Dennis J. Kain: Reflections on 50 years in healthcare

  As I retire this month, I can’t help but reminisce on my career in healthcare. First, I am deeply grateful to the thousands of dedicated people who helped educate and collaborate with me since the early 1970s. Overall, my career has two distinct parts, health system leadership and consulting early on, followed by another  [continue reading…]

How to Stand Out as an Internal Candidate

As care delivery organizations continue to tread uncertain waters, C-suites across the nation remain in flux with retirements, reductions in force, and elimination of roles. This dynamic environment also represents an opportunity for emerging leaders. Often an internal candidate is found to be the strongest for the role.   The American College of Healthcare Executives  [continue reading…]

Succession Planning in Healthcare: When to Do it & How to Do it Well

  Healthcare leaders and board members alike agree that succession planning is important, but few organizations actually begin the process or do it consistently or efficiently.  Many leaders find succession planning daunting, uncomfortable for themselves and they fail to appoint someone to lead the charge. What some healthcare leaders don’t understand is that a failure  [continue reading…]

What to Expect When a Long-Term CEO Retires

When a long-term chief executive officer decides to retire or leave a hospital/health system, there is a chance for a huge cultural shift. It not only affects the C-suite, but it spreads to all areas of the hospital. In July of 2018, Becker’s Hospital Review reported 57 health system CEO resignations from the first and  [continue reading…]

Emerging Role of the Chief Population Health Officer

By Dennis J. Kain, MHA, FACHE, former Senior Vice President (retired) Why Hospital Systems Are Now Hiring a New Type of C-Suite Leader The shift from a fee-for-service model to a focus on community wellness, increasingly known as population health, is re-defining healthcare as well as the competencies required of a successful leader. Organizations thriving  [continue reading…]

Applying 5 Principles of Persuasion to Improve Physician-Patient Engagement

Have you ever thought about how much healthier your patients would be if they just followed their caregivers’  instructions? It’s a frustration that virtually all caregivers feel because the consequences of patients’ non-compliance are very real in terms of morbidity and mortality, not to mention costs.  Within the last decade, patients have become active participants  [continue reading…]