‘We want to be a thought leader,’ says Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’s CEO

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Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Lehigh Valley, Michael Spigel took over the president and CEO position at the Allentown-based Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network.

Amidst a time fraught with fear and uncertainty, Spigel took on the challenge of leading the health care network into the future.

Recently, LVB recently sat down with the Baltimore native to learn more. He shared with us about the importance of being an empathetic leader, plans for the network’s new $50 million rehabilitation hospital, and why work/life balance is not always achievable.

You recently made a big life move, leaving your position as COO of Brooks Rehabilitation in Florida. Tell us a bit about the journey that led you here to the Valley today.

I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. My original degree was in physical therapy from the University of Maryland. I actually began my career as a therapist.

When I was in therapy school, I served a rotation at Children’s National Hospital. One of my patients was a 12-year-old boy who had suffered an accidental gunshot wound. He was paralyzed from the waist down. That’s when it hit me that what I wanted to do was work with people with spinal cord injuries. And that’s what I did for the first five to six years of my career.

Over the years I moved into management. I most recently served as president and COO entof Brooks Rehabilitation. It is a similar organization to Good Shepherd. And after 15 years in Florida, I made the decision to take this leadership role at Good Shepherd.

I was perfectly happy where I was, I really enjoyed it. I was doing great things. The organization had a great culture. I got calls all the time about positions and I would always say that I’m happy, things are great. But when the call came in about Good Shepherd, it piqued my interest. I knew of the organization from being in rehabilitation.

I was offered the position in March, shortly after the pandemic began to change everything, and I didn’t hesitate one iota.

How did you approach taking the leadership role at a health care organization during the middle of a pandemic?

Good Shepherd had a good system in place as far as reacting to COVID. They had set up an incident command center for how to respond. They had a great experience, with no substantial outbreaks. Slightly less than 40 employees have tested positive. Good Shepherd had their arms around what to do.

I did not anticipate, however, what it would be like to start a new position with everyone behind a mask. I didn’t at all anticipate how hard and unfulfilling that would be. People were behind a zoom call, on a screen. I’m a real people person. Screens and masks make it harder to have connections and to feel like you are meeting people and getting to know them.

Did Good Shepherd see a reduction in the number of out-patient patients coming in because of their fear of COVID?

Volumes of patients dropped by more than half. In-patient care didn’t change much. Today we are close to pre-COVID for out-patient. Our telemedicine usage increased during the pandemic.

How important has telehealth become to rehabilitation services?

Historically payers did not cover telehealth. That changed with the pandemic. As patient volumes went down in our clinic, telehealth went up to five to 10% of our volume. Since then, telehealth has gone down again. It will probably become a more normal part of how patients access our services over time. It’s great for follow-up care. It’s going to be a part of out-patient follow up moving forward.

COVID woke everyone up to what could be tele-rehab. It accelerated what I consider the inevitable anyway.

Let’s talk about the construction of Good Shepherd’s new rehabilitation hospital. Where will it be located and what kind of patients will it serve?

Good Shepherd has about 45 acres of land in  Center Valley, directly across from the Promenade Shops, where we will build a 75-bed, free standing, all private room, in-patient rehab hospital. The cost will be in the mid-$50 million range.

The patients we serve there will be those who have suffered highly complex, highly catastrophic injuries — spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, severe strokes… The world has changed for them and their family and we will be there for them.

We expect to employ about 300 people. Our timeline is to break ground in late summer of next year, and to be open in early 2023.

What is the average length of stay for someone in acute in-patient care at Good Shepherd?

The average patient stays for about 20 days. A really severe spinal cord injury patient might be here for 40, 60 or 90 days. But if you take all our patients and average it out, it’s about 20 days.

Patients receive a minimum of three hours of therapy services a day. Often more than that.

People are normally coming in with a very new disability and will continue with some level of service after leaving. Many people will use outpatient therapy two to three times a week for months.

It’s an important and heavy responsibility to lead an organization of thousands of employees. What makes a great leader to you and what is your leadership style?

We work in health care. We serve people. Period. End of story. Health care is serving people through people. You have to create an environment where the people who are doing the work feel recognized and appreciated. Attention has to be on our front line associates.

We are here to be fans of our employees. Patients who receive compassionate care have a far better outcome than the opposite. I’ve learned the importance of being an empathetic leader, of putting myself in my employees and families’ shoes.

When anyone I know gets put into a management position for the first time, I give them this advice. One, just treat people genuinely well. Two, use your common sense when making decisions. When we make things complicated, we trip up. And three, make things better than when you found them. Manage for what we have today while creating a better tomorrow.

What is your vision for Good Shepherd as we move into the next decade?

Demand for services is only going to go up rapidly as the population gets older. As people get older they have more strokes, more joint replacements…

We plan to be amongst the best in rehab services. There is no reason that can’t happen here in the Lehigh Valley. We want to be a thought leader in rehab, a leader in the mega trends in technology. We have been an early adopter of emerging technologies in rehab, from the use of exoskeletons to 3D printing.

We will be a place that is a leader in rehabilitation education, and that attracts professionals that are passionate about rehabilitation.

Now, let’s talk about your life outside of work. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time and how do you manage to keep a work/life balance?

I have a daughter. She is a senior in college at Northeastern in Boston. My wife is a physical therapist, we met while working together in Washington, D.C.

Working out and fitness is a big part of my life. I’m a big reader. I read fiction primarily. My daughter and I would sometimes read the same book and talk about it together. I also enjoy writing a lot.

While I am not 12 years old, I am big into video games. My favorite game is called Valorant. I limit my time on evenings and weekends or I will play until two in the morning.

I am not a poster child for work/life balance however. Work is an essential part of your life. We have 2,100 employees. That’s 2,100 employees plus their families plus the patients. That’s a lot of responsibility. You consciously give up parts of your life to these responsibilities and work life balance can get out of whack. I have to bring myself back in balance. There are times when you have no choice but to be out of balance, like during COVID.

I have always viewed work as a hobby. You make it what you want to make it. You have as much fun as you choose to have with it. That’s my excuse, we all love to do our hobbies.