everyone what you do at Highmark?

Sure. Yeah. I mean, as you said, I'm our chief operating officer. Highmark is based in Pittsburgh. It's about a $30 billion company. We serve as a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and parts of New York. And we have a provider division to the company as well. We own Allegheny Health Network, which is about 14 hospitals, about 2,000 physicians in western Pennsylvania. We have an interest in the Penn State healthcare system in the central part of Pennsylvania. And then we also have 3 national companies, a dental insurance subsidiary, a stop-loss insurance subsidiary, and a technology company. And those 3 really operate throughout the entire nation. My role as Chief Operating Officer is to work with our strategy office in formulating the strategy and then embedding that strategy through the organization. And, you know, making the changes we need to, to fulfill the goals of the strategy, whether that be process changes or market changes, technology changes, whatever it is. And so, my accountability, I have our strategy function, of course, our health plan reports to me, as does our payer division. I'm sorry, our provider division. I have accountability for technology and data and analytics and business planning and performance. All those sorts of things. So it's a great job, it's a lot of fun, there's something new going on every single day, but it's fun to be, you know, working on the strategy of the company and seeing the difference that we can make in terms of transforming healthcare.

You know, since 2002, I came up with this idea that I would have a trait or a characteristic that would be our theme for the year, and that every month I would send a quote out to our current and past employees with a tip that related to this. So we started with character, but this year it's humility. And why I bring that up is Karen is very powerful, but she's also very humble. Like, even how she just described this here— I'll describe it. Highmark reports to her and all these other areas, but Karen is, you know, when you meet Karen, she's not like, I'm all that, or condescending, or looking down. She's Karen. And that's, that's a trait I really admire in you. I tell everyone that, and I really admire that in you. So you already, uh, have our characteristic for the year: humility. As we were saying, as we were saying today, really, without humility, you're not successful. It's not thinking, uh, of yourself less. It's not that, right? But, you know, it's not self-deprecating. It's not always thinking of yourself more than other people. So, you know, that's you. And to me, to be successful, you have to be like that because you have to be willing to listen to others and you have to be willing to take criticism and you have to be willing to say, you know what, I need them. To do this. Still firm, still assertive, but you have to have that— a leader that serves, that core, core being. It's not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. That's what it is.

That's a great way of saying it, Joyce. Yeah, that's a great way of saying it.

I wish I could take credit, but my favorite author— one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis— that was one of his big quotes. But anyway, Karen, I believe— like, I went to Geneva College, and I have always believed that where you go to college has an impact that will carry through the rest of your life. And so why did you choose Grove City College, and how do you believe it helped you later on in your career?

Yeah, so for your listeners that, that might not know, Groves City College is a small private school about an hour and a half north of the city of Pittsburgh. I think today they have around 3,000 students or so, and it was about the same size back when, when I was there. I chose Groves City honestly for a couple of reasons. One, when I was in high school, I did a leadership conference for a club that I was in in high school, and they had a summer program that I attended that was held at Grove City. So I had the, you know, the opportunity to stay there for a few days and kind of understand and appreciate campus a little bit. It was pretty close to my house because of my— I'm from Pittsburgh, and so it was far enough away that I really was going to go away to college, but yet not so far away that I couldn't get home if I wanted to get home for the weekend. And it was— It was a good school, a good education, and it provided value. And I was paying for a lot of my school myself, and so, you know, I needed to be thoughtful about the amount of money that I was spending on it as well. What I probably didn't know as much of when I was first making my choice, but that I found in Grove City for sure to be true, was just the quality of people. You know, I mean, You brought up humility, Joyce, and I think, you know, you had a student base at Grove City that just, you know, it was just a very genuine, authentic student base. It is a faith-based school, and, you know, I think you saw that in a lot of the students there. And to this day, some, I guess, 30-some years later, um, you know, my best friends are still friends from college, and they are, you know, just great people. And, um, I'm, I'm lucky that we still— certainly that small group of friends, we still get together regularly. But then we still also have an opportunity to get together with a larger group, or larger group of people periodically from Grove City. And I find that, you know, those people are still as good today as they were back when I was in school with them that many years ago. And so it's the people around you, you know. It's the same reason I've stayed at Highmark for as long as I have. It's the people around you, you know, and especially for work. We spend an awful lot of time there. We better like the people that we work with.

