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Does it feel like there is a shift happening in healthcare? The last 2 years since the pandemic have shown us that alternatives will emerge in the future and today's guest is part of that shift. Nathan is the founder of HealthBar (https://healthbar.com/) and is working to provide an alternative to the current system by streamlining it and removing waste in the system.
Intentional fatherhood while living a life of purpose. Hosted by Mike Sudyk. www.2centdad.com
[00:00:00] Nathan Baar: I'm a firm believer, as you know, you can't be healthy at work, if you're not healthy at home, and, um, and so it's focusing, continue to not lose focus on, uh, my wife and our three amazing children.
[00:00:13] Michael Sudyk: Welcome to the 2 cent Dad podcast, where we interview dads to discuss their journeys of intentional fatherhood while doing work they care about and living a life of purpose.
[00:00:23] I'm your host, Mike Sudyk.
[00:00:25] So today on the podcast we have Nathan Baar, um, who is a father of three. He's also the founder of Health Bar, which is a nurse driven healthcare movement, and excited to have him on the podcast to talk about not only his startup and how it's affected his fatherhood life and, and routines, but also talk about what they're building at Health Bar and how they're disrupting and playing a role.
[00:00:46] And I think what is coming down the pipe in, in the healthcare, uh, industry. So, welcome Nathan. Nice to have you on the show.
[00:00:53] Nathan Baar: Yeah. potter Michael. Thank you
[00:00:54] Michael Sudyk: Yeah. So, so you, um, you're a father of three, which is why you're on this podcast. Um, partially, [00:01:00] um, but you're also doing some really cool things, um, with Health Bar and um, you know, I wanted to ask you, It's a nurse driven healthcare movement, which is really, I think in our past conversations you talk about kind of a return to a brown bag kind of doctor style.
[00:01:18] Right? So, but I want to just hear how you, how you pitch it, how you talk about it, and we can go from there and kind of dive into where it plays a bigger role in kind of what's happening in the healthcare. .
[00:01:32] Nathan Baar: Yeah, of course. No. Uh, so I'm a registered nurse myself. It's kind of where, um, you know, from my experience at the bedside, taking care of individuals, um, through their various needs.
[00:01:42] I practice in the emergency department when I started out my career. So a lot of people think the ER is this high adrenaline, you know, rush all the time. And, uh, and it's really not, We're doing a, we did a lot of, uh, population health management. We were a critical access point. really a community, [00:02:00] um, to access healthcare.
[00:02:01] And you think about it and you're like, Why? Why is the ER that, Why does it have to be that resource? Don't we have primary care and other healthcare access points? And, um, so I just, you know, just doing my job as a nurse and, um, just focused on taking great care of people. And then I kind of started to ascend the ranks in the hospital system, um, became, uh, the director of emergency and urgent care services.
[00:02:25] Uh, what was Metro Health now? University of Michigan Health West. And, uh, really started to see the business of healthcare and, um, you know, seeing the business side and then seeing the experience side as a clinician, as a nurse really was just like, Why are we doing what we're doing and why are we strategizing the way we're strategizing?
[00:02:45] And, and it really started to opened my mind up to say, if the ER is this critical access point and there's all these primary care needs out there. Needs to manage disease processes better and promote better health. Why aren't we doing more of that? And, um, it's kind of what [00:03:00] the origination of the idea for Health Bar was, is, you know, I saw as an industry kind of trend, the consolidation of healthcare, how you have all these organizations merging together and really critical access points, rural hospitals and these different, you know, office settings, uh, reducing, um, for more business purposes in healthcare and, you know, how do you streamline expense.
[00:03:22] Um, so it, you know, I was like, we need to reverse this trend. We really need to do more of a decentralization of healthcare and get it back to that brown bag, you know, doctor with a brown bag go into your house. Mentality is how, how do we make, how do we take healthcare and bring it back to the people?
[00:03:40] Whereas I feel like we've, healthcare as an industry has been taking away from the people and it's this reactionary model is how do we get more of this proactive model of healthcare services? And so I really, really just wanted to take that as a central concept and say how do we, how to push this? And then, you know, yeah, me being a nurse myself and seeing the scope and the abilities of [00:04:00] a nurse and really what that need is out there in the community thinking this is the perfect blend of what's needed in an industry to a workforce that's able to accommodate it.
