February 2023 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review
ON THE COVER
EdD, President and CEO, MetroHealth
Airica Steed, EdD, RN, became president and CEO of MetroHealth on Dec. 5, and she said community health and health equity are among her focuses
Michael Dowling, President and CEO, Northwell Health
A difficult year for hospital and health system finances brought with it renewed attention to expenditures. Scrutinizing costs is a job that should be done with the same amount of precision and care as your top surgeons in the OR, because one mistaken move can cause several complications and long-term damage
Leslie Davis, President and CEO, UPMC
Leslie Davis has spent more than a year as president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based UPMC. Ms. Davis took the helm of the 40-hospital global health system in August 2021, succeeding Jeffrey Romoff, who had a 48-year tenure with the organization
Will Curry, MD, CMO, Massachusetts General Hospital
Expanding access to multidisciplinary care is crucial to improving patient experience and outcomes, according to Will Curry, MD, chief medical officer at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital.
Kathy Sanford, CNO, CommonSpirit
Leaders at small health systems might be quick to dismiss the idea of an internal nurse staffing agency, thinking it's not an option for them. Kathy Sanford, DBA, RN, would challenge that assumption.
10 health systems with strong finances
Here are 10 health systems with strong operational metrics and solid financial positions, according to reports from credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service
Mayo Clinic faces scrutiny over collection practices
The Minnesota Attorney General's Office is seeking more information about Rochester-based Mayo Clinic's "apparent aggressive bill-collection conduct," the Post Bulletin reported Dec. 15.
5 trilliondollar questions hanging over hospitals
Big questions tend to have no easy answers. Fortunately, few people would say they went into healthcare for its ease.
Chief experience officers on the initiatives that can't wait
Regardless of the crisis of the moment — be it a crushing nursing shortage or nonstop stream of patients with respiratory illnesses — hospitals that fail to keep a close eye on providing extraordinary patient experience will pay, one way or the other.
Jefferson Health to reorganize, tighten executive team
Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health plans to go from five divisions to three in an effort to flatten management and become more efficient, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Jan. 12.
17 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs
Several hospitals and health systems are trimming their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges
Tenet to sell California hospital
John Muir Health has entered into a definitive agreement with Tenet Healthcare to acquire sole ownership of San Ramon (Calif.) Regional Medical Center.
Advocate Health names leadership team
Advocate Health, a newly combined system resulting from the merger of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health, has named its executive leadership team.
Highest paid specialties for PAs, NPs
Year over year, median total cash compensation for physician assistants and nurse practitioners climbed by 4.5 percent, according to a surveyreleased Dec. 7 by consulting firm SullivanCotter.
Viewpoint: Safety work relies too much on clinicians' heroism
A national patient safety effort that standardizes best practices across all U.S. hospitals is required to achieve and sustain meaningful improvements in patient care, five patient safety experts said in a NEJM Catalyst article published Dec. 12.
20 chief digital officer moves
As hospitals and health systems continued their shift to digital this year, several named their inaugural chief digital officers while other digital chiefs left for new jobs in other industries.
Study: MyChart messages dwindle after hospitals start billing for them
MyChart messages declined at San Francisco-based UCSF Health after the health system started billing for them, though clinicians rarely charge patients for them, a JAMA study found
How 1 system is helping moms reenter the healthcare workforce
The idea for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's MomForce Program came about while Linda Matzigkeit was mixing cement.
CFO / FINANCE
17 hospitals, health systems cutting jobs
Several hospitals and health systems are trimming their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges
Lifespan names new CFO
Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan has named Peter Markell vice president and CFO, effective Jan. 30.
10 health systems with strong finances
Here are 10 health systems with strong operational metrics and solid financial positions, according to reports from credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service
Hospital margins see eleventh-hour improvement
Hospitals experienced a slight boost to operating margins in November, but not enough to restore the median negative margins that persisted for 2022 to date.
Mass General Brigham losses mount as operating margin dips to -2.5%
Boston-based Mass General Brigham posteda $432 million loss (-2.6 percent operating margin) for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, with inflation, workforce shortages and a worsening capacity crisis continuing to affect the health system's financial performance.
CEO/STRATEGY
5 trilliondollar questions hanging over hospitals
Big questions tend to have no easy answers. Fortunately, few people would say they went into healthcare for its ease.
Cap hospital CEO pay at $800,000, physician says
Controversy driven by bonuses paid out to MetroHealth System's former CEO has intensified criticism of hospital CEO pay at large, with one former MetroHealth physician calling for it to be capped at $800,000 — twice as much as the U.S. president earns.
Advocate Health names leadership team in wake of merger
Advocate Health, a newly combined system resulting from the merger of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health, has named its executive leadership team.
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare taps CEO
Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial HealthCare has named Howard Chrisman, MD, its next CEO.
