Becker's Hospital Review

31 CEO / STRATEGY Understanding costs and learning to listen: 3 executives on the CFO-to-CEO transition By Kelly Gooch H ospital CEOs have faced many changes and challenges during the pandemic, from staff- ing shortages to digital transformations. Meanwhile, CFOs have navigated these issues alongside them and remain crucial part- ners in planning for the future. is is particularly true because of CFOs' financial acumen, which can be an important asset if they decide to seek a CEO position. For a deeper dive into the CFO-to-CEO transition, including opportunities and potential obsta- cles, Becker's interviewed three hospital executives: • Melissa Atkins, CEO and CFO of Graham County Hospital in Hill City, Kan. • David Cauble, president and CEO of Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Ore. • John Langlois, CEO of Prime Healthcare's Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Ala. Mr. Langlois has served as CEO of Riverview Regional since May 2017. Before that, he was CEO of Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper, Ala., aer serving as the hospital's CFO. He also served as CFO of Citizens Baptist Medical Center in Talladega, Ala. Ms. Atkins was hired as CFO of Graham County Hospital in October 2008. She was appointed CEO in 2012 and has maintained her CFO title. Mr. Cauble became CEO of Sky Lakes in March. He took the job aer serving as executive vice president and CFO of Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. e executives said their financial background and mentors helped ease their transition into the CEO role. ey discussed what it was like to move into the CEO role, shared the hardest part about the transition and offered advice to peers looking to make the same move. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Question: What was the transition from CFO to CEO like? Melissa Atkins: I was able to understand the whole revenue cycle from the moment people walk in the door until the bills go out. Understanding how we get paid from the different commercial carriers, understanding the chargemaster, understanding the cost report was extremely beneficial when I became CEO. David Cauble: e transition has gone well, and the experience is consistent with what I expect- ed. Serving a smaller community brings with it a level of visibility and responsibility that is sig- nificant, and it is important to understand the impact the hospital system has on the region. e visibility of the role was not a surprise, but there is a meaningful difference between knowledge of something and actual lived experience. Sky Lakes has a great legacy of caring for this community and it has been a wonderful experience to engage with hospital staff and members of the com- munity to hear the stories about what makes it special. Everyone from the board to community leaders to staff has been very welcoming, and I am excited to be here and honored to have the opportunity to lead this wonderful enterprise. John Langlois: I had to put in a lot of hard work. But I've also been very blessed to work with smart, talented people. I was smart enough to learn from them. So many CEOs contributed to my growth. Q: What prepared you for the transition? MA: Had I not been the CFO, there are other leadership roles or other things that can prepare you for this CEO position. But I felt like the financial part of it was such a crucial part, espe- cially at a critical access hospital, especially in struggling times. We do get a little tax money 6 ways Wexner Medical Center cut its emissions, improved sustainability By Georgina Gonzalez C olumbus, Ohio- based Wex- ner Medical Center has made a concerted effort to reduce its emissions as a system, implement- ing waste reduction techniques, sus- tainable construction and local sup- plier sourcing. In its most recent sustainability report for the 2021 fiscal year, the 2,000 bed system shared the techniques it used to improve its sustainability and drive down its impact on climate change: 1. The system used donation and a food waste digester to stop almost 160 tons of food going into landfill. Also using a reusable sharps contain- er prevented 7.5 tons of plastic go- ing to landfill. 2. Through purchasing energy cred- its, the system managed to have 16 percent of the electricity supplying the medical center and 100 percent of the energy supplying off-site cen- ters as carbon neutral. 3. A special task force looked into alternatives to common anesthesia gasses, which have a large global warming potential, and managed to reduce their use by 46 percent. 4. It looked into the carbon foot- print of its suppliers and made ap- propriate changes, for instance 16 percent of the food in the system is now sourced locally, reducing trans- portation emissions and supporting local producers. 5. As of February 2021, all new con- structions must have a sustainable design element to them. 6. The increase in telehealth utiliza- tion saved patients 22 million miles driven to its centers and saved about 1 million gallons of gas. n

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