[00:04:10] And there are millions of nurses across the US that have only traditionally worked within healthcare systems. And so how do I take this, the, the nurse and make them the entrepreneur, the business owner? How do I make them the drivers of this movement that has traditionally been physician led? Um, and so we're pushing those things and um, really just trying to utilize the business environment and the school.
[00:04:38] To, um, access those individuals currently with the idea to say, how do we rewrite the scripts on an entire industry and decentralize healthcare services to bring 'em back to people?
[00:04:50] Michael Sudyk: So the, the, what I heard you say was the decent or the centralization has led to, um, It is led to part of the, the biggest [00:05:00] problem.
[00:05:00] So you have decentralization, but then that's kind of led to a reactive nature of the healthcare industry. Is that right? I mean, talk about kind of how those are hand in hand or why, why those are driving that. Uh, Cause I know cost is another aspect of that. You know, costs are going up and. And you talk about businesses and, and schools being a source of where you guys are targeting, so mm-hmm.
[00:05:23] I was curious if you kinda take a, take a step back and say, okay, the problems that you see, and then what are the big, you know, pain points that you're trying to solve?
[00:05:31] Nathan Baar: Yeah. The centralization component of it. It's really, you know, if you look at anything, I look at this as a business owner, you say, Hey, I have a certain amount of overhead expense and I have a certain, you know, expense to operate and here's my personnel expense.
[00:05:43] And so you're looking at things in that organizational fashion and that business fashion and saying, How do I reduce my overhead expense and how do I become more efficient? And so what I saw a lot of was, you know, we would take our budgets in the hospital system and we would say, Hey, [00:06:00] we have these expenses.
[00:06:02] How do we shave expense or you know, and how do we become more efficient, which is a good business practice. Um, I think healthcare did that through systems like Lean and Six Sigma and, and got better. But then I think it crossed over to now you're impeding the quality of that clinical experience and really the time
[00:06:22] that that provider has with that individual. Mm. And that's where I think, you know, it, it kind of got to that like if we could just stay right here and find out this happy medium of operational efficiencies, but then quality of provider time with that individual, we could, we could be in a really good spot.
[00:06:38] And I think it just went way past that. And then, um, then I think it unfortunately, um, administrative ranks within the hospital systems became disconnected from the clinical ranks. And so you started seeing this um, trend towards more of this business model of healthcare versus more of this patient centered model of healthcare.
[00:06:59] And, um, [00:07:00] in that, that transition of outcome to really where you're not seeing individuals get healthier, what you're seeing is individuals become more dependent upon healthcare and more dependent upon medications and, and all these things. And it's, you know, you're never gonna win by doing that if, if you create this dependency model, you know, And, and it's kind of where we're at right now in he.
[00:07:22] Sickness and disease has become so rampant, um, because it's, we haven't empowered our patients to take good care of themselves and to understand how to actually use healthcare efficiently. And so you see, you know, the, the, the, the healthcare system become inundated and, and very reactionary to everything to where our volumes are up, but we don't have enough care staff, and now we're trying to incentivize certain things.
[00:07:48] It's this negative cycle that gets worse and worse and it's not getting better and better. And, um, and it, it is, it's just, it's something happens and let's react to it. You know, somebody gets sick, let's give 'em a medication, [00:08:00] but it's not this, You're sick. What's the core of that issue? And now let's start working with you on a one-to-one basis.
[00:08:07] But because primary care providers only have five minutes to see you, and they have these patient panels and they gotta fit so many patients in during the day, they just can't do what's necessary. So a lot of, you know, I talk with a very lot of, you know, well intentioned clinicians. They're in the system doing their work and they're trying their best and they're phenomenal individuals.
[00:08:29] Um, but they just can't. And so that's really what we're trying to create with Health Bar is this really alternate ecosystem of healthcare that doesn't put time restraints. You know, how you, you know, how long you see your provider and that really walks alongside of you as this health coach and this lifestyle coach model.
[00:08:50] It's really, it's precision medicine. Mm. It's taking a, a course of action with someone's health that's tailored to their individual needs, and then walking alongside of them to help them achieve [00:09:00] that. Um, not just here you go, good luck. Um, I'll see you in a year, . It's how do I become your partner in health and how do I motivate you towards better health?
