{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact","title":"Saving Community Healthcare: Tri-City, Sharp, and the New Era of North County Medicine","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3137,"description":"Podcast: Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact Host: Bret Schanzenbach, President & CEO, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Guest: Dr. Gene Ma, President & CEO, Tri-City Medical CenterIn this episode, Bret welcomes Dr. Gene Ma, a long-time emergency physician and now President & CEO of Tri-City Medical Center, for a candid and hopeful conversation about the future of healthcare in North County San Diego.Dr. Ma traces his journey from a globally mobile childhood (Hawaii, Burma, Japan, Hong Kong) to growing up in Arcadia, then on to UC Irvine, UCSF, Stanford, and UCSD, where he trained in emergency medicine. He shares what it’s really like behind the scenes in the ER, the importance of humility in medicine, and what 27 years on the front lines taught him about people, teams, and community.Listeners will hear how Dr. Ma:Discovered his passion for community-based medicine at Tri-CityServed as Chief of Staff and later Chief Medical OfficerLed and helped grow a democratic emergency medicine group and an occupational health businessWas honored 10 times as one of San Diego’s Top Doctors in Emergency MedicineThe conversation dives into the financial and regulatory pressures facing hospitals today, including:How DRG-based payments and long COVID hospital stays pushed hospitals to the brinkThe impact of underfunded Medicare and growing staffing costsThe staggering costs of new construction and seismic compliance, with per-bed costs in the millionsCalifornia’s 2030 (and 2033) seismic standards, and what they actually requireFrom there, Dr. Ma shares the transformational plan for Tri-City:Tri-City is entering a long-term lease and operating agreement with Sharp HealthCareThe hospital will become Sharp Tri-City, pending voter approval in JuneThe agreement brings the scale, resources, and experience of San Diego’s largest not-for-profit health system to North CountyThe board’s decision, he explains, reflects a commitment to put community before titles and secure a sustainable future...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/dwra1QHR1MaHtVdSctz-PA5GCdvlRrVp36hv84KcU5o/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ5MjQxLzE3MDY2/MzgzNTUtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}