30
JOINT
VENTURES
5 thoughts for a joint venture ASC + key concepts for
building a strong operational structure
By Laura Dyrda
M
ichael Patterson, president and
CEO of Mississippi Valley Health in
Davenport, Iowa, discussed the key
aspects of a successful ASC joint venture.
Question: What is your best advice for
ensuring hospitals and physicians form
healthy ASC joint ventures?
Michael Patterson: Here are five thoughts for
healthy joint ventures:
1. Set clear expectations going into the relation-
ship as to what each party expects from the
other.
2. Be open to change, especially those that im-
prove the patient experience, promote quality
and strengthen the bottom line.
3. Encourage timely communication between
the parties and don't just wait for board meet-
ings to discuss issues or opportunities.
4. See the issue from each other's perspective
— while these organizations are partners in the
joint venture, they may also be friendly com-
petitors; understand the nuances that go along
with being a partner and a competitor.
5. Learn from each other and don't be afraid to
ask for help when needed.
Q: What works well in terms of building a
strong culture and operational structure for
the ASC?
MP: Develop a strategic plan, ensure that your
people are the foundation of that plan and in-
vest time, resources and money into recruiting
and keeping top performers.
Our leadership team encourages everyone to be
'owners' in the organization. We foster a culture
in which we are all accountable for each other's
performance. We manage up and practice
servant leadership. is is very important.
We conduct monthly [meetings with] all em-
ployees and have some very specific questions
we ask of each person. In addition, we conduct
90-day performance appraisals: what that
means is that every 90 days we sit down with
our employees and jointly establish goals for the
coming 90 days. It keeps us moving forward.
We conduct employee forums three to four
times a year and are very transparent with our
performance. We include our progress towards
our strategic plan goals, new opportunities,
financial performance and opportunities for
improvement.
We have a scorecard that is updated monthly
and posted for all employees, which includes
quality, operational, patient satisfaction, finan-
cial targets and our results. We want to report
this info in a timely manner as to ensure every-
one knows how we are doing and if we need
improvements in key areas of the scorecard.
e leadership team is expected to be very vis-
ible with patients, family and staff. We celebrate
our wins and we learn from our mistakes. We
recognize that our biggest asset is the people
that work in our facilities. We offer continuing
education opportunities, off-site retreats and
encourage advanced certifications in their area
of expertise. n