[00:09:10] Cause at the end of the day, my health is my responsibility. Your health is your responsibility. I can't make you do something that you don't want to do.
[00:09:17] Michael Sudyk: Yeah. I think it's interesting. I think two, two things that come to mind are, Well, I would just say first it seems like that's the logical model you would want for healthy individuals, Right?
[00:09:29] It's like that you want to, instead of being reactive to so many things, um, or creating people that are dependent on the system mm-hmm. , then you, you want people that are healthy, right? I mean, it's healthcare. My, my question is if, if the, the driver sounds like his cost is a big one, and then just a reactionary nature.
[00:09:51] So I kind of want to say like, how, how are you able to keep the cost low, um, to compete with this if centralization, you think [00:10:00] Centralization, you think more efficiency? I, I would assume some more bureaucracy. So that adds like overhead expenses, like you mentioned. Mm-hmm. , the administrators were, were separated from the actual quote, boots on the ground, right?
[00:10:13] Mm-hmm. . Um, yeah. But then the other is, Someone that's dependent on the system is a customer that's dependent on the system too. Right? To not, not to be too like, um, . Mm-hmm. , you know, Sy uh, skeptic, you know, of, of the system. Right. But it's like mm-hmm. that is, maybe that's baked into the, to the model. I don't know, you know?
[00:10:33] Nathan Baar: Mm-hmm. .
[00:10:34] Yeah. I mean, from a cost containment standpoint, a lot of people, especially in healthcare, fear, cost transparency, Um, because they don't want the individual to make this consumeristic decision on receiving care or not. So the best way to avoid that, that we've found is really adopting more of this direct primary care model.
[00:10:51] And so it's, it's a monthly style fee, kind of like you pay your insurance premium, but, um, but not that it is a very [00:11:00] minimalistic number, you know, somewhere around $45 a month to say you can have access to all of these healthcare services. So it's, it's not a huge hit to your pocket, but yet you get that dedicated access to a, a care team and a clinician that can do all of those things for you in a, that coaching and proactive nature.
[00:11:17] And so what you really start doing is, is controlling cost because you've capped cost at that monthly premium. And it's not gonna blow up into all these, Oh, we just, you know, you came in for your CAT scan, let's just say, and then we did, you know, we gave you this medication and then we did this, and we did that.
[00:11:32] And by the time you're done, you come out of there with a $5,000 bill and, and you as the individual were like, What just happened? I feel like I was there for an hour and I just generated this $5,000 bill, You know, through facility fees and through, you know, exorbitant costs for very generic kinds of things.
[00:11:49] Um, because that's how the billing system has been baked up, uh, in those hospitals to account for that overhead.
[00:11:54] Michael Sudyk: And does that create an a, an adversity or a, um, some, [00:12:00] like a hesitancy for someone to be proactive in their healthcare? Right. It's. I, you know, screw that. I'm not gonna go into that until, unless it's an emergency.
[00:12:08] Yeah. Right. Yeah. I mean, does that play into that whole system and that whole
[00:12:12] Nathan Baar: Yeah, I mean, I, it, it's, it's, it's fear based, you know, if I'm gonna, you think about it, I'm, I'm gonna go and get my oil change to my car, and if I walked into that, you know, it drove my car into that oil change and I didn't know what it was gonna cost me, but they could bill me whatever they wanted to.
[00:12:28] So I go in there and they're like, Hey, will you changed your oil? But guess what, We actually changed your brake. And we, we tuned up your fluids, we did all this kind of stuff. Here's your $5,000 bill. You'd be like, Oh crap, I'm not gonna do that again. You know, because you might put off preventative maintenance on your vehicle because you have no idea.
[00:12:44] But if I go in there and be like, I know I'm gonna pay $65 for this, I, I'm okay with that. I'm good with that. There's not a surprise I get to have these things. So there's this huge fear basis to where, and a lot of it is a lack of health literacy as well. It's one of the big things we try [00:13:00] to hit. How do we get somebody knowledgeable on what staying healthy and being healthy is, and then how to navigate the healthcare system.
[00:13:06] So we, how can we avoid a lot of those fear based things and how do we help navigate somebody when they do have to have certain medical care rendered? Um, so some of it's just that to say this is what it is, here's what to expect, here are the questions to ask. A lot of people don't ask a lot of questions when they go to see their provider because they don't know what to ask.
