Five-hospital collaborative conducts successful first joint board retreat
Premier Performance Workgroup 4
The mission of Performance Work Group #4 is knowledge transfer and knowledge infusion to improve the cost-effectiveness and quality of services of all members. Participants include Alamance Regional Medical Center, Burlington; Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, Boone; Catawba Valley Medical Center, Hickory; Southeastern Regional Medical Center, Lumberton; and Wayne Memorial Hospital, Goldsboro. In addition to regular meetings of the chief executives, there are a number of roundtables, among them finance, human resources, fund raising, pharmacy and clinical performance. The workgroup is supported by a Premier performance partner and the field force serving the hospitals.
Situation:
For several years now, five independent North Carolina hospitals have worked together through a special Premier program – Premier Work Groups. The mission is knowledge transfer and infusion; the goal: improving the cost-effectiveness and service quality of all members. But like many hospitals, the five members of PWG4, as this particular group is known, were hit hard by the economic downturn. And like many hospitals, one of the first things affected were travel budgets.
Solution:
During a PWG4 CEO roundtable, the idea of a one-day, overnight joint board retreat surfaced as they were discussing the effects of travel budget restrictions. Several CEOs noted that they would not be able to attend Premier’s annual Governance Conference in Phoenix. One suggested that they do something together and share expenses. Thus was born PWG4’s first-ever joint board education conference held in September 2009 at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, NC.
Result:
More than 40 board members, medical staff and hospital leadership of the five hospitals attended the noon-to-noon event which included presentations by national consultants, a Premier executive and hospital representatives. The featured presentation was The 100-Year Flood: The Economic Crisis Meets Healthcare Reform – Implications for PWG4 Hospitals, by Mark Grube, partner with Kaufman, Hall & Associates Inc. Premier Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Blair Childs reported on the healthcare reform debate ongoing in the nation’s capital.
All the rest of the presentations were by hospital talent including a CEO panel on the board’s role in governance, quality, executive compensation, etc.; serving as an effective community catalyst; the clinical journey with information technology and the electronic medical record; a financial turnaround; and physician employment.
"It was great seeing the boards from five hospitals come together to
learn and share experiences. The group came away with an appreciation of
healthcare across North Carolina and a better understanding of the many
challenges that are facing boards in the future. I heard many say they enjoyed
the ‘first’ joint conference and are looking forward to the next. I consider
that a success."
Joann Anderson, President and CEO
Southeastern Regional Medical Center, Lumberton, NC
Chair, Performance Work Group #4