Hospital CEO exits climb in what may be bellwether for C-suites
The number of CEO changes at hospitals and health systems climbed 300 percent in November after a slowdown the month prior, according to a Dec. 14 Challenger, Gray & Christmas report.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Community health at its best': Dr. Airica Steed's bold goals as MetroHealth's new CEO
Airica Steed, EdD, RN, became president and CEO of MetroHealth on Dec. 5, and she said community health and health equity are among her focuses
Michael Dowling: 6 ground rules for cost cutting
A difficult year for hospital and health system finances brought with it renewed attention to expenditures. Scrutinizing costs is a job that should be done with the same amount of precision and care as your top surgeons in the OR, because one mistaken move can cause several complications and long-term damage
Corner Office: How UPMC is innovating staff retention
Leslie Davis has spent more than a year as president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based UPMC. Ms. Davis took the helm of the 40-hospital global health system in August 2021, succeeding Jeffrey Romoff, who had a 48-year tenure with the organization
What Mass Gen's chief medical officer sees as key to improved care: 5 Qs with Dr. Will Curry
Expanding access to multidisciplinary care is crucial to improving patient experience and outcomes, according to Will Curry, MD, chief medical officer at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital.
INNOVATION
7 chief experience officers on patient experience initiatives that can't wait
Regardless of the crisis of the moment — be it a crushing nursing shortage or nonstop stream of patients with respiratory illnesses — hospitals that fail to keep a close eye on providing extraordinary patient experience will pay, one way or the other.
JPMorgan wants to bring back 60-minute doctor's appointments
he demise of Haven — a coalition of three big employers aiming to lower the cost of healthcare for their workers — was met with a surprising reaction from Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase: "We want to do this again."
Robot pills and telenutrition: The startups Northwell, Mayo and Memorial Hermann are investing in
Large health systems are fueling healthcare innovation by making their own investments in biotech, therapeutics and health tech by supporting intriguing new startups.
How UPMC created an innovation hub in Pittsburgh
UPMC has created an innovation hub in its home base of Pittsburgh by greatly expanding its cancer research and precision medicine footprints, Pittsburgh Business Times reported Jan. 3.
Don't shy away from AI, says MUSC innovation leader
Arman Kilic, MD, director of the Schiller Surgical Innovation Center at the Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina, is working on 25 different projects that utilize artificial intelligence.
CMO/CARE DELIVERY
'Resilience isn't a pillar by itself': CommonSpirit's plan to support 44,000 nurses in 2023
Leaders at small health systems might be quick to dismiss the idea of an internal nurse staffing agency, thinking it's not an option for them. Kathy Sanford, DBA, RN, would challenge that assumption.
Most physicians question NPs' care decisions, survey finds
Nearly 80 percent of physicians say they occasionally or regularly question a nurse practitioner's treatment decisions, according to Medscape's Evolving Scope of Practice Report published Nov. 29.
Highest paid specialties for Pas
Year over year, median total cash compensation for physician assistants and nurse practitioners climbed by 4.5 percent, according to a survey released Dec. 7 by consulting firm SullivanCotter.
BayCare names chief physician executive
Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare will welcome Sowmya Viswanathan, MD, as its new chief physician executive at the start of 2023.
Highest paid specialties for NPs
Year over year, median total cash compensation for physician assistants and nurse practitioners climbed by 4.5 percent, according to a surveyreleased Dec. 7 by consulting firm SullivanCotter.
CIO/HEALTH IT
4 health systems named 'best places to work in IT' share their retention strategies
From letting IT teams work where they feel most productive to offering competitive salaries, this is how the health systems that made the list of Computerworld's best places to work in IT for 2023 create a great IT environment to work in.
Kaiser, Cleveland Clinic, Providence: 20 chief digital officer moves in '22
As hospitals and health systems continued their shift to digital this year, several named their inaugural chief digital officers while other digital chiefs left for new jobs in other industries.
Number of MyChart messages drops after hospitals start billing for them, study finds
MyChart messages declined at San Francisco-based UCSF Health after the health system started billing for them, though clinicians rarely charge patients for them, a JAMA study found.
University Hospitals eyes unified Epic EHR in 2023
University Hospitals in Cleveland aims to have a unified EHR platform by the end of 2023.
Top 5 influences on health system CIO buying decisions
Nine out of 10 health system CIOs say their purchasing decisions are influenced by key opinion leaders and industry influencers, a survey by marketing agency Merritt Group found.
WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP
Unmarried women no longer lag behind in retirement savings
Without the combined resources of marriage, single women have historically been at a financial disadvantage during retirement. But a recent study suggests that gap between married and unmarried women is closing, Bloomberg reported Jan. 10
When physicians dismiss women's pain
Physicians are more likely to ignore women when they express pain and women wait longer to receive appropriate treatment or do not receive it at all, The Washington Post reported Dec. 13.
How 1 system is helping moms reenter the healthcare workforce
The idea for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's MomForce Program came about while Linda Matzigkeit was mixing cement.
New study gives truth to trope: Women are more empathetic
Women have long been considered the more empathetic gender. New research confirms that notion, Fortune reported Dec. 28.