| HealthLeaders Media Corner Office - September 4, 2009 | Leadership Takes a Pay Cut When Others Don't |
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Leadership Takes a Pay Cut When Others Don't
Philip Betbeze, Senior Editor-Leadership
Leadership means many different things to people. To some, it means courage in the face of adversity—the ability to spur on those who are led to great acts of bravery. To others, it might mean developing a vision for the organization they lead, and the ability to inspire others to help in achieving that vision. But perhaps leadership can't easily be captured in such grandiose situations. To me, it's most often an accumulation of small acts that inspire those who are led. I came across an example of such a small act earlier this week, while reading a study about executive compensation trends at nonprofit hospitals. [Read More] |
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September 4, 2009 |
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Editor's Picks
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Top 20 execs at Miami-based Jackson Health System to volunteer for pay cuts
Here's one example of what I wrote about in my column this week, although it appears executives at Miami's Jackson Health System weren't exactly proactive in their offer to take a 4%-5% pay cut, drop their car and executive allowances, and consider giving up five days without pay. County executives pushed this issue. Jackson is projected to lose $133 million this year. [Read
More]
CHI, Trinity Health will Combine Four Hospitals
Catholic Health Initiatives and Trinity Health will combine four Eastern Oregon-Western Idaho hospitals into a single local system. Is this the first step to a more comprehensive merger? Probably not. The language of the press release is a little funny, because it seems as though Catholic Health Initiatives will still be involved in the running of the new health system, which combines three CHI hospitals with one Trinity hospital to make a regional system. But read further, and it's clear Trinity will be operating the new system alone. So did any cash change hands? Not clear. Will CHI have any future stake in the venture? Again, not clear. My colleague John Commins takes a closer look. [Read
More]
Eliminating Fees for Overlapping Services Could Save Millions for Medicare
Even for Medicare, half a billion dollars isn't chump change. That's why you can bet the agency will pay attention to a new report by the government accountability office that says Medicare could save up to a half a billion dollars a year through reforming the payment for two or more services that are furnished together. The savings are possible, according to the report and my colleague Janice Simmons, because efficiencies that occur when two or more services are furnished together are not reflected in the fee schedule. [Read
More]
New ICU Technology Creates Eye in the Sky
Imagine hospital employees who could interact with multiple patients, diagnose and treat their illnesses, administer drugs, and even ensure medical staff is following infection control best practices 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the basic premise of the eICU, an electronic subdivision of the ICU at Alegent Health in Omaha, NE. Here's how it works: Nurses and physicians staff an offsite location filled with two-way cameras linked to ICUs in three metropolitan hospitals and one rural hospital within the system. Six nurses in the eICU routinely manage 15-20 patients each, in conjunction with on-site ICU staff members. A physician handles high-risk patients, and recently Alegent has added a pharmacist to monitor antimicrobial activity. [Read
More]
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This Week's Headlines
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CA Hospitals Fight for Right to Hire Docs on Constitutional Grounds
Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media - September 2, 2009
Kaiser study finds shortcomings in Massachusetts insurance programs
New York Times - September 3, 2009
Pfizer to Pay Record $2.3B Fine for Fraudulent Marketing
John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media - September 2, 2009
Obama aides aim to simplify and scale back health bills
New York Times - September 3, 2009
Fulton County, GA, commission to give Grady $10 million to meet payroll
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - September 3, 2009
How to Stop Rising Healthcare Costs
Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media - September 2, 2009
Conservative Democrats expect a health deal
New York Times - September 2, 2009
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Webcasts/Audio Conferences
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Flexible Medical Staff Models of the Future (October 29, 2009)
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Marketing to Physicians: Build Relationships to Increase Referrals (October 22)
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Service Lines Strategies Workshop 2009: Gastroenterology (On Demand)
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Sponsored Headlines
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What you need to know in planning and budgeting for healthcare digital signage, Vericom.
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Can you offer your patients price transparency? Model APC's/APG's accurately & quickly? Free Webinar
Sg2's new Reform Readiness Analysis prepares hospitals for impending payment changes. Click here to register for a free Sg2 Web seminar on Sept 11.
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| From HealthLeaders Magazine |
Hang On
Get ready for the failure of the HIT stimulus dream, episode of care contracting, the end of easy credit, and a public plan. [Read More]
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| Service Line Management |
Making Wellness Work
Wellness and weight loss programs aren't major revenue generators, but healthcare reformers know they cannot effectively control costs without focusing more on prevention. [Read More]
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View from the Top
Five Strategies to Thrive in Difficult Times: Healthcare leaders have long felt that they are on the front lines: Fighting disease, budget cuts, insurance, and reimbursement procedures. Now these organizations are feeling the added pain of a global economic meltdown that is threatening their very existence. Generally required to keep more cash on hand than other businesses, healthcare organizations are suffering from an inability to access capital and remain solvent. In order for healthcare organizations to emerge with their reputations and operations intact, they will need to be inspired in the way they lead their organizations now, and in the months ahead. [Read More] |
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Audio Feature
A 'Quality' Contract: I spoke recently with Ralph de la Torre, MD, CEO of Boston's Caritas Christi Health Care, New England's second largest hospital chain. We talked briefly about healthcare reform, but we spent more time on the problem with procedure-based reimbursement, which many argue is bankrupting us as a nation. That's why I was so interested in talking to de la Torre about his system's "alternative quality contract" with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts which rewards hospitals not just for the number of procedures it performs on a patient, but also, and most importantly, allows caregivers and the hospital to earn bonuses for meeting quality targets. [Listen Now] |
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