Yes, more time than we do at home or with our family. Every day, and sometimes after hours. So, I mean, that, that is so true. Well, Highmark has a lot of services. And by the way, so all of you know, if the Bills go into the play— well, they're in the playoffs, but should they go on to be in the World Series, so you know, they're at Highmark Stadium. That's right. Every time I watch the game, I see Highmark. Up there, but I don't think people realize Highmark is not just an insurance company. I mean, you do so many things. So could you talk about that?

Sure. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, across our various businesses, as you said, we certainly are a health insurance company. We're operating as a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, parts of New York, and we have about 7 million insurance members. And then we have a large provider system that we own in Western Pennsylvania, Allegheny Health Network. It's about a $5 billion system, lots of hospitals and doctors, as I said earlier, and outpatient sites. Our national dental company is called United Concordia, and United Concordia is providing dental coverage across the United States, about 10 million dental members in all. And then we have a stop-loss insurance company which is called HM Insurance Group that also operates nationally within the U.S. And then lastly, our technology business that sells, you know, a lot of the technology that we use internally to operate our payer business. We market that to other health plans. And so it's serving a variety of other health plans across the U.S. as well. So lots of, lots of, you know, pieces and parts to the company. Highly integrated, you know, as you can imagine, the work that we do in the insurance business in Western Pennsylvania is very integrated with the work that we do as a provider in Western Pennsylvania with our focus to really, you know, make healthcare an easier system to navigate for our customers and to provide a less fragmented system. But you see similar integration across a variety of our businesses. And it's been a growing company over the years and continues to be so. It's one of the things that's made it, you know, a great place to work because it's always provided a variety of opportunities and always something new going on.

Oh, that is so true. And you know, with Allegheny Health Network, that means in addition to the hospitals, like, you can go to what I refer to as an urgent care center or same-day out, uh, out service. I mean, you really own a lot.

I mean, I mean, they're really— yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a, it's a, you know, fully enabled health system, no doubt. Provides just about every service and has amazing quality. The doctors are amazing. You know, it's one of those, it's one of those things. Not a lot of people get to work in an industry that every day has an impact on people the way that healthcare does. And certainly Even on the payer side, you know, we, we see that, but in the provider system, you know, those are the people that have hands-on patients every day healing them. And the work that the doctors and the nurses and the technicians and the environmental services folks do every day to care for the patients that come to us for help is incredible work. And it You know, you talk about humility. I think another quality, I hope one of your, one of your words for the month, one of these months, Joyce, is gratitude. Because I feel very much like gratitude and humility go hand in hand. I'm a believer of that. And I'll tell you, you know, when you're working with a set of providers every day that are healing people, It makes it really easy to be grateful, you know, because you see a lot of people with real challenges, real issues, and you see the work that it takes to heal them and the difference that it can make for those people. And it is very gratifying and it is humbling. And, you know, it just makes you thankful every day for what you have as an individual, with your family, with your friends around you. Because not everybody is as fortunate as us, for sure.

Well, yes, gratitude was one of the themes for the year, a few years ago. And I concur with you. I actually think that's the top skill. Why I say that? Attitude is great, having a good attitude, but even that's not the same as gratitude. And when you have gratitude, you have that positive attitude, you know, you're thankful, you're appreciative, but you also appreciate having a job and taking that seriously. And that is why I, when I speak at companies, I'll tell them every day when you go to work, you should be thankful because there are millions of people with disabilities that would love that opportunity. And that is why people with disabilities are so grateful. It's because they've been left out. It's not that they're superheroes. It's just they couldn't find, you know, this opportunity. So I agree with you about that. And I remember when Highmark purchased the assets of West Penn Allegheny Health System, which went on to become, uh, AHN. And since that time, the company has grown, is fully integrated, uh, with Hi, Mark. Could you talk about that a little bit? The first of all, the initial undertaking, I can't even begin to imagine. And now how widespread they have become.

