February 2022 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review
ON THE COVER
46 top hospitals, ranked by Leapfrog
The Leapfrog Group honored 46 general hospitals with its annual Top Hospital Award in 2021. A total of 149 hospitals were honored with the award this year. Eight children's hospitals, 23 rural hospitals and 72 teaching hospitals also received the award.
Viewpoint: Don't demonize healthcare executives for creating profit
Americans are misplacing their anger at the inaccessibility and lack of affordability of the U.S. healthcare system toward CEOs and executives, Peter Ubel, MD, wrote in Forbes Nov. 22.
State-by-state breakdown of 73 hospital closures
About 60 million people — nearly 1 in 5 Americans — live in rural areas and depend on their local hospitals for care. More than 70 of those hospitals have ended all services since 2011, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.
Can hospitals go too digital? 8 execs weigh in
Hospitals have been investing millions in digitization efforts to improve workflows and care outcomes over the past decade, but recent research shows nearly half of employees say too much digitalization hurts productivity.
Leadership lessons from Walgreens' CEO
Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, has broad business experience, having held leadership roles at Starbucks, Walmart and Sam's Club. She is one of only two Black women running Fortune 500 companies. She sat down with the Harvard Business Review Dec. 9 to explain her leadership strategy.
Higher penalties for undisclosed prices won't sway all hospitals to comply, consultant says
While CMS' move to increase the penalty for hospitals that don't publish their prices will make some facilities more likely to comply with that requirement, it may not sway the country's largest health systems, Caroline Znaniec, a managing director at advisory firm CohnReznick, told Becker's Hospital Review.
Nonprofit hospitals in these 10 states report highest expenses per inpatient day
The average adjusted expenses per inpatient day for nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. was $2,738 in 2019. In one state, those expenses were more than $1,000 higher.
Could a 10-year war for talent be looming?
Board directors and executives are expecting to continue having issues recruiting and retaining talent until 2031, Fortune reported Dec. 13.
The strategy behind a Florida health system's mostly female leadership team
When Maggie Gill took her first position as a healthcare CFO with Tenet Healthcare in 1994, there was one thing that stood out to her: a predominantly male executive team.
Fitness trackers can give early warning of COVID-19, study finds
An algorithm that is fed data from wearable fitness trackers can alert people of COVID-19 infection or stress before the onset of symptoms, according to a study published Nov. 29 in Nature.
What the Oracle-Cerner deal could mean for EHR interoperability: 7 insights
Oracle's $28.3 billion acquisition of Cerner could pave the way to reduce patient data silos and interoperability challenges among hospitals and health systems, some analysts predict, according to a Dec. 21 report in The Wall Street Journal.
6 patient experience leaders share their 2022 goals
From reviving the human experience for patients and care teams to increasing digital access, hospitals and health systems around the U.S. are continuing to elevate patient experience initiatives heading into the new year.
UPMC launches in-house travel staffing agency to address nursing shortage
UPMC is creating an in-house travel staffing agency to address the nationwide nursing shortage and to attract and retain highly skilled nurses and surgical technologists, the Pittsburgh-based health system said Dec. 17.
Dr. Prathibha Varkey, President, Mayo Clinic Health System
Dr. Prathibha Varkey returned to Mayo Clinic in August as president of the Mayo Clinic Health System, which serves communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. She previously practiced medicine and served in several leadership roles at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic for more than a decade before leaving in 2013 to pursue CEO roles at Seton Clinical Enterprise in Austin, Texas, and Northeast Medical Group within Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health.
Rick Evans, Senior Vice President of Patient Services & Chief Experience Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
I've had the privilege of working to improve the patient experience in hospitals and healthcare settings for over 20 years. I've been part of teams that have successfully "moved the needle" year over year in challenging markets like Boston and New York.
Jaewon Ryu, MD, President & CEO, Geisinger
Jaewon Ryu, MD, has helmed Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger since 2018, overseeing a nine-hospital system with nearly 24,000 employees, about 4,000 of whom are working remotely.
Leslie Davis, President & CEO, UPMC
Leslie Davis assumed the role of president and CEO of UPMC Aug. 1. She succeeds Jeffrey Romoff, who over 48 years led the Pittsburgh organization's growth from academic medical center to fully integrated $23 billion global health system.
Mike Coggin, Executive Vice President & CFO, LifePoint Health
Mike Coggin is the executive vice president and CFO of LifePoint Health, which currently operates 84 hospital campuses.
Conor Delaney, MD, PhD, President & CEO, Cleveland Clinic Florida
Conor Delaney, MD, PhD, has served as president and CEO of Weston-based Cleveland Clinic Florida since October 2020, overseeing a system of five hospitals, a research center and numerous outpatient centers.
Yolanda Coleman, PhD, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Weiss Memorial Hospital
Yolanda Coleman, PhD, RN, became Chicago-based Weiss Memorial Hospital's chief nursing officer on Oct. 25. She spoke to Becker's in December about staffing challenges and shared her advice for other women in healthcare leadership.
