On this final episode of our Emotional Onboarding Series for The Healthcare Plus Podcast, Dan Collard is joined by Bart Kaericher, President, CEO, and Chief Cultural Officer of Aramark Healthcare+.

Highlighting his commitment to Aramark’s 25,000+ teammates and the hospitals and patients they serve, Bart shares the importance of a human-centric approach to employee engagement and collaboration to enhance patient experiences.

Along Aramark’s journey to becoming a Modern Healthcare Best Place to Work (which they achieved for the first time in 2024), Bart shares several key learnings and adjustments his team made, including:

• Implementing Early Connect, a program aimed at supporting new employees, and Team Member Connect, a new system of rounding that encourages coworker connections.
• Offering a daily pay system to support the team’s financial flexibility and address social determinants of health (SDOH).
• Reducing early turnover by connecting with new hires before they step onsite and regularly through the first 120 days.
• Advocating for a focus on purpose, culture, and effective communication.

Missed an episode in our Emotional Onboarding series? Listen back now with Dr. Katherine Meese, Patti Frank, Natasha Lee, and Abby Spence.

About Bart Kaericher

Bart Kaericher is the President & CEO of Aramark Healthcare+. Since his arrival to Aramark he’s been focused on building an organization that is delivering a vision of having engaged employees, positive patient experiences, operational excellence, caregiver support, and being problem-solvers within the healthcare arena. Having a unified Culture of Caring has become a strong differentiator for Aramark Healthcare+.

Before joining Aramark in May 2021, Bart served as Chief Growth Officer & Senior Vice President of Compass One Healthcare. While at Compass Group, he played an instrumental role in building revenues, profits, and valuable strategic partnerships. Prior to his tenure with Compass One Healthcare, Bart worked for more than a decade in the medical device industry at American Hospital Supply, now B. Braun Medical.

Bart holds an MBA in Healthcare Marketing from Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, PA, and a BS in Business from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He has also completed Cornell University’s Executive Healthcare Leadership program.

Welcome back to Part 4 of our Emotional Onboarding Series on The Healthcare Plus Podcast. On this episode, Dan Collard takes an in-depth look at the post-acute care industry with special guest Abby Spence, the nursing home administrator of Signature HealthCare of Cleveland. Dan and Abby discuss the unique staffing challenges faced by long-term care organizations and highlight early wins in retention and engagement from the implementation of Emotional Onboarding tactics.

After attending the inaugural Post-Acute Leadership Institute (PALI) summit in July 2024, Abby brought a number of the selection, hiring, and onboarding solutions she learned back to her team in Cleveland, TN.

In an effort to retain top talent, attract new team members, and improve residence care, Abby has implemented and seen success with several key Emotional Onboarding tactics, including:

• Creating a welcome video for new hires to reduce anxiety
• Implementing the “battery charge” exercise and creating a gratitude board to foster appreciation and open communication
• Completing a Personal Retention Plan with all new hires

Abby and Dan also discuss the need to attract Gen Z healthcare workers to solve the staffing shortage in post-acute care. Abby highlights how she’s adjusted her leadership style to cultivate a more supportive and development-focused workplace culture and how she’s leveraging new ideas brought forward by Gen-Z employees.

Tune in next time for the final episode of the Emotional Onboarding series or listen back for more ideas from Katherine Meese, Patti Frank, and Natasha Lee today.

About Abby Spence

Abby Spence is the CEO of Signature HealthCARE of Cleveland and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator for 11 years. With a background in mental health and social services, she is committed to enhancing the quality of life for seniors and creating a positive work environment for healthcare professionals. Under her leadership, Signature HealthCARE of Cleveland recently received the Bronze Award from the AHCA National Quality Award program. Abby is also part of the inaugural cohort of the Post-Acute Leadership Institute, using her experience to further the success of her facility and its mission.

Welcome back to Part 3 of our Emotional Onboarding series on The Healthcare Plus Podcast. On this episode, Dan Collard is joined by special guest Natasha Lee to explore what Emotional Onboarding looks like in a virtual-first organization and see the impact it’s made on the culture of Floyd Lee Locums. Natasha Lee serves as CEO of Floyd Lee Locums, whose primary focus is to revolutionize the healthcare staffing industry by connecting clinicians to purposeful work.

Natasha and Dan discuss Floyd Lee Locums’ innovative onboarding and leadership development programs, designed to support a strong corporate culture that prioritizes trust, engagement, and personal well-being.

Natasha shares key insights and solutions for healthcare executives, including:

• The importance of being involved in selection, hiring, and onboarding at the C-suite level to convey clear expectations, maintain high standards, and enhance your company culture.
• How getting to know employees on a personal level ensures understanding that they are cared for even beyond the work they do for your organization.
• Why Floyd Lee is focused on continuous improvement, despite recognition as #1 on Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work list for two consecutive years.

Tune in next time for the final episode of the Emotional Onboarding series or listen back for more ideas from Katherine Meese and Patti Frank today.

About Natasha Lee

As CEO, Natasha Lee passionately upholds the core values of Floyd Lee Locums, whose primary focus is to revolutionize the healthcare staffing industry by connecting clinicians to purposeful work. A staffing industry veteran since 2001, she has extensive experience starting and growing new businesses, penetrating new markets, and recognizing and developing talent. Her authentic commitment to the industry informs the organization’s key promise of serving those who serve others.

Natasha is passionate about creating a company culture where all employees, partners, and clients feel valued and heard. Her impact and that commitment extends to our organization’s DEI&B efforts, corporate volunteerism program (We Serve), and our internal employee benefits program (We Sustain).