Yeah, sure. Yeah, so 2013 was the year that, you know, Highmark essentially acquired— I'll use that term to just make it easy for people to understand— the West Penn Allegheny Health System. And West Penn Allegheny Health System was a provider system in western Pennsylvania at the time. I think it included 5 hospitals. And frankly, they were on the verge of bankruptcy. You know, the clinical care was great. It had a great physician group. It, you know, had doctors and nurses and technicians and so on that cared deeply, but they just didn't have any money, you know, and didn't have the ability to make investments because of some of the prior decisions that were made by prior leadership. And so Highmark stepped in and essentially, you know, acquired the West Penn Allegheny Health System and added a couple of other hospitals to it and has since— we have built some new hospitals and acquired some others to form what ultimately is Allegheny Health Network now. As I said earlier, it's 14 hospitals and a couple thousand physicians. Probably, I think in 2013 when we, when we started putting it all together, it was about $2 billion in premium— or I'm sorry, $2 billion in revenue. And today, as I mentioned earlier, it's about $5 billion in revenue over about 10 years. So it's grown significantly. And, and, you know, I think most importantly what it's done for the community is provided greater access to care than what existed before. It's, it's made care locations more convenient to get to. We have just been dogged about, you know, getting appointments open so that people can get in for care. We have a same-day appointments program, call by 10:00 AM, get seen that day. We're able to run that on most specialties. I will say through COVID that got a lot tougher to do. You had the complications of COVID but then of course you had the staffing challenges that came as one of the later effects of COVID And so it's made it a little bit tougher to do that, but we, continue to focus on it and try to make the system as accessible as we possibly can to people and are doing just great work there and are focused on the communities in Western Pennsylvania in terms of those that have difficult, difficult time accessing care and trying to bring care to communities so that they are able to get the care needed. So, you know, we, we continue to stay focused on it. The quality of the healthcare system is just exceptional, whether it's, you know, looking at ratings from Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services or the LeapFrog Group or other, other organizations out there that provide different grading systems for a healthcare system. And we're just really proud of the work that they do there, and it continues to grow.

Well, I am a Highmark member, proudly. And Dr. James Valeriano, who is phenomenal for any of you living with epilepsy, as I do. This is where you go. This man is a phenomenal neurologist and epileptologist. Not to forget Titanium Man, otherwise known as Dr. Sauber. Dr. Tim Stauber. I also had 2 knee replacements. So why am I telling all this? Not only did I have extremely fabulous care, but it didn't include just the doctors. It was the nurses, it was the physician assistants, it was— I'll never— the first time I got a knee replacement, I looked up at this nurse, I said It doesn't look like Chicago Med TV show. And, you know, she just laughed, but afterwards she said, are you okay even though you're not there? I said, I am more than okay. But I mean, what you said about people, yeah, you know, also I am very compassionate. I am endorsing AHN. If any of you have any need for any services, go there. And I love the Wexford Health Pavilion in Wexford, PA, which is also, um, Wexford Hospital. It is amazing today that with healthcare you can go one place and get so many things taken care of, and all part of the changes moving forward, uh, in healthcare. But you are, as we were just saying, the first female COO at Highmark. However, every time you read Fortune or any magazine, you know, about women, it's still very hard for women to move into that top role. Like, for example, COO, CEO, CEO, very difficult. So, um, what do you do at Highmark to try to foster women in those type of roles, to enable them to move into those type of roles?

Sure, yeah. I mean, first and foremost, I think it's just making sure that, you know, they, they get the opportunities to build their talent base, to, you know, do different projects that allow them to build additional skills and and get exposure to people that they wouldn't have otherwise had exposure to. And so it's, it's making sure that they're at the, the table for the discussions on the topic. And it might not always be that they have something directly to add. Sometimes it's just so that they can hear the conversation and, and see how it goes and get the exposure to the other people that are part of the conversation. It's making sure that as we're, you know, thinking about filling new roles, that we're inclusive about our, our candidate set and that we have, you know, wide representation at the table and in thinking about, you know, who could possibly take that next opportunity or fill that next role. We have a very strong women business resource group at Highmark that does a lot to just promote for women self-exploration, self-development, problem-solving. You know, frankly, you know, sometimes just bringing women together to talk about something that's a challenge and how different people are tackling that challenge. But the Women's Business Resource Group is a very robust organization at Highmark and focuses on developing people. At all levels. And then it's just relationship building as well, you know, and making sure that I'm out there talking with people, that other women leaders are out there talking with people, making sure that we're accessible. You know, I can remember one conversation. I was actually at one of our sales events with our sales folks, and I had somebody— we were standing in a small group of people, we were chatting and I said something about one of my kids. And there was a woman standing there from our marketing organization and she looked at me and she said, "You have kids?" And I said, "Yeah, I have 3." And she said, "You know, you should talk about that more." She said, "You know, there are a lot of people in the organization that feel like if you have kids, if you have those family responsibilities, if you know, you have those other things going on in your life that you can't rise to the level that you've risen to. And, uh, you know, they, they need to know that it's possible. And so, you know, that's an example of just being out there talking with people and, and making yourself accessible so that people can hear about your experiences and what you did and, you know, what worked well for you, what didn't work so well for you sometimes. And you know, allowing other people to learn from your experiences. So, I think it's a little bit of all of that.

