Becker's Hospital Review

34 POPULATION HEALTH 34 CEO/STRATEGY To diversify your board, look outside the usual networks — 5 strategies By Morgan Haefner M ore companies are making an effort to diversify their boards. In 2019, 59 percent of new directors on S&P 500 boards were women or men of an ethnic or racial minority group, according to the U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index. Companies seeking to increase their board diversity should look for people who differ in demographic characteristics, but are also cognitively diverse, Jared Landaw, a partner, COO and general counsel of activist invest- ment firm Barington Capital Group, wrote in a June 11 Harvard Business Review article. He said it is commonly assumed new board members with diverse gender, racial and eth- nic characteristics will bring new perspectives to a boardroom, but too oen those individ- uals are added to the board based on their similar backgrounds to incumbent directors. "While labor intensive, diligent director re- cruiting can help boards identify candidates that maximize the diversity they bring to the boardroom. If a board approaches addressing diversity concerns solely as a 'check-the-box' exercise, we believe it is doing a disservice not just to itself but also to the company and its shareholders," he wrote. Mr. Landaw outlined five recommendations to improve a board's cognitive and demo- graphic diversity: 1. Recruit directors who belong to diverse demographics and have strong business backgrounds. 2. Identify demographically diverse directors who have expertise in areas that meet the company's current and future needs. 3. Recruit from new talent pools outside of board member networks. 4. Determine if candidates are cognitively diverse from other members by having dis- cussions with them on background and life experiences. 5. Have multiple directors take part in interviews and conduct those interviews in different settings. n Kaiser physician execs: 8-step plan as we enter next phase of COVID-19 By Morgan Haefner T he chief health officer and several other physician executives of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente published eight steps the organization is taking to suppress COVID-19 in NEJM Catalyst. The executives say "disease suppression" is the next phase in the COVID-19 pandemic. Suppression "recognizes that despite the considerable risk of outbreaks reemerging as social distancing is lifted, we must carefully balance these concerns against the grave population health risks of failing to successfully reopen our commu- nities and restart our economies." Here are the eight steps Kaiser is taking to suppress COVID-19: 1. Aggressive testing for symptomatic, exposed and asymptomatic patients. 2. Robust contact tracing (the process of identifying COVID-19 pa- tients and their contacts). 3. New partnerships with community-based groups, as single health systems can't manage COVID-19 alone. 4. Whenever and wherever possible, deliver care in the home. 5. Preserve excess care capacity for the foreseeable future. 6. Ensure COVID-19 infection risk is low while reinstating elective surgeries and services. 7. Continue researching COVID-19 and potential vaccines. 8. Provide ongoing education to patients on COVID-19. n Mass General Brigham cuts exec pay, projects $2B in losses Ayla Ellison B oston-based Mass General Brigham, previ- ously named Partners HealthCare, has cut executive pay, frozen wages for other work- ers and suspended retirement benefits to help offset financial damage linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Boston radio station WBUR. The health system has received $314 million in federal grants to help cover lost revenues and expenses caused by the pandemic, but it still predicts it could lose up to $2 billion by the end of the year. To help offset the projected shortfall, top Mass General Brigham executives will have their pay cut by 25 percent for one year, beginning July 1. Other leaders, including senior vice presidents, will have their pay reduced between 5 percent and 20 percent, according to the report. The health system is also suspending retirement benefits and freezing wages for most employees. The health system's roughly 20,000 workers who make less than $26.50 an hour are exempt. The health system has also suspended capital proj- ects and limited other spending to help avoid layoffs or furloughs. n

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