Becker's Hospital Review

37 CEO / STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP on. ey have to feel it; they have to under- stand what Hackensack Meridian Health is all about, what our priorities are, what our goals are, and they have to feel good about it. e best way we believe they can feel good about it and get the information across is if we personally are right there on the front lines meeting and greeting… We'll also engage communities and commu- nity leaders. We want to be good corporate citizens, we're part of the community, and I think that we, John and I, are very visible at the beginning. We represent the face of this new organization; they have to see us. It's a lot of time, it's a lot of miles travelled, but it's going to be a great investment. JL: We also made a video. We have 28,000 team members, and there's no way we can get to all of them physically, so we'll roll out a video. Q: One last question for you both. If you could give a piece of advice to hospital executives going through a similar merger, what piece of advice would you give them? BG: Mine is two-fold. One is get the most difficult questions out first; get them on the table. Don't wait until the end. Who's going to be the CEO, how's the board structure going to be aligned, how is the medical staff going to work — all the stuff that's going to be difficult, don't put it off too long. It's bet- ter to get it on the table, even if there's going to be disagreements at first; work them out early on. It really sets the expectation for a good partnership and relationship. e other advice is get focused on integra- tion early on as well. Don't underestimate the task of what it will take to integrate the organizations. Don't underestimate how important integration is. ere are so many examples out there of merged health sys- tems not working because they really aren't truly integrated. JL: e thing I can add to that would be complete transparency and communication. You can't over-communicate. We put out a little magazine every month, telling updates about the merger. If the word is out that there's some issue going on, you deal with it. Don't defer your issues and problems. Tackle them and have complete transparency and communication. BG: Communication to team members and also to trustees and medical staff is really important. A lot of rumors get out there, and physicians might feel threatened by a merger…you can really shut a lot of that down early on by really communicating. n Mayo Transitions to Regional Governance Model By Tamara Rosin B y January 2018, Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic will overhaul its governance model for facilities across southeast Minne- sota in a move designed to align the health system's governance structure with its integrated operating struc- ture. However, information on the changes has not yet been widely communicated, causing friction at some community hospitals, accord- ing to the Post-Bulletin. The new governance model would revolve around the creation of an "integrated regional board working in concert with local community boards" in the Minnesota cities of Rochester, Lake City, Cannon Falls, Red Wing, Owatonna, Faribault, Austin and Albert Lea, Mayo spokes- person Asia Zmuda told the Post-Bul- letin. It represents a significant change from Mayo Clinic's current governance model, in which each hospital's city runs its own board to discuss local issues. "To support this integrated operating environment, we need a governance structure that can take a regional view of our services, our clinic and hospital capacity, and the present and future healthcare needs of our region's population," said Tom Witt, MD, CEO of Mayo Clinic Health Sys- tem in Cannon Falls, Lake City and Red Wing, Minn., according to the report. "This regional perspective, combined with the unique insights of local representatives, will help us to strengthen our healthcare services at each of our locations." But not all affected communities know the plan yet, according to Mayo Clinic Vice President Bobbie Gostout, MD. In particular, the city council of Lake City has not been re- ceptive to Mayo's planned overhaul. "There is some concern this isn't what's best for Lake City," said city council member Russell Boe, ac- cording to the report. "I think there's conflicting best interest. In this case, what's best for Lake City isn't what's best for Mayo Clinic. I think it's sort of a logical conclusion, but Lake City has some protections now." n Grady Memorial CEO Named Chair of America's Essential Hospitals By Tamara Rosin J ohn Haupert, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Grady Memorial Hospi- tal, has been named board chair of America's Essential Hospitals. American Essential Hospitals is a leading association for hospitals and health systems dedicated to providing high-quality care. Based in Washing- ton, D.C., it has more than 275 members. Mr. Haupert replaces Johnese Spisso, UCLA Hospital System CEO, UCLA Health System president, and the university's associate vice chancellor. In other appointments, Donna Sollenberger, executive vice president and CEO of Galveston-based University of Texas Medical Branch was named chair-elect of the organization, and Sharon O'Keefe, president of University of Chicago Medicine, was named treasurer. Michael Karpf, MD, executive vice president for health affairs at Lexington, Ky.-based UK HealthCare, will contin- ue in his role as the board's secretary. n

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