During a panel discussion at Becker's 7th Annual CEO +CFO Roundtable Nov. 14 in Chicago, four panelists discussed several steps leaders can take now to ensure financial success in the future.
The panelists included:
- Mary Lou Tate, CFO of Morris (Ill.) Hospital and Healthcare Centers
- Charles Johnson III, executive vice president and CFO of Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare
- Tina Foster, vice president of business adviser services at Change Healthcare Intelligence
- Amber Ackerson, JD, clinic administrator at Lexington (Neb.) Regional Health Center
Editor's Note: Responses were edited lightly for length and clarity
1. Don't wait to implement changes. "I don’t know if we can use the wait-and-see model," Ms. Tate said. "If we wait and see, we are behind the curve, and we suffer. At [Morris Hospital] we are still cleaning up from using that method. Now we are looking at what larger health systems are doing, and we are trying to mirror that in a smaller facility."
2. Behave like a payer. "The mindset of behaving like a payer is a new competency for providers … learning how to not just negotiate a contract but also how to control the other side and behave like a payer to get the maximum amount through the continuum of care," Ms. Foster said.
3. Develop a good culture within senior leadership. "In the end, almost everything rises and falls on leadership. … Spend a lot of time on culture and integrated planning. … If your team doesn't like each other or doesn't work well together you're not going to have an optimal result in your market. The whole cultural aspect of the senior management team is essential to its success," Mr. Johnson said.
4. Build relationships with other hospitals. "Especially as a critical access hospital … building relationships with other hospitals in the area and pooling resources is a great way to maintain financial success," Ms. Ackerson said. "[The hospital] belongs to a cooperative with five other hospitals. The hospitals in the cooperative couldn't afford an attorney on their own, but together they can."
5. Don't underleverage the village. "Networking with peers and working with different key stakeholders is a great way to get ideas, truth," Ms. Foster said. "We are all just flying blind. Don't underleverage the village — it is valuable."
6. Get clinicians on board. "Make sure your clinicians are on board in the financial arena. Physicians don't go to school to do business, nurses don't go to school to be able to financially run a department. It is a finance leader's responsibility to educate those that didn't come up through the finance side to help them understand," Ms. Tate said.
7. Get a partner before nobody wants you. "If your organization is in a marketplace where everything is stacked against you, if you're a small organization struggling to compete … don't wait to find a partner until it is too late. Don't wait until nobody wants you, your debt or pension issues," Mr. Johnson said.
8. Build out brick-and-mortar. "Showing financial stability, involvement and commitment to the hospital is a great way to recruit and attract physicians and clinicians," Ms. Ackerson said. "One of the ways to show that is investing in new facilities and upgrades."