[00:13:27] Mm-hmm. . And so having an advocate that can do that for. Or coach you through that is, um, is key for a lot of individuals who interact with the healthcare system on a regular basis. Yeah. Um, so it's all, it's all those things, but yes, there's, there's a fear basis to people accessing healthcare because they just don't get it.
[00:13:44] Um, and that's that, and that is a large majority of people. There's a very small number of individuals, I would even say clinical professionals in the industry have no idea how healthcare costs work. So for your average consumer of healthcare to understand, Um, is not [00:14:00] realistic in today's, um, in today's healthcare world.
[00:14:02] Michael Sudyk: Yeah.
[00:14:04] Mm-hmm. . So, so who, I mean, you guys can't be the only ones doing this, like, or, or, or doing a movement inside of the healthcare system. Because I think just from a, I mean, I don't know anything about the industry other than just using it right at, with, with my kids and, and all of that. It's like, yeah, absolutely.
[00:14:20] You have these random costs. And not only the oil change examples a good example, but it's even worse than that because the bill comes like, you know, three months later, right? And it's like, so then you're like, I don't even remember what really happened at that visit. And it's from like some third party.
[00:14:37] System or something like, and maybe you get four bills, Like you have a, you have a baby and you get like 30 bills and you're like, Yeah, this could be a scam. I don't even know I, this could, they could just find out. I, I got had a baby and they just sent me a, a bill .
[00:14:49] It's like, so, so, so obviously the system's broken.
[00:14:53] The users of the system know that they're frustrated. So it's, it's kind of quote, ripe for disruption is what I [00:15:00] would say. And you guys are, are an example of someone that's addressing that pain. Um, you know, like meta share. I see some of that stuff popping up, getting a little more popular. Um, Yep. What I, what I assume from you is kind of like, okay, let's have a monthly cost.
[00:15:16] Let's be proactive to get healthy people, and then it actually gets better if they don't use the system because they're so healthy. If they're still paying the cost and it's, and it's a manageable cost and they can use it when they need it for education, right? So, yeah. So what are some of the other, What else is happening kind of in the industry that you guys see that are answering some of these?
[00:15:36] Some of this. Mm-hmm. this, these issues that are popping up or that have manifested.
[00:15:40] Commercial: Thank you for listening to the 2 Cent Dad podcast. I wanted to take just one minute to tell you how this show is possible, and that is through my Business EC group. We help software companies get more done by building them amazing developer teams. Now, those teams come alongside their in-house developers to [00:16:00] help them build more and build faster. We are a purpose driven company, which means that we use our profits to help support non-profit work in the locations that we operate. We operate in the US, in Michigan, and also in Chenai India. You can check us out at teamwithec.com. Again, that's teamwithec.com so if you're hiring software developers or you know someone that's hiring software developers, check us out love to talk to you.
[00:16:28] Nathan Baar: Yeah, health. I mean, healthcare is a very lucrative market, especially for startups in other investors right now. So you do see a lot of different solutions being, uh, put into place.
[00:16:38] Some have existed for a while. Direct Primary care solutions, um, business focused healthcare solutions. A lot of these, it's not a new concept in and of itself. Um, there is definitely competition out there. Um, you know, you think about the total US healthcare market and healthcare is ubiquitous. Everybody needs it at some point for something.
[00:16:58] Mm-hmm. . And so, you know, population [00:17:00] of, you know, tens, hundreds of millions of people, you know, a organization's impact maybe on. , you know, 10 or a hundred thousand of those. So it's, it's a drop in the bucket. So you look at the overall change that needs to exist, um, it's gonna take a lot of movement and a lot of different organizations to make that happen.
[00:17:17] Um, so there are pockets of groups that are doing, um, employer focused healthcare on a transparently priced model. Um, and that does. Um, our biggest thing, uh, our biggest difference, you know, a lot of, a lot of healthcare has been based off of brick and mortar and it's, Hey, come to me. I'm a I'm gonna build a clinic, and you come to me as the patient.
