HWL Talks

Welcome to the HWL Podcast, where we explore healthcare leadership and innovation. Join us as we interview leaders from across the industry, discussing clinical advancements, operational strategies, and financial insights. Our goal is to inspire change and foster thought-provoking conversations that drive innovation in healthcare.

HWL Talks is a business podcast hosted by HWL, with 18 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

HWL hosts HWL Talks, a business show with 18 episodes published.

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  Episode #3

  Leading Rural Healthcare Forward: Workforce, Retention, and the Power of Doing More With Less

  Mar 11, 202634 minS2

  <p>Rural healthcare leaders are being asked to do the impossible—deliver high-quality care with fewer resources, tighter margins, and an increasingly strained workforce. In this episode of HWL Talks, host Tommy Binner welcomes back <b>Aidan Hettler</b>, CEO of Sedgwick County Health Center, for a candid conversation about what it really takes to lead and grow a rural hospital today.</p><p>Aidan shares his unconventional journey to becoming a CEO at just 22 years old and reflects on the lessons learned while stabilizing and expanding a critical access hospital on the front lines of rural care. The conversation ex...

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  Episode #2

  From Bedside to Boardroom: Rethinking Nursing Workforce Strategy

  Feb 17, 202629 minS2

  <p>In this episode of HWL Talks, host Tommy Benner sits down with Nancy Bourg, RN, BSHCA, MBA, Executive Vice President of Insourcing and Chief Clinical Officer at HWL, for a candid conversation on the past, present, and future of the nursing workforce.</p><p>With decades of experience spanning bedside nursing, agency staffing, and health system leadership, Nancy shares how early efforts to aggregate spend and standardize contracts laid the foundation for today’s MSP, VMS, and internal resource pool models. Together, they unpack the realities facing nursing in 2026—from burnout and bedside shortages to generational shifts, travel nursing evol...

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  Episode #1

  High-Tech, High-Touch: Workforce Strategy, Physician Leadership, and the Future of Care

  Jan 16, 202643 minS2

  <p>Season 2 of HWL Talks kicks off with a powerful conversation featuring <b>Kent McMackin, Chief Operating Officer of Syncoro Health LLC</b>, Navy veteran, and healthcare leader with more than four decades of experience spanning clinical care, hospital administration, physician services, and workforce strategy.</p><p>Kent shares how his early years in clinical medicine and 23-year Navy career shaped his leadership philosophy, grounding it in service, empathy, and accountability. Together with host Tommy Binner, he explores the realities facing healthcare today—from physician shortages and rural hospital closures to chronic disease burden and the evolving role of technology in...

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  Episode #13

  A Decade of Insight: Jonathan Ward on the Future of Healthcare Staffing

  Dec 30, 202541 minS1

  <p>As we close out the year, HWL Talks welcomes a special guest—HWL Co-Founder and President <b>Jonathan Ward</b>—for a candid conversation on the state and future of healthcare staffing.</p><p>With more than 30 years of industry experience, Jonathan reflects on the biggest workforce challenges healthcare organizations face today, from ongoing staffing shortages and financial pressure to the growing role of AI, data, and transparency in workforce decision-making. He shares how contingent labor models, MSP and VMS adoption, and smarter analytics are reshaping nursing, allied, and physician staffing—and why the next phase of innovation must focus...

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  Episode #12

  Redefining Bedside Care: Innovation, AI, and the Future of Nursing

  Nov 26, 202536 minS1

  <p>In this episode of HWL Talks, we sit down with <b>Dr. Akram Boutros</b>, a leader who has spent his career bridging medicine, business, and innovation. Now the founder and CEO of Nexus Bedside, Dr. Boutros is pushing the boundaries of what inpatient care can look like through virtual nursing models and advanced multimodal AI.</p><p>Dr. Boutros shares why traditional healthcare leadership often stalls innovation, how fearlessness (not recklessness) drives meaningful progress, and why fixing the nursing crisis requires more than staffing—it requires rethinking the entire care environment. He also breaks down real outcomes from Ne...

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