Becker's Hospital Review

11 CEO / STRATEGY We all come to this with very good intentions and have different backgrounds. Assuming good intentions, listening and really trying to put yourself in the other person's shoes or the other community's shoes, really helped us stay the course. is was something that took a number of years to work through, and I think it's going to just generate benefits that we can't even begin to imagine. We can think about them, but I think the benefits are going to be so significant. e trust, the focus on our missions I think, are what really helped us make it to the finish line. n Why 2024 was a 'banner year' for Jefferson Health By Madeline Ashley F ollowing the Aug. 1 merger of Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health and Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network, the system has been working on integrating its 32 hospitals and more than 700 care sites. "It has been a banner year," Baligh Yehia, MD, president, Jefferson Health, said during a Jan. 21 Becker's Healthcare Podcast. "The year ahead is to continue to focus on our mission of improving lives and delivering exceptional care, but also on how do we integrate the system and really make sure that we march as one." The combined system created one of the largest U.S. non- profit health systems, bringing together more than 65,000 employees from both organizations. To ensure a smooth integration, Jefferson Health did an assessment of the cultures at both Jefferson and LVHN. Dr. Yehia estimated that around 10% to 15% of LVHN's medical employees had graduated from Jefferson, making the cultures already highly aligned. "There was such camaraderie," he said. "A lot of the doctors and the nurses already knew each other, having worked in the same or adjacent regions. That commitment to excellence, that commitment to quality and safety was [already] there." The system is also uniting service lines like cancer, neuroscience, heart and vascular, along with quality and safety, nursing, the medical group and patient experience. "We really are leading with the people," he said. "Now we're thinking more broadly of how can we take the best of both worlds to deliver that to the communities that we serve across New Jersey and Pennsylvania." n 5 watch-outs for hospital C-suites in the next 4 years By Laura Dyrda P resident-elect Donald Trump will take office for his second term Jan. 20 and his administration could change the landscape for hospitals and health systems across the nation. A Jan. 16 report from Moody's Ratings examines the potential healthcare policy shis that could affect nonprofit and for-profit hospitals. Here are five things to know: 1. Efforts already implemented to identify cost reduction opportunities within the Medicaid program. "Hospitals could suffer from significant federal funding cuts and regulatory changes affecting Medicaid and state directed payments, which are administered by state Medicaid agencies but approved by the federal government," the report notes. "A reduction in Medicaid or [state directed payments] would disproportionately impact hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act." 2. Changing Medicaid and subsidy policy could lead to more uninsured or self-insured patients and more deeply affect hospitals serving low-income and vulnerable populations, according to the report. Hospitals may see more uncompensated care as a result, challenging resources and margins. 3. Moody's anticipates fiscal deficits will grow during the second Trump administration which, alongside possible deregulation and looser scrutiny on mergers and acquisitions, will affect the economy. "Changes in financial regulation could impact the availability and cost of capital for hospitals," the report says. "If the Trump administration's policies lead to deregulation of parts of the financial sector, that might make it easier for hospitals to access loans and financing for capital projects such as facility upgrades." 4. Higher tariffs on imported medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and equipment would increase supply costs, which have remained high over the last year. Supply and drug expenses per calendar day were both up 9% year to date in November 2024 compared to 2023. Over the last three years, supply expenses have jumped 20%, according to Kaufman Hall's "National Hospital Flash Report." "Hospitals, which operate on tight budgets, may struggle to absorb these additional expenses," the Moody's report notes. 5. e labor market may tighten if the new administration clamps down on immigration. While clinical staff may be more protected from stricter immigration policies and enforcement, non-clinical and lower-skilled labor jobs may be affected and hospitals could see increased competition and costs as a result, according to Moody's. n

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