Becker's Hospital Review

9 CFO / FINANCE new models of care or we're not going to be able to continue to provide care." Dr. Fitzpatrick said she has also seen other hospitals and health systems focus on redefining jobs. "Some of our more innovative clients are moving away from very static job descriptions, more of what's referred to as job architecture. So a much less prescriptive, if you will, job description that sort of builds upon competencies, so that as an employee comes into the organization, they recognize that by meeting the performance objectives, 'Here's where I go next [within the organization],'" she said. One example of this is New Orleans-based Ochsner Health, which has a mentoring program focused on developing diverse leaders at the manager and director levels and helping them prepare for higher- level leadership roles, including vice president. "We do that by pairing them with executive leaders as a mentor and having a very programmatic approach to mentoring over a 12-month period of time," Tracey Schiro, executive vice president, chief human resources officer and chief administrative officer for Ochsner Health, told Becker's in August. "ose leaders are … getting feedback and then working with their mentor on the development plan and getting advice on how they can develop their own skills and talent." Moving forward in 2023, hospital and health system human resources leaders told Becker's they are focused on efforts such as modernizing the hiring process, training and partnering with nonprofit and academic undergraduate and technical schools. n UPMC to transition rural hospital to outpatient emergency department By Noah Schwartz Pittsburgh-based UPMC is transitioning the 25-bed rural hospital UPMC Lock Haven (Pa.) to an outpatient emergency department. In 2017, UPMC acquired the rural hospital from Brentwood, Tenn.- based Quorum Health. After investing $4 million into the hospital, UPMC Lock Haven posted operating losses of $4.4 million in 2022, according to a Jan. 20 UPMC news release. UPMC plans to complete the transition by April 20. UPMC plans to retain 100 percent of the staff from the Lock Haven hospital by relocating them to different UPMC facilities in the region. "As an organization, we must emphasize innovation and quality. In health care, one size does not fit all, and models of care that are effec- tive for larger, urban hospitals are not necessarily effective for a small- er, rural hospital like UPMC Lock Haven," Patti Jackson-Gehris, presi- dent of UPMC in North Central Pennsylvania, said in the news release. The plan, however, is drawing criticism from Lock Haven Mayor Joel Long, who told pennlive.com that the prospect of losing the hospital's services is "scary." Mr. Long told pennlive.com he was not alerted of the decision to turn the hospital into an outpatient ER until UPMC announced it. "God forbid we have another pandemic and need all the beds we can possibly get," Mr. Long said. "It's going to be a big transition." n CEOs, CFOs don't see recession as a barrier to growth By Alan Condon H ospital and health system executives aim to strengthen resilience and readiness in preparation for an economic downturn, but most CEOs and CFOs do not see a recession as a barrier to growth, according to Mercer's "2023 Executive Outlook" survey. In October, 87 percent of CEOs and CFOs believed the global economy was already in or about to enter a recession, according to the report. Forty-nine percent said they were more concerned about the effect of inflation compared to a recession, while 43 percent were optimistic that inflation rates would lower in 2023. CEOs and CFOs are most worried about staffing shortages and how they will affect patient care. The rising costs of sup- plies and labor and how they will affect hospital margins are also concerns, but tenured executives will lean on their expe- riences leading through previous crises to overcome the inflationary and labor challenges facing them today. "We've been living with boom-and-bust cycles through the pandemic — surges of patients, people not coming in for rou- tine care, not having enough staff to accommodate volumes, inflationary impacts up the wazoo, etc., so it's not like we're not prepared for more uncertainty," Mike Slubowski, president and CEO of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, said in an interview with Becker's. "Anybody running a health system or any business right now, you've got to build into your plans the capability to manage uncertainty and respond quickly." n

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