In his annual State of the Clinic address, Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Tom Mihaljevic, MD, highlighted several key initiatives the 18-hospital system is implementing to improve care for patients, expand its footprint and provide a better experience for clinicians and other employees.
Six things to know:
1. Strategic plan. During his Feb. 26 speech, Dr. Mihaljevic said Cleveland Clinic's strategic plan will focus on the following five goals:
- Serving as lifelong partners to patients
- Engaging caregivers as members of teams
- Embracing digital tools to enhance the patient and caregiver experience
- Optimizing resources as stewards of the organization
- Doubling the number of patients served
2. Serve more patients. A record 2.4 million patients received care at Cleveland Clinic's facilities in 2019, and those patients accounted for 9.8 million visits. In 2020 and beyond, Cleveland Clinic will serve more patients in more locations, Dr. Mihaljevic said. "Only 1 in 200 Americans receive care at Cleveland Clinic," he said. "Yet we know every person could benefit from the quality of care we provide. Therefore, it is our ethical obligation to serve as many patients as possible."
To achieve this goal, Cleveland Clinic is updating some existing facilities and also building new ones. The system is expanding Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, constructing a cancer center at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, opening Cleveland Clinic London in 2021, building a new neurological institute, expanding the Cole Eye Institute and building a new hospital in Mentor, Ohio.
3. Patient safety. "Becoming the safest place for healthcare is a journey that never ends," Dr. Mihaljevic said. He noted that Cleveland Clinic has improved patient safety in recent years by using safety checklists before procedures, having daily huddles about safety issues, and encouraging caregivers to speak up about safety issues. In 2019, Cleveland Clinic decreased serious safety events during surgery by 46 percent. Between January 2017 and August 2019, the system reduced central-line infections, sepsis mortality and patient falls with injuries.
4. Care for clinicians and other employees. Dr. Mihaljevic said Cleveland Clinic has taken several steps to improve the caregiver experience. A few examples he cited were offering fully paid maternity and parental leave, increasing the system's minimum wage to $15 per hour and making improvements to the system's EHR. "Care for caregivers" will continue to be one of the system's top priorities, he said.
5. Community benefit. Last year, Cleveland Clinic's community benefit reached $1 billion. Dr. Mihalijevic said Cleveland Clinic will continue to support local communities through initiatives to address public health challenges, including vaping and opioid addiction, a community service time off program for employees and an ongoing pledge to hire job seekers from surrounding neighborhoods.
6. Financial performance. Solid financial performance is necessary to achieve the strategic goals Dr. Mihaljevic discussed during his speech. Cleveland Clinic ended 2019 with operating income of $390.2 million on revenues of $10.6 billion. That's compared to 2018, when the system reported operating income of $266.4 million on revenues of $8.9 billion. "This success allows us to reinvest in our mission, caregivers and communities," Dr. Mihaljevic said.