MHA Alum Michael Talley Invests in People, New Opportunities to Promote Excellence
Michael Talley (MHA 2008) is System Vice President of Clinical Operations and Virtual Care at CHRISTUS Health, a Catholic, not-for-profit system headquartered in Texas and comprised of more than 45,000 employees, 15,000 physicians and 600 facilities.
Prior to joining CHRISTUS Health, Talley led provider relations and service line management for nearly 10 years at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he began his post-graduate career as an administrative fellow. Talley is also trained as a respiratory therapist.
Through years of experience working with associates and clinicians on many levels across multiple disciplines, Talley believes that investing in people is the key to driving sustainable change in health care.
“It’s important that leaders recognize that the people are more important than the process,” Talley said. “What I've come to appreciate is that we are all very dynamic human beings. We have problems at home. We have challenges and fears and concerns that all affect the way that we do our work.”
Talley explained that although he began his career being persistently focused on tasks and end goals, he has since realized that shifting his attention to building relationships with the people who are doing the work is the best way to promote excellence.
“If the individual doesn’t have an adequate sense of well-being, be it at work or home, then they can't give you their best,” Talley said.
Talley’s focus on people extends beyond the health care workforce. While pursuing his MHA degree at Saint Louis University, Talley served as an Eliminating Health Disparities Research Fellow.
Talley was responsible for developing targeted communication messages for at-risk populations in St. Louis – not unlike the work being done today related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talley says progress toward eliminating health disparities has been too slow.
“We need to deliver excellent care to every patient, every time, regardless of their color, religion, insurance status,” he said. “If we are truly mission driven, we can’t accept that we're delivering excellent care to some but not all. By providing better care to the most vulnerable populations, we will not only have better outcomes but also decrease our overall health care expenditures.”
Talley graduated from SLU in 2008, when the US economy was struggling and the health care industry was rapidly consolidating through mergers and acquisitions.
He acknowledges that today’s graduates also face uncertainty in costs, quality, health disparities, and a myriad of other emerging issues in the health care environment. His advice to the next generation is to be a utility player and do what is right for the organization overall, but most importantly for the patients we serve.
“When we are too focused on a single path that we think will get us to where we need to be, we can miss some career altering opportunities along the way,” Talley said. “Be open-minded to new opportunities. God could be leading you to the path that He intended for your life, which is where you will be most successful.”
College for Public Health and Social Justice
The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.
Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, applied behavior analysis, and criminology and criminal justice.