Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1169964
114 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP How Ascension's new CEO Joe Impicciche is ushering in the next generation of leadership By Emily Rappleye and Morgan Haefner I n July, Joseph Impicciche took the helm of St. Louis-based Ascension, one of the largest health systems in the U.S., fol- lowing the retirement of longtime CEO Anthony Tersigni, EdD. Mr. Impicciche comes to the role of president and CEO as Ascension restructures its lead- ership and completes a national rebrand. He previously served as Ascension's president and COO, and prior to that, as executive vice president and general counsel. Mr. Impic- ciche's background is in public finance and tax law. He was a partner in a law firm before joining Ascension. Becker's caught up with Mr. Impicciche to dis- cuss the transition and Ascension's latest work around healthcare issues defining 2019, in- cluding gun violence and price transparency. Editor's note: is interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Question: Ascension operates on the mission of providing compassionate, personalized care to everyone, espe- cially those most in need. How does Ascension's charity care, as part of its overall operating revenue, stack up to that of other nonprofit hospitals and safety-nets, in your opinion? Joe Impicciche: Last year, we provided approx- imately $2 billion in charity care and commu- nity benefit. Many of our hospitals serve as the safety-net for communities across the country. Caring for the poor and underserved is core to who we are and what we do. Our community benefit programs are designed to reach some of the most vulnerable people in our commu- nities, and that's been our mission ever since Ascension was formed. Q: Does this mission adequately dis- tinguish Catholic hospitals from secu- lar nonprofits in 2019? JI: I think Catholic hospitals are different. Our system certainly sees our self as extend- ing the healing ministry of Jesus and that in- fluences everything we do. at's a mission that goes back 2,000 years, and one that we feel very privileged to serve. Q: Your predecessor, Dr. Tersigni, served Ascension for more than 15 years. That is quite a tenure to suc- ceed, especially given that the aver- age tenure for CEOs in healthcare is about five years. What is the greatest benefit of inheriting a role after a longtime leader? JI: Tony Tersigni has been a terrific servant leader. He has made such a positive impact on our system and Catholic healthcare in gener- al. His impact will be felt for generations to come. If I can accomplish just a fraction of what Tony accomplished, I will have a very successful tenure. Tony has been a terrific mentor. He's a good friend and it's a privilege to be asked to step up and serve in this role, given everything he's done for our ministry. Q: What is the greatest challenge of inheriting this role? JI: I don't think about it that way. I have been asked to step up to lead and bridge a well-es- tablished, stable leadership team to a next gen- eration of leaders. And that's how I see my role. Q: Dr. Tersigni's retirement triggered a chain of changes within Ascension's leadership team. Can you tell us about how you realigned the team and cre- ated cohesion after these changes? JI: We're only seven or eight weeks into this, but I would tell you that there is incredible en- gagement and alignment around our mission. We are very committed to serving all people with a special attention to the poor and vulner- able. And I would tell you that that alignment is real. is team of new leaders is committed to our mission and in serving the poor. Q: Ascension has been working on a national unified branding for years — the largest rebrand ever by a U.S. healthcare provider. What results do you want to see from this effort? JI: ere are several positives stemming from the rebranding effort. For one, I think culturally it's brought us all together. It's helped our jour- ney to "One Ascension." Our associates better identify with the organization, and it's helped break down some of the silos and identifica- tion with a particular hospital or a site of care. Now our associates are more identified with the system as a whole and what we're doing as a system. We're more effective, speaking with one voice, having a common brand. It also helps our patients navigate and access our system and understand the resources that a system like ours can bring to bear. Having a national brand has been a game changer as we pivot to more con- sumer friendly and accessible care. Q: You recently wrote in a state- ment following the El Paso and Day- ton mass shootings that "Silence in the face of such tragedy and wrong- doing falls short of our mission to ad- vocate for a compassionate and just society." What is Ascension doing to address gun violence? JI: We feel that this is a public health issue. at's because of our mission and that we advocate for a passionate, just society. We're speaking out and we're encouraging others to speak out. We believe each American ought to be having this conversation. As a country, we ought to be having this conversation. We need to address this and find a way to signifi- cantly mitigate the tragic situation that's oc- curring in this country. Q: Expensive medical bills, surprise or not, are a growing issue for patients. What steps is Ascension taking to make prices more transparent for patients? JI: We very much support meaningful price transparency. I think it's very important that people understand what a service is going to cost them. But simply publishing your chargemaster, which might have thousands of codes, is not helpful to anyone. We feel like meaningful transparency is important. At Ascension, for example, for our associates, we have rolled out tools to help them understand whether a particular service is covered and if not, what the deductible is and so on. at's the kind of transparency that will be import- ant to consumers and those that we serve. Q: The Trump administration has also moved to make negotiated prices between payers and providers more transparent. What are your thoughts on this proposal? JI: Well again, I don't see that necessarily as helping a typical consumer. We would fo- cus more on transparency that's going to be informative and that's going to help deci- sion-making. I'm not sure whether transpar- ency around negotiated rates would trickle down to the consumer to allow them to ac- tually make informed decisions. Beyond that, the proposal doesn't take into account our system's charity care policy and adjustments we would make for the poor and vulnerable.