5 Questions with EHN Medical Director John Nelson, MD

To celebrate our 5th year, we're running a special feature: Five questions with employees of Eastside Health Network (EHN). This month, for the last of our special 5th-year-anniversary features, we talk to EHN Medical Director, John Nelson, MD .

You would be hard pressed to find anyone who can talk about John Nelson without smiling.

He’s just that kind of guy.

John is good at what he does, but he will also engage you in conversation about everything from basketball to what animal he would like to be (an eagle), and he’s interested in the people around him.?John cares about connecting with his colleagues. You can see evidence of that care in the depth of relationship he has with everyone who works with him.

John is also EHN’s longest-serving employee and has been here almost since day one. Lucky us!

John describes himself as a utility player. Part of his job is to help interface with providers, particularly making initial contact with prospective network members and doing site visits with Payor/Provider Relations Liaison, Amanda Dorman.

John also gives an important clinical perspective to all our work. “I feel like I speak for the providers in EHN deliberations,” he says. John continues,?“I try to wear the hat of a provider, present their point of view.”?When EHN staff discusses issues related to coding, HEDIS measures, contracts, or other administrative topics, John keeps us grounded in what it’s like in the life of a provider and how these matters might impact them day to day. John is our resident expert.

Perhaps John’s favorite work is the work he does with provider wellbeing. John organizes small cohorts that meet weekly for six weeks to discuss stresses related to the job. The program is based on one piloted by the Mayo Clinic. The goal is to minimize stress and burnout, which unfortunately, are big issues for many providers.?

If you know EHN, you probably know John. But below is your opportunity to learn a little more about him.

What do you like about working at EHN?

The people. And the culture.

And the mission. I feel like we’re involved in helping to guide the Eastside toward newer models of health care. We’re helping to build the things that are important to?have in our future health care systems: data tracking, capturing data and analyzing,?reporting performance on processes?and outcomes important to patients.

How has EHN changed since you joined?

It's a lot bigger. We now have departments within EHN. At the beginning, it was just had a handful of people.

You like to ask this question to each new hire, and I’m sure you know where I’m going … What was your first concert?

Jethro Tull. It was my first album, too.?Thick as a Brick.?

Can you tell us about your pet situation in your work-from-home environment?

I seldom work from home, but I am lucky enough to have had in my life and my family’s life the greatest dog to walk the Earth, and anybody who disputes that is itching for a fight. And he died suddenly and unexpectedly two days before lockdown.

We got another dog, who I’m also quite attached to, but is quite a behavior problem. Her name is Harper.

Working in health care can be draining, especially these days. What is your favorite type of self-care?

The main thing is I play guitar, which is very much for me like meditating. Everything else leaves my mind. When Covid struck, my schedule changed enough that I could go to bed and get up the same time every day of the week. Good sleep hygiene really made a difference for me.