Greater Fayetteville Business Journal held its third quarterly Power Breakfast, themed "The Health Care Economy," this morning in Fayetteville. 

The event, which focused on the business of health care and what changes are to be expected as we emerge from COVID, was a sold-out success at Highland Country Club. It featured a panel of health care leaders in the community: Colonel Christopher Jarvis, commander of Womack Army Medical Center,  Daniel Dücker, executive director of the Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System, and Michael Nagowski, CEO of Cape Fear Valley Health System. 

"Health care is 20 percent of the gross domestic product of the U.S. economy," Marty Cayton, publisher of GFBJ, stated in his opening remarks. 

The panelists shared how their organizations have been affected over the last two years, considering that health care is such a large industry that was heavily affected by the pandemic.

"I think when you think of what's happened to us as an industry and as a nation related to COVID, I think a lot of it comes back to leadership," stated Nagowski. "We have to adjust, and everyone must understand that it's not going away."

Each health care panelist agreed that they have had to adjust, adapt, and overcome challenges as leaders to push their organizations forward. With this motivation to keep moving forward, these health care leaders leaned on one another and worked together.

"We're all facing the same challenges, but we have our unique versions of these challenges, and we can easily depend on each other to work through them and approach a solution," explained Jarvis.

Despite the negative impacts that followed COVID-19, organizations were forced to be more efficient in communication and decision-making. Through collaborative efforts during rocky circumstances, the local health care facilities have effectively woven their way through supply shortages affecting health care systems across the nation. 

"One of the nice things about working in the largest health care system in the nation is having a way to cover each other," said Dücker. "With the spikes in New York and Louisiana, we have been sending supplies there. If we had a crisis, they would send supplies to us too."

The Greater Fayetteville Business Journal plans to continue offering opportunities for networking and digging deeper into important topics within the business community and is ready to put on its next event. 

The Journal hosts Power Breakfast on a quarterly basis and is a premier networking event in the region. Past themes have included “For Our Defense” and “Entrepreneurs & Acquirers.” To stay in the loop about future Power Breakfasts, subscribe to GFBJ’s daily emails at BizFayetteville.com/Subscribe.