A lot of women ask me, do you think it is beneficial to seek out a mentor, a female mentor where you work?

You know, Joyce, I think my answer to that would be For some people, yes, absolutely. But I don't think it's a universal answer. You know, I think for me as a leader, I've taken different things from, from different leaders. You know, it wasn't that I had to have one mentor. It wasn't that it had to be a woman mentor. You see different leadership qualities and traits and characteristics in different people. And so for me, it's been kind of taking different things from different people. But, but for some, you know, that having a woman mentor might be, you know, might be important to them. They might want to be connected at a deeper level on the sorts of topics that maybe they could talk with somebody like that about. And I think that's okay. But you just have to find what works best for you. I've been, you know, blessed at Highmark to be in an environment where I have never felt a glass ceiling. And I say that recognizing that maybe not every woman at Highmark has had that same experience. So I don't wanna diminish somebody else's experience in any way. And it's part of the reason I try to make sure that I'm out there and I'm listening to people and hearing what's working for them and what's concerning to them. But I, you know, I've just had the opportunity to, you know, when the time arose to raise my hand and say, hey, give me a shot at that, or let me try that, or I want to be involved in that. And, you know, I've been able to do that and build relationships, which are really, really, really important. And through those relationships to build credibility and a knowledge set you know, that, that is helpful as you're looking forward and thinking about what the company's trying to tackle next. And that's what I would really encourage people to do is relationship build. And, and to me, it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman or who it is. Relationship build across departments, across companies, inside the company, outside the company, and take something from all of those relationships to make you better.

I agree with you. With me, it was never this one female mentor. Now, don't get me wrong, I learned from different female executives the way I do with you. However, I had male, male mentors also. It wasn't really mentoring, it was more learning, watching, you know, seeing But it can be either way, just as you said. For some people, that's a great way, but it doesn't have to be the only way. That's what I would say about that. So, Karen, something that's talked a lot about, uh, in healthcare magazines everywhere is artificial intelligence.

Yeah.

And I wanted your opinion. Do you think with data It could end up being a predictive tool of healthcare risk for patients.

Yeah, I do. And at some level it already is. Even before this latest wave of capabilities with generative AI, in some areas, given the data available, the technology was already able to be used as a predictive tool. I don't think it will be the only tool. And we certainly are still in a place where we would say, you know, you need to have a human in the loop. But can it be used to kind of flag something for a human to take a special look? Can it be used to flag what should be looked at first because it might be the most urgent item to attend to? Yes, absolutely. And I think there's a lot of promise in the field of AI as it relates to healthcare. I think it will change healthcare very significantly over for the next 5, 10, 15 years. And, you know, we, we just have to be smart about how we're using it. We have to be responsible about how we're using it. That's why we really are proponents for still having a human in the loop and, and not just, you know, turning all the decisions over to the technology. There's still too much not known about it. To, to do that in most cases. Um, but yeah, I think it's going to open up a whole new horizon for us in terms of caring for people.

Yeah, I do too. A lot of people are afraid of AI because, you know, they don't want to lose their job. That's in their mind. But then there, there is good and there is bad. You know, if you have something the kid end up saying, oh wait, this person's at a high risk for breast cancer, whatever it would be, and help prevent that. I mean, that would be phenomenal. And I'm sure there are going to be a lot of things. And boy, does it move fast.

Sure does.

Yeah, it moves so fast.