Denise Basow, MD, Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, Ochsner Health
Denise Basow, MD, will join Jefferson, La.-based Ochsner Health System as senior vice president and chief digital officer in January 2022. As CEO of clinical effectiveness for Waltham, Mass.-based Wolters Kluwer, she has led multiple lines of business, including UpToDate, a software giant she joined in 1996 when the company was still in its infancy. Dr. Basow spoke with Becker's in December about her decision to leave Wolters Kluwer and what she's most proud of.
Cris Ross, CIO, Mayo Clinic
In 2019, Mayo Clinic began a 10-year strategic partnership with Google focused on innovation and cloud computing. Here, Cris Ross, the Rochester, Minn.-based system's CIO, provides updates on what the partnership has accomplished and where it's going.
David Feinberg, MD, CEO, Cerner
Throughout his 25-year career in different healthcare and technology spaces, Cerner CEO David Feinberg, MD, has maintained a central focus on what he considers the most important thing: the patient.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Dr. Prathibha Varkey: Mayo Clinic Health System's new president on persistence, grit and courage
Dr. Prathibha Varkey returned to Mayo Clinic in August as president of the Mayo Clinic Health System, which serves communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. She previously practiced medicine and served in several leadership roles at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic for more than a decade before leaving in 2013 to pursue CEO roles at Seton Clinical Enterprise in Austin, Texas, and Northeast Medical Group within Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health.
NewYork-Presbyterian CXO Rick Evans: We are in a patient experience crisis
I've had the privilege of working to improve the patient experience in hospitals and healthcare settings for over 20 years. I've been part of teams that have successfully "moved the needle" year over year in challenging markets like Boston and New York.
For Geisinger CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu, there is a silver lining to the pandemic
Jaewon Ryu, MD, has helmed Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger since 2018, overseeing a nine-hospital system with nearly 24,000 employees, about 4,000 of whom are working remotely.
At UPMC CEO Leslie Davis' table, conflicting opinions are welcome
Leslie Davis assumed the role of president and CEO of UPMC Aug. 1. She succeeds Jeffrey Romoff, who over 48 years led the Pittsburgh organization's growth from academic medical center to fully integrated $23 billion global health system.
LifePoint CFO Mike Coggin focused on Kindred deal, cost management + more
Mike Coggin is the executive vice president and CFO of LifePoint Health, which currently operates 84 hospital campuses.
CFO / FINANCE
State-by-state breakdown of 73 hospital closures
About 60 million people — nearly 1 in 5 Americans — live in rural areas and depend on their local hospitals for care. More than 70 of those hospitals have ended all services since 2011, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.
Higher penalties for undisclosed prices won't sway all hospitals to comply, consultant says
While CMS' move to increase the penalty for hospitals that don't publish their prices will make some facilities more likely to comply with that requirement, it may not sway the country's largest health systems, Caroline Znaniec, a managing director at advisory firm CohnReznick, told Becker's Hospital Review.
California hospital files for bankruptcy
A 106-bed hospital in Watsonville, Calif., and its parent company have filed for bankruptcy protection. Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital and its parent company, Halsen Healthcare, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 5. The hospital has between $10 million and $50 million in assets and liabilities within the same range, according to its bankruptcy petition signed by the hospital's chief restructuring officer.
HCA to build 3 hospitals in Florida
HCA Healthcare, a 183-hospital system based in Nashville, Tenn., is expanding its footprint in Florida. The for-profit hospital operator has 47 hospitals in Florida and plans to start building three new acute care hospitals in the state next year. HCA Healthcare is building a 90-bed hospital in Gainesville, a 100-bed hospital in Fort Myers and a 60-bed hospital near The Villages, according to a Nov. 30 news release.
Nonprofit hospitals in these 10 states report highest expenses per inpatient day
The average adjusted expenses per inpatient day for nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. was $2,738 in 2019. In one state, those expenses were more than $1,000 higher.
CEO/STRATEGY
10 notable CEO transitions this year
Becker's Hospital Review reported on CEO transitions at hospitals and health systems across the U.S. in 2021.
Viewpoint: Don't demonize healthcare executives for creating profit
Americans are misplacing their anger at the inaccessibility and lack of affordability of the U.S. healthcare system toward CEOs and executives, Peter Ubel, MD, wrote in Forbes Nov. 22.
5 ways to improve healthcare, according to Intermountain's CEO
The pandemic exposed many flaws within the U.S healthcare system. Health systems can improve access, affordability and patient health by combining these five strategies to fix the system, as reported in Harvard Business Review Dec. 15.
72% of CEOs are concerned about their job security in 2022
Disruption of supply chains, labor shortages and desperately needed updates to corporate strategy have CEOs worried for what 2022 holds, but a top concern was their own job security, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
When's the right time for a CEO to step down?
Researchers from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill attempted to quantify when might be the right time for a company founder to step down as CEO, The Harvard Business Review reported Dec. 17. Although the answer varies by company, the researchers offered suggestions on how to smooth the transition.
WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP
The strategy behind a Florida health system's mostly female leadership team
When Maggie Gill took her first position as a healthcare CFO with Tenet Healthcare in 1994, there was one thing that stood out to her: a predominantly male executive team.
