Driscoll Health System's mission is to provide care to more children in need, and that's a goal its new CFO can get behind.
Douglas Myers was named senior vice president and CFO of Corpus Christi, Texas-based Driscoll Health System in August. The system includes Driscoll Children's Hospital, a 189-bed tertiary care center, and a health plan that serves more than 175,000 members.
Mr. Myers brings years of experience to his new role. He has served as CFO of several healthcare organizations, including Phoenix Children's Hospital and Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Health System. Most recently, Mr. Myers served as president and CEO of ABLM, a healthcare financial management consultancy firm in Phoenix.
At Driscoll, Mr. Myers is responsible for all financial aspects of both the hospital and health plan. He said he's excited about the opportunity to develop and implement strategies that support the system's goal of providing care to more children.
Here, Mr. Myers further discusses why he's excited about his new role and shares his top priorities for the year ahead.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What has you most excited about your new role as CFO of Driscoll Health System?
Douglas Myers: The reason I came to Driscoll Children's Hospital is its vision of more care for more kids. The mission of pediatric hospitals can't be beat, providing care to children in need. I'm very proud every time I say where I work. It's not a job for our care providers; it's their passion. Our market is all of South Texas — it's about the size of the state of South Carolina — so that's a logistical challenge. The thing that most excites me is that we are embarking on several initiatives in South Texas that will be transformational to Driscoll, and help us fulfill our vision of caring for more kids.
Q: What are a few of your top priorities for your first year at Driscoll Health?
DM: Of course as CFO, one priority is making sure that we have the resources to meet our strategic plan and carry out our mission. So that's looking at the revenue cycle and supply chain, determining if our CDI program is maximizing results. We have a 175,000-member health plan — is it on the right trajectory? All of those types of things are priorities.
The leadership of Driscoll should be very proud. Just about every area of the organization is running on all cylinders. It's probably no coincidence that the former CFO is now the CEO, so I have big shoes to fill. My highest priority is the execution of our strategy, and providing leadership to the organization to make sure the tactics in our strategic plan are being realized.
Q: What is the greatest challenge facing hospital CFOs today?
DM: I think the biggest challenge is always staying ahead of the curve. Being able to look into the future and plan out where the organization is heading and course-correct if necessary. It's better to be proactive than reactive. So the challenge is looking for new and diverse revenue streams, making sure you are hitting benchmarks on expenses by staying disciplined and making hard decisions if necessary. I don't want to be the one to hit the iceberg.
More articles on healthcare finance:
Hospitals win challenge to site-neutral pay cuts
10 hospitals seeking CFOs
Financial updates from Kaiser, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo + 10 other systems