Insiders' Insights

Many of the challenges facing healthcare executives are connected to the community’s overall health. What services are available? Are there enough sidewalks? Are children educated about nutrition? Providers are paid to treat illnesses and injuries, not keep people well. So how involved should executives be in public health initiatives?

Wayne Hellerstedt
Chief Executive Officer
Helen Newberry Joy Hospital
Newberry, MI

Hospitals need to be involved in population health. We need to look not only at how to get people well, but how to keep them well. Our hospital has a childhood obesity program, is making our campus smoke-free, and recommends smoke-free campuses throughout our community. We are also trying to teach good nutrition and exercise in our schools, and we worked this past year to get things like soda pop out of our schools. It is difficult for hospital executives to take on larger roles in population health programs. As a CEO you are spread so thin with physician, employee and government relation issues, it is hard to be involved in everything at a high level. But that doesn’t mean you can’t develop other leaders to work in those areas. Try to make a big impact in one or two areas, such as obesity and smoking; otherwise, you dilute your resources.

Kelly Mather
Chief Executive Officer
Sutter Lakeside Hospital
Lakeport, CA

Nonprofit hospitals have a community obligation to give back. Instead of just looking at access and affordability, hospitals should also focus on improving community health. This is being encouraged by the American Hospital Association and by the federal government’s Healthy People 2010 initiative. Part of the problem is providers are incentivized the wrong way. Hospital executives’ roles have focused on symptomatic and illness care instead of improving health. But our focus could be helping folks with lifestyle management. My choice is to get involved in schools and work on health education. We have a program that we call the Five Keys to Wellness that is offered in schools. A wellness center is also an excellent tool to attract folks to your facility when they don’t have an illness or injury.

—Carrie Vaughan