New CNO's biggest challenge: Balancing excellence with staff vacancies
Yolanda Coleman, PhD, RN, became Chicago-based Weiss Memorial Hospital's chief nursing officer on Oct. 25. She spoke to Becker's in December about staffing challenges and shared her advice for other women in healthcare leadership.
Ranking women's performance can be harmful to their work, study says
Performance management reviews can create a particular kind of competitive environment that may work to the detriment of women, Harvard Business Review reported Dec. 13.
Women's wage growth outpacing men's
The economic situation for women may be improving since the beginning of the pandemic-induced recession, Intelligencer reported Dec. 15.
Dr. Denise Basow on the union of purpose and business in healthcare
Denise Basow, MD, will join Jefferson, La.-based Ochsner Health System as senior vice president and chief digital officer in January 2022. As CEO of clinical effectiveness for Waltham, Mass.-based Wolters Kluwer, she has led multiple lines of business, including UpToDate, a software giant she joined in 1996 when the company was still in its infancy. Dr. Basow spoke with Becker's in December about her decision to leave Wolters Kluwer and what she's most proud of.
Women hold only 15% of CEO roles in healthcare organizations
Despite the massive, diverse patient pool for healthcare companies, only 15 percent of CEOs in the industry are women, a new study published Nov. 29 revealed.
INNOVATION
Mayo Clinic CIO: Google partnership will 'transform healthcare'
In 2019, Mayo Clinic began a 10-year strategic partnership with Google focused on innovation and cloud computing. Here, Cris Ross, the Rochester, Minn.-based system's CIO, provides updates on what the partnership has accomplished and where it's going.
Renown inks remote patient-monitoring deal for in-hospital & at-home care
Reno, Nev.-based Renown Health on Dec. 6 partnered with BioIntellisense, a remote patient- monitoring company, to improve in-hospital and at-home care through the use of the company's on-body sensor.
2021's brightest health tech innovations, per 5 hospital execs
Here, five executives from health systems across the country answer the question, "What was the most impactful health tech innovation in 2021?"
Can hospitals go too digital? 8 execs weigh in
Hospitals have been investing millions in digitization efforts to improve workflows and care outcomes over the past decade, but recent research shows nearly half of employees say too much digitalization hurts productivity.
Fitness trackers can give early warning of COVID-19, study finds
An algorithm that is fed data from wearable fitness trackers can alert people of COVID-19 infection or stress before the onset of symptoms, according to a study published Nov. 29 in Nature.
CIO/HEALTH IT
Viewpoint: Why it's time to nix IT departments
While IT departments are designed to oversee digital transformation, the idea of siloing staff with expertise in IT management into one separate division is the main force preventing companies from being innovative, according to Joe Peppard, PhD.
Scripps' Epic EHR automates supply price markups up to 675%
Scripps Memorial Hospital's Epic EHR uses an automated tool to mark up prices of supplies between 575 and 675 percent in real time within the EHR, The Los Angeles Times reported Dec. 10.
What the Oracle-Cerner deal could mean for EHR interoperability: 7 insights
Oracle's $28.3 billion acquisition of Cerner could pave the way to reduce patient data silos and interoperability challenges among hospitals and health systems, some analysts predict, according to a Dec. 21 report in The Wall Street Journal.
CMS chief outlines data interoperability goals: 5 insights for providers, payers
CMS' goals for health data interoperability focus on standardizing application programming interfaces and streamlining data exchanges.
Dr. David Feinberg shares strategy for Cerner & the leadership advice that has guided his career
Throughout his 25-year career in different healthcare and technology spaces, Cerner CEO David Feinberg, MD, has maintained a central focus on what he considers the most important thing: the patient.
CMO/CARE DELIVERY
Meet the CNOs of US News' top 15 hospitals: 2021-22
This year has put nursing leaders to the test as they have worked to set up makeshift COVID-19 units, secure personal protective equipment for their teams and provide emotional support during some of the hardest moments of many nurses' careers.
1 in 5 physicians, 2 in 5 nurses intend to leave practice within 2 years, AMA-led study finds
The healthcare workforce is on the brink of experiencing high staff turnover rates, indicative of what is being deemed the "Great Resignation," a new American Medical Association-led study suggests.
Yale New Haven Health saved 470 hours of nurses' time in 1 year with EHR tool
Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health partnered with New England Donor Services, the northeastern U.S.' organ procurement organization, to streamline the organ donation process, Harvard Business Review reported Dec. 13.
6 patient experience leaders share their 2022 goals
From reviving the human experience for patients and care teams to increasing digital access, hospitals and health systems around the U.S. are continuing to elevate patient experience initiatives heading into the new year.
Memorial Sloan Kettering paid $1.9M severance to former CMO
José Baselga, MD, PhD, resigned from his roles as physician-in-chief and CMO of Memorial Sloan Kettering in September 2018, shortly after an analysis by The New York Times and ProPublica revealed he failed to disclose financial ties to healthcare companies in papers he authored. At the time, he said the lapses in disclosure were unintentional and that his industry work was known among the public.