Yep.

Yeah. So, um, Karen With the shortage of healthcare labor, what are you seeing as, you know, what impact do you think that's going to have? What worries you? What concerns do you have?

Yeah, I mean, it, you know, certainly through COVID, that was a challenge and continues to be a challenge. I do think, you know, AI might be able to help us a little bit on that front because maybe there is work that, is done today, that by bringing technology to the table, we can have that consume less time from the individual caring for the, for the patient so that they can spend more time on, on the things that make a bigger difference for the care of the patient. So I do think technology will be able to, will be able to be part of a solution to some of the healthcare labor shortage. I think we're going to have to continue to focus on pipeline and having people enter the field and, and continue to, you know, build talent in these areas. We're going to have to focus on having people practice at the top of their license so that, you know, we're able to pull more people into the field of healthcare to do parts of the job that another license might not be required for. It's not going to be able to be one solution. It's going to have to be a variety of things. And it's not just nurses, it's doctors in some areas, it's technicians in some cases, it's environmental service workers. You know, it's a, it's a little bit of everything. And so that's another reason that the solutions that we look at are going to have to be, you know, multidimensional. My biggest concern, I think, as it relates to the healthcare labor shortage is just that we have an aging population. And, you know, so I think the healthcare needs are going to become more intense. People are— and people are living longer, you know, so the, the care needs get bigger and broader and deeper. And, and so I don't see that, that labor shortage as something that we are going to have a quick solution to because the needs are just going to get more intense and we're going to have to keep working at it. I do think that The technology will increasingly allow us to utilize care at home to a greater degree so that people are able to stay in their home longer with the support system that's around them, helping to care for them. And frankly, most people want to do that anyway. You know, people don't want to be in the hospital. Nobody, you know, unless you're having a baby, you don't really, you're not choosing to to be in the hospital. You know, you're there because you have to be. And for most folks, if you give them the option of going home with the right support around them, that's an option that they want to be able to take advantage of if their support structure will allow them to. And I think the technology will increasingly enable us to do that. You know, when you think about the promise of remote monitoring and just understanding what's going on with an individual at any moment in time,. And then, you know, having, having care teams dispersed, whether it's virtually or telephonically or physically, if they have to be based on what you see on the remote monitoring, I think care at home will become a more, more and more viable solution that will also in some way help, help with the labor shortage.

What about though, like personal attendants? Skilled nursing or people that have to go in and bathe the person or help them. That seems like hard to find.

I mean, it is. Yeah. I mean, that is every bit a part of the healthcare labor shortage. All of those roles, they're hard jobs, you know, and it takes a caring heart. you know, to, to do those jobs. And, you know, when my— so my, my youngest daughter recently started volunteering at a local hospital, and before she went in for her first volunteer assignment, I said to her, I said, you know, you, you need to remember and appreciate the fact that most people are not there because they want to be. They're there because they don't feel well. They're there because there's a problem. They might not be feeling real happy about being there. And so one of your jobs as a volunteer is to try and make them happier, you know, to try and make the day a little bit better for them. And she's doing a small little job of, you know, pushing a cart around and taking in snacks and games and, you know, things to keep their mind off of what they're otherwise dealing with. But, you know, these are hard jobs and so I think that's, you know, that's added to the, the reason for the labor shortage and the nursing homes, the skilled nursing facilities have every bit as much the challenge as we do in the hospitals and in the physician offices and all of it is needed so we're going to have to keep working at it.

Well, You know, and I know you were right there front and center, COVID. I mean, never in our wildest dreams did we anticipate anything like this. You know, when I think about watching TV and seeing body after body, I mean, like, it was like a biblical plague. I mean, it was horrifying. And I know Highmark was front and center working on that. Um, that's an example where people were having a hard time getting help because many of those personal attendants were seeing Wendy's will pay you a $5,000 bonus. Yeah, for a higher hourly rate. But how was that? I bet that was— you had the same—