[00:17:37] Um, they have not many have taken more of this concierge route where, I'm gonna go, it's gonna be a non brick and mortar approach, and it's gonna be very mobilized, and that's something that we're specializing in to say we don't build brick and mortar with our structures, so own that desire to keep overhead very low and really maximize the impact of that clinician with those individuals and those businesses.
[00:17:59] Um, so we're able to [00:18:00] achieve lower, uh, clinician to employee ratios, um, to really maximize that impact. Um, a lot of these other solutions still bill insurance. Um, they, they charge a monthly fee and they bill insurance for certain things. And so they're, they're in this mixed model approach. Um, really what we're doing is driving this very transparent non-insurance based
[00:18:21] um, market for healthcare and really taking, then, you know, our, we'd say medical philosophy and saying there's, there's good things that have come out of healthcare. You know, people are living longer because of certain treatments and those things, but also, but then saying, you know, that that's okay, well, and we're gonna use that stuff, but.
[00:18:39] And let's put, let's put 75% of the emphasis on preventing illness. Yeah. And living a healthier life. And really changing the trajectory of health in an individual, not just being there to provide healthcare. Really being there to provide sick care to them. We're gonna provide you healthcare, and that's at the end of the day.
[00:18:57] That should result in you needing us less. Mm. [00:19:00] And you being that empowered consumer of healthcare. So we're, we're starting to put together, I would say, more of this transparent ecosystem of healthcare delivery that's really not based on a large organizational structure, but really creates clinician empowerment to where clinicians are creating these ecosystems in and of themselves and these care team models
[00:19:21] mobilizing out and managing these smaller micro units of populations. And so instead of saying we're gonna build this brick and mortar centralization structure, we're going to empower clinical care teams to take care of small groups of individuals in, uh, geographic space. Um, and so, you know, back to that for me, I just have this, that doc in a brown bag.
[00:19:41] He, he lives in your community. You know, he's 10 minutes from where you are and he goes to the same church you go to, or he sits down on the club and has a drink with you. Like that level of personalization, How do you, how do you create that again and, and you know, bring it back. And so, um, as a care provider [00:20:00] myself, you know, I would have, you know, my family member sending me, you know, pictures and text messages.
[00:20:05] You know, What should I do? I just got hurt or I did this. Or, Can you come take these stitches out and. Sure. Well, why can't everybody have that? Yeah. You know, why, why can't things that are so simple and so easy, um, a lot of times just need that, you know, voice of reason in them and not this, you know, it's hard when you have an emergency happen or an injury and you reactionary just go to the ER and it's like, well, you know, if you step back and just take a second, most of the stuff's not an emergency.
[00:20:32] Michael Sudyk: Yeah. So where do you so extrapolating that. You know, you look like 10 years out, you know, you have this like marketplace, You have these, you know, this large staff like, of just of, but not brick and mortar, but of people in the community. Yeah. What is mm-hmm. . Just talk to me about that. What, what's the, what's the dream or what's the vision for like a, you know, 10 years out with Health Bar, you know, what, how are they serving the community to keep them healthier?
[00:20:58] Nathan Baar: Yeah, I've, [00:21:00] I've, like I said, being a, you know, nurse entrepreneur myself, I wanna foster that level of independence within the nursing community. And so for me, it's, you know, 10 years out, how do we, how do we make this ecosystem look like, you know, these care teams living where they live and networking with other care teams, but then, you know, connecting on best practices and connecting on, you know, what's working and what's not working.
[00:21:23] And then, them just going to individuals houses, them going to places of employment, to schools to to all over and saying, how do we, how do we do it in that, you know, geographic distribution to where you have a care team, you know, in this community and a care team in that community, and they're just taking care of people.
[00:21:41] And that can happen in an infinite number of locations. Um, ideally we we're creating the baseline and, and the framework of this model that, you know, everybody always asks, Okay, you know, you're doing great work. How do you scale? And um, and I think when you try to control scale in certain ways or try to build to a scale, [00:22:00] um, it becomes so complex and so burdensome and costly that it, a lot of businesses find, uh, limits with that, whereas ours is say, what if scale looked like reduced overhead and scale looked like reduced complexity and control?
[00:22:18] And this was not only an empowerment model for our patients, but an empowerment model for our clinical community. Mm-hmm. to say, you know, you became a clinician because you had a desire to take care of people. What if I gave you the opportunity to do that? And, and create, you know, through that better health to achieve that meaning and purpose in your career.
