“The Only Good Thing You’ve Done for Me in 30 Years”: The AI Tool Doctors Actually Love

What if the secret to winning awards for patient care is how you treat your staff? In this episode of the Hart & Hustle Podcast, Efrain sits down with Todd Patterson, CEO of Washington County Hospital and Clinics, a 22-bed critical access hospital in southeast Iowa. Todd spent 25 years in administrative roles at the University of Iowa before taking the CEO role in his own backyard, a move that let him serve his community and be more present for his family. Todd gets candid about how bad he was at the job as an ambitious young leader, and why making mistakes taught him to fail fast and change course. He shares why he sees himself as an enabler rather than the smartest person in the room, and why his teams practice “killing their darlings” so past wins don’t turn into complacency. His leadership philosophy is simple: take really good care of your patients, and take really good care of your staff. That culture has helped his hospital rank among the top 20 critical access hospitals in the country, out of roughly 1,400, and earn recognition for both patient outcomes and patient satisfaction. Todd also shares how his hospital is using AI in medical coding, insurance claims, and ambient listening tools that draft clinical notes, prompting one physician to call it “the only good thing you’ve done for me in thirty years.” He explains why AI should move people from the back office to the front line, where human connection matters most. In this episode: Why ambition without experience leads to mistakes, and why that’s okay Leading as an enabler: building a team that covers your blind spots “Killing your darlings” and the danger of complacency How a staff-first culture drives award-winning patient outcomes Practical ways AI is reducing administrative burden in healthcare Lessons from the book Unreasonable Hospitality Life beyond the C-suite: drumming in three bands and acting in community theater Chapters: 00:00 Welcome & 23 Years of Marriage 02:54 What Nobody Tells You About Parenthood 03:48 Leading a Critical Access Hospital 04:52 From Undergrad Job to CEO 08:12 Learning from Mistakes & Failing Fast 10:15 Leading as an Enabler 13:42 Small Wins & Killing Your Darlings 17:19 Award-Winning Outcomes & Patient Satisfaction 18:19 Culture: Take Care of Staff, and Patients Follow 21:20 How AI Is Changing Patient Care 27:49 Unreasonable Hospitality 29:26 Services for the Community 31:49 What’s Next: A New Cancer Center 34:21 Drums, Theater & Life Beyond the C-Suite 36:50 A Question for the Next Leader CONNECT WITH WCHC: https://wchc.org About Hart & Hustle: Hart & Hustle features conversations with leaders of nonprofits, healthcare, and mission-driven organizations about leadership, innovation, and scaling impact. Brought to you by FRANSiS™, the SMS-powered conversational AI platform helping mission-based organizations extend their team’s capacity 24/7. Learn more at fransis.us #HealthcareLeadership #RuralHealthcare #AIinHealthcare #Leadership #HartAndHustle