oh my gosh, yeah, it was as you said, Joyce Bender, like unbelievable, you know, not something that we would have ever envisioned. But I will say, you know, the positive of it, I think there have been a few positives. One, You know, we saw a side to humanity that is important for us all to remember. We saw caring people kick into action and do things. We certainly innovated through it and found some, you know, some things that are useful to us going forward that maybe we wouldn't have otherwise found or would have taken us longer to find. But Yeah, I mean, I think the key was getting the things that people needed to them as quickly as we could, whether it was care or the vaccines or whatever. And in our case, as I think was the case throughout a lot of communities, we saw the community just band together. And, and do what was necessary to prioritize the people that needed to be prioritized, to get things to folks that needed them, and that included lots of other businesses in our communities, lots of individuals, and our care teams did just amazing work in doing everything that they needed to, to care for the sickest people that were in the hospitals at the time. And, you know, their work could— can, you know, the thanks to them cannot be overstated because it was incredible.

Yeah, talk about gratitude. Yeah, I mean, these people put their life on the line.

Yeah, they did.

They put their life on the line. And if you know what, I hope everyone listening remembers, we used to clap for nurses when we would see them. Yeah, I hope you still remember to be thankful and kind to people in that position. I do. So, um, yes, oh, I, I know. Uh, so, Karen, before I ask you the last question, I wanted to ask you, over the past, we'll say, year or two years, uh, what have you seen what do you think personally is your greatest accomplishment?

Oh, Joyce, wow. Um, over the past couple of years, I— greatest personal accomplishment. Well, so I, in my, in my personal life, I will say that, um, I've, I've gotten a little healthier. So that's, that's a good thing. I'll take that. It's, you know, not always big things. Sometimes it's small things, but they still matter. And I would say professionally, it's been the growth of Highmark, you know. You know, we've grown into new markets. We've expanded in existing markets. It's, you know, we have a strategy that is just intensely focused on the consumer, and how we change the experience in healthcare. And I don't know that we'll ever be able to say that we're done on that front, and I don't know that we will ever think that we will have done enough, but I also think it's important for us to reflect on the good that we have done and the difference that we have made, and we absolutely have. And so, I'm proud of the growth and expansion of the company and the mission that is laid out in front of us and the goals that we have and the progress we've made toward that. So, yeah.

Well, those are big things. And by the way, I put the healthy very high. I put that very high. Well, Karen, Before we go, I wanted to tell you a story and our listeners, because I told this to David and he said, oh, I don't think I knew that story. He may have told you, but I'm going to share it with our listeners no matter what. So there was a young man that I had known for quite a while. I placed him years ago at Wellpoint before they became Anthem again. And he was in IT as a project leader. Anthem, WellPoint had that huge layoff. He lost his job. And then after that, he went to different consulting companies, but never a secure position. And then, you know, during when companies were laying everyone off recently, he lost his position, and he was doing really little IT odd jobs but didn't have a lot, but brilliant. Well, shout out to Mick Malick, who is awesome. Yeah, he has supported me, but so has this new person too, Tracy Sala. But, um, talking about Mick He got a job, this employee of mine.

Yep.

And he called our office and said, I was in the parking lot and Highmark called and offered me this job. And you know where I was in the parking lot? The food bank. And I looked up at this food bank and I said, I don't have to come back. Oh my gosh.

It just—

yeah. Yeah. And that, Karen, is what you're doing as the leader at Highmark, and I thank you, and people with disabilities thank you. I mean, you are really changing lives, and we are grateful. So, Karen, do you have—

We're following you. We're following you. You're the leader of the pack. We're just trying to keep up with you and pick up behind you and do our part.

Well, you're certainly doing your part. But anyway, do you have a final message for our listeners?

You know, I'm going to stick with our theme from earlier, Joyce. I like your humility theme for the month, and I'll add the gratitude with it. And, you know, be thankful and be happy. And I just think that positivity spreads and we should all strive to be positive, especially when there's lots around us in the world that could easily kind of allow us to be otherwise.

That's right. I always tell people, attitude is a choice. So is gratitude. So is, you know, that when you get up, you make that choice. And my choice is that I'm proud I'm friends with you, Karen Hanlon.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I am very grateful. Well, before we end the show, hey, we continue with Highmark Month next week, and once again, 30th anniversary of Bender, and I am honoring the company that helped me get started. So I have our quote for the day, which is, "No country can ever really flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of, yes, half its citizens, said Michelle Obama. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Talk to you next week with another Highmark leader.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America variety channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.