[00:22:38] And so, you know, I see a nurse and a nurse practitioner, uh, teaming up in different communities across the US and really saying, I'm gonna take care of this population of individuals. I'm gonna provide them education, I'm gonna provide them care, provide them, you know, coaching, and I'm gonna be their advocate.
[00:22:55] Um, and just take that and just replicate it. Yeah. Everywhere.
[00:22:59] Michael Sudyk: [00:23:00] Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's awesome. . So, so, shifting gears a little bit, tell me about building this startup, um, while having young kids. You have three young kids. I think they're all like under what, eight, nine years old, right?
[00:23:13] Nathan Baar: Eight, six, and four.
[00:23:15] Currently four. But I feel like that that adjusts faster than I can keep up. .
[00:23:19] Michael Sudyk: Yes. Amen. I feel that . Yes. So tell me about that. Tell me about that journey and how you, you've managed that. Cause I know. What you're trying to take on a pretty, a monumental, you know, task and what you guys are trying to do with Health Bar.
[00:23:33] You've been pretty successful so far. Mm-hmm. , um, here in West Michigan, I think out, you know, even beyond that. So tell me a little bit about some of the struggles and how you managed it. Mm.
[00:23:43] Nathan Baar: It's something I've tried to keep an eye on my whole career is, is my professional commitments to my family commitments.
[00:23:49] Um, I'm a firm believer is, you know, if you can't be healthy at work, if you're not healthy at home. And, um, and so it's focusing continue to not lose focus. Uh, my wife and our three amazing children [00:24:00] and, and being a part of, of their lives. You know, there's, there's definitely seasons, especially building a business where you're, you're digging in and, um, no, you can't be home for every family dinner and no, you can't, you know, be around for all these things.
[00:24:12] But, um, not making that the regular, uh, occurrence and making that more of the exception, um, is, has been a huge focus to say, you know, there's, right now I gotta dig in and I gotta get this stuff done. It's always working to have that be the exception. I can't make this, the consistent lifestyle that has, I think, consumed a lot of entrepreneurs and individuals and startups is, um, it, you know, it's one night that turns into two nights that turns into five nights a week and it just, it overtakes you.
[00:24:42] So some of it is setting limitations to say, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna say no more. Um, understanding. that a lot of the stuff that you say yes to is unnecessary. So I had to get really good at kind of triaging my own time and to say, what's, what's really value [00:25:00] added for me in building this business versus what's just kind of being out there doing stuff and um, and then becoming very efficient with my time use.
[00:25:07] So I think people don't really realize how much time is spent, um, just, you know, not being productive and so trying to really be productive with the hours that I'm working . And, um, and so sometimes, I mean, I, you know, what I've done is we use EOS as an, uh, systems mm-hmm. , the entrepreneurial operating system. And it, it's a, a big focus on taking, uh, clarity breaks and time to, to really focus and, and have good mental health through all of it.
[00:25:35] Um, so that what you build is sustainable Cuz nothing, you know, you can go hog wild for two years. And then, you know, what do you have to show? Maybe you have a business, but it, if you crumble as a leader or as an individual in that, um, and your business, you're the cornerstone of that business. Your business will crumble.
[00:25:53] And so it's, it's saying no to some, um, opportunities. Even say, you know what, now's not the right time [00:26:00] because we're just not gonna be, uh, ready and okay for this as a team. So it's just. I think just being aware quite honestly of what I need to succeed and what my, um, what those potential failures are, and then taking time to really, um, sit back and, and consider those.
[00:26:16] But it's, you know, for me, families first. Um, and so you can always make money somewhere else. Yeah, there's, you know, there's stuff out there and no job is worth, um, me compromising that. So I think for me, just making sure I maintain what my North Star is and. and not losing any focus on that. And then, you know, like I said, if, if the other stuff's not okay, then that's not okay and I'll, I'll figure it out.
[00:26:40] It's not gonna, you know, change my purpose or my mission. Um, but it's, you know, it's not worth it. Yeah. If it's not, you know, if it, if my family's not healthy.
[00:26:49] Michael Sudyk: Yeah, definitely. I, I feel the same way. And I think when you said, you know, there's things that are necessary maybe for a time or you know, occasionally, but there's a lot of stuff that you can commit your time to that [00:27:00] really doesn't move the needle.
