Dr. Rishi P. Singh MD is president of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health and a staff surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Florida, Professor of Ophthalmology at the Lerner College of Medicine.
In addition to having served in numerous enterprise-wide roles at Cleveland Clinic, he’s authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, books, and book chapters and acted as principal investigator in numerous national clinical trials advancing the treatment of retinal disease.
Dr. Singh shared with us how Martin Health is enhancing patient treatments. He also revealed insights about exciting recent technological trends in healthcare and expounded on the challenges and opportunities the company faces in recruiting and retaining talent.
How many people does Martin Health employ?
We flex staff between both facilities (Martin North and south) with an overall 4,068 employees.
What are some ways in which you recruit talent?
We created strategic alliances with Florida State University, Indian River State College, and Florida Atlantic University and we’re even working with high schools in trying to get young people interested in healthcare as a career. We’ve worked with younger grades through Boys & Girls Clubs of Martin County (leading the kids through reenactments of surgical procedures) in an initiative that was started here in Martin County and went viral. Our Cleveland Clinic in Ohio started doing it in their own clinics.
Those are excellent initiatives for developing future talent. What do you do to address present hiring needs?
We’ve increased salaries and increased the median rate (of salaries). We’ve offered signing bonuses. We’ve offered tuition reimbursement. We’ve offered a total of $500,000 in direct payments and finder fees—and that’s just on the nursing side.
Where are you on the number of physicians you employ?
We had 117 doctors in 2019. Now we have 224 doctors.
All of this must make a major difference in the number of patients you’re able to treat.
Yes. We’ve also introduced the model of advanced practitioners. Just like nurse practitioners can deliver a higher level of care, we’ve now had 155 personnel become advanced practitioners. That’s a huge benefit to our patient base.
As such a large employer, what are some of the unique challenges you encounter locally when it comes to expanding your workforce?
Cleveland Clinic (leadership) has been very, very kind in listening to us and talking to us about our needs and I’ve talked to them about our need for affordable housing in our community. We provide a job and housing allowance. This being a seasonal area, sometimes the (market) costs can exceed the allowance. The growth of condominiums and large apartments—that’s making a huge dent in the number of homes for people who are in healthcare. You have to live close to your facility. Having housing close to our jobs makes a big difference for the people who want to work with us and be a part of our team.
What other dynamics have you encountered from a workforce perspective that’s specific to Martin County?
From an overall standpoint you have to consider how you scale appropriately when the area is seasonal. But we’re seeing less changes in seasons. More people than ever are staying back because we have the healthcare services available and now patients can have access to the care that they need to have all the time.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in the medical field?
It’s a fabulous field with lots of stability. It’s one of those careers where you’ll always have a job. You’re not going to be replaced by AI in the near future. Also, the satisfaction you get delivering health care and talking to patients—holding their hands—those are meaningful moments that lead to a lot of job satisfaction.
What are the most exciting trends you’re seeing in healthcare?
There’s a focus on virtual care. Instead of being hospitalized for a medical condition you could have a hospital at home. You’d have a live person who is monitoring you at all times, sending vital information and we would work with paramedics on the delivery of medication. Even in cancer care, some cancers can be managed virtually because it’s all about blood counts.
Martin Health is very involved in the community philanthropically. Can you share anything about the kind of contributions you’re making to the community?
We contribute to the pre-care and patient care needs of the community to the tune of $4-5 million a year through Volunteers in Medicine and others. We have such a great opportunity to work with people in the community on the public and private levels so we can do what we can to help improve healthcare here in the county.
What can you tell us about your personal experience living and working in the area?
I’m a golfer so I really enjoy this area. It’s just a fun place to live and work. I’m tickled pink to come to work everyday when I wake up. There are so many great things as a company that we can do here.
