Becker's Hospital Review

32 POPULATION HEALTH 32 CEO/STRATEGY RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers to form academic health system By Alyssa Rege R WJBarnabas Health in West Or- ange, N.J., and New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers University an- nounced the launch of their joint academ- ic health system July 24. Here are four things to know: 1. The Rutgers University board approved a resolution outlining the terms of the partnership, and RWJBarnabas Health's board approved the resolution during its last meeting. As part of the deal, the or- ganizations will remain independent and form a joint committee for strategic plan- ning and oversight of the system. Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health signed letters of intent to form the healthcare system in July 2017. 2. As part of the partnership, the organi- zations will form a joint comprehensive medical group. The group, which will be finalized during the coming months, will be led by an integrated practice CEO. 3. RWJBarnabas Health will invest $100 million initially and more than $1 bil- lion during the next 20 years to expand the research and education component of the integrated system. Approximately $10 million in funding will be earmarked to encourage Rutgers medical students to remain in New Jersey and provide care to the state's residents. 4. The health system will also fund the construction of a new clinical and research building on Rutgers' campus. "This is a transformational partnership for RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Univer- sity, but, more importantly, for the people of New Jersey and beyond," RWJBarna- bas Health President and CEO Barry H. Ostrowsky said in the company's July 24 statement. "Together, we are poised to de- velop a widely renowned academic health system, driving medical innovations and clinical research to influence outcomes across the nation." n Supportive managers linked to fewer absences among depressed employees, study finds By Harrison Cook E mployees with depression miss fewer work days when actively supported by their managers, according to a study published in BMJ Open. For the study, researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science analyzed survey data from 16,000 employees and managers across 15 countries, including the U.S. The survey asked managers how they handled mental health concerns with their employees. Researchers also collected data on how frequently employees took time off from work due to their depression. In countries where managers said they avoided talking with employees about depression, depressed employees missed, on average, four more days. In coun- tries with lower gross domestic product, employees with depression missed more days of work than employees in countries with high GDPs. When the re- searchers controlled the GDP, countries with supportive managers still saw em- ployees with depression miss fewer days of work. "[W]orking in an environment where managers felt comfortable to offer help and support to the employee rather than avoid them was independently associated with less absenteeism and more presenteeism," the authors wrote. The authors also said other factors may be responsible for the results. For exam- ple, a country's resources could affect how much workplaces can invest in mental health policies and offer support to employees. n 68% of CEOs say they were not prepared for job, survey finds By Leo Vartorella C onfidence is one of the defining characteristics of successful executives, but few CEOs felt prepared for their responsibilities, according to a sur- vey in the Harvard Business Review. Leadership advisory firm Egon Zehnder surveyed 402 CEOs from 11 countries between January and November 2017 and asked them questions regarding the challenges of stepping into a leadership position. Four things to know: 1. There is no role that matches the demands of a CEO, and 68 percent of re- spondents said that, in hindsight, they weren't fully prepared to take on the job. 2. Every CEO wants to drive culture change, but 50 percent of respondents said the task was more difficult than they expected. 3. Most CEOs know that they are only as effective as the people they surround themselves with, but 47 percent said that developing their senior leadership team was surprisingly challenging. 4. Forty-eight percent said that finding the time for self-reflection was harder than they anticipated. n

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