[00:27:00] You know, you kinda, that 80 20 principle. Um, you mentioned EOS and like, you know, we use that too at EC group, but the, and I found it extremely, um, valuable. I'm curious how your time in the emergency department, um, helped you build some skill sets. Cause you talk about triaging your time, that's a medical term, right?
[00:27:20] So it's like, but I think it's an app. It's an apt, um, you know, analogy. , you know, when you have kids and you got, you know, a full, you know, schedule, it's like you have to do that. You have to protect it, and you have to focus on the important things. So did, do you feel like that prepared you? I mean, talk about that a little bit maybe?
[00:27:36] Nathan Baar: Yeah, yeah. I love, I love it. Yeah. I will use interchangeably a lot of medical terminology. It's like knowing two languages and you just kind of mix 'em together when you're talking the same kind of idea. But, um, but yeah, I, one of the, one of the things I, I a hundred percent think yes, that, that time in the ER did help me.
[00:27:54] In that prioritization, cuz one of the first things we learned as a, you know, as a clinician, as a nurse, when you're saving [00:28:00] someone's life, three things, airway, breathing, circulation. So it's like, does someone have, you know, can they breathe? Um, you know, do they have an open airway? Can they breathe? And then is their blood circulating through their body and they, like, you need that to survive.
[00:28:14] And those are those three basic concepts. Everything else after that goes by the wayside. So working in the er, we would train for mass casualty incidents and a lot of the bad things that can. And, um, and so when you hit a certain moment of maximum output, you gotta start now saying, All right, how do I now go to those core things?
[00:28:34] And if I have a hundred people who need, need life sustaining things, how can I hit these three things for everybody? And there could be detrimental outcomes to, you know, other parts of their body, but as long as they're alive, at the end of the day, that's what makes the difference. Yeah. And so you just gotta know what resources are available to you.
[00:28:53] And when you are overwhelmed to the point where you can't do everything, um, you [00:29:00] gotta start prioritizing. And that, that helped me significantly. And then those snap decisions too, and being okay with like, it's a huge mental burden to, to come up, you know, when you're, you're not in crisis mode a majority of the time, and so you're so geared towards taking care of everything and doing it perfectly.
[00:29:18] But then you have to be able to mentally switch to that crisis mode of I gotta prioritize now. And there's gonna be things that do fall by the wayside. And you have to be okay with that. Um, it's one of the, the hardest things for a clinician to, especially in that emergency department setting, to be okay with, because it feels so counterintuitive.
[00:29:34] You're like, But I gotta do all this stuff cuz so what we do all the time. Yeah. And it's like, but no, but now we're focused on maximum outcome of the most critical things and, uh, same thing as business. I, it's, it's, it's a, it's a great analogy. Um, to say there's, there's times the business where we are focused on these critical components cause we are so overwhelmed just because we need to keep the ship running.
[00:29:55] Michael Sudyk: Yeah, absolutely. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Business, life, you know, [00:30:00] family, it's all in, in today's society, or, I mean, it's, it's probably been this way for a while. You always say this, today's society, but it's like there's so much you can do. There's so much, so many things that are pulling you in different directions that being the ultimate triage, you know, person in your life is, is really important. So,
[00:30:18] Nathan Baar: yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
[00:30:20] Michael Sudyk: So where can people find you? Is it, what's, what's the website and, and, and how can they find out more about Health Bar,
[00:30:26] Nathan Baar: Uh, websites, healthbar.com and, um, a lot of our information's on there, ways to contact us.
[00:30:32] Um, our phone number, email address um, I walk around in scrubs all the time, so if you're in the West Michigan area and you see a guy walking around in Scrubs, it might be me. Awesome. Pull me aside and have a conversation. Um, but uh, otherwise, uh, yeah, our website's the best way to get ahold of us healthbar.com.
[00:30:48] Michael Sudyk: Awesome.
[00:30:49] Thank you. Well, Nate, thank you for being on, man. I appreciate you sharing a little bit about Health Bar, kind of what you guys are doing, where you're going, and I, you know, thank, thanks for spending the time with me. [00:31:00]
[00:31:00] Nathan Baar: Yeah, no, I appreciate the opportunity.