Perioperative Services and the clinics that support them can be the highest cost center in a healthcare delivery organization, even while it also represents the most opportunity for sustainable long-term growth—accounting for upwards of 80% of a typical hospital’s revenue. With today’s increased pressure on executive leadership to improve both financial performance and quality scores, there  [continue reading…]

  Interim leaders can save the day in myriad situations when a healthcare organization is facing temporary leadership vacancies and transitions, specific project needs, and performance improvement opportunities. These are the top 3 scenarios in which high-performing health systems make the smart choice to engage interim executive leaders: 1. Leadership Vacancies and Transitions When there  [continue reading…]

A workplace is only as good as its culture, and a culture can’t thrive without civility. Civility in healthcare organizations fosters teamwork, reduces conflicts, and can enhance productivity. What’s more, civility is an ethical obligation for nurses. The ANA’s Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements states that nurses are obligated to create an  [continue reading…]

  “Society frowns at disagreeableness. As human beings we are hardwired to seek the approval of those around us. Yet a radical and transformative thought goes nowhere without the willingness to challenge convention.” -Malcolm Gladwell If everybody always agreed on everything, the world would be boring and progress would be stifled.  Disagreements and compromise are  [continue reading…]

In these days of skyrocketing healthcare costs attributed to a combination of labor shortages, rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, low surgery volumes, higher equipment prices, and more, the traditional C-suite response is to implement organization-wide budget cuts, stop expansion projects, and put recruitment on hold. While this may seem fair and equitable at first blush,  [continue reading…]

Maintaining safe, high-quality care and an excellent patient experience are top priorities of every healthcare organization. While leadership stability is widely appreciated as essential to achieving these goals, we are living in a time of the Great Resignation.  This begs the question: how does an organization achieve such stability even during times of volatility? Many  [continue reading…]

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have become standard practice in myriad industries and based on results, it’s not hard to imagine why. DEI programs help companies access larger talent pools, improve employee engagement, and bring new perspectives to organizational challenges, among other things. In fact, around 76% of job candidates report that a diverse  [continue reading…]

As pressure mounts to improve clinical and operational results, Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) work together to align the organizational imperatives—both as a provider of quality and safe patient care, and as a fiscally responsible business. Joint accountability through synergistic relationships is required to transcend the organizational stressors inherent in today’s  [continue reading…]

The success of any healthcare organization starts with the leadership team. This can be particularly complex in times of transition, during which myriad dynamics — relationships, priorities, and structures — are subject to change.  The “great resignation” is further shrinking an already-tight market for top-level talent in the healthcare industry, making it all the more  [continue reading…]

Interim leadership is one of the most valuable tools in any healthcare organization’s proverbial toolbelt, especially amidst the new challenges that the industry faces as a whole. Necessity fosters innovation, and as the pandemic forced the adoption of many new business practices, industry-wide notions regarding interim leadership have shifted dramatically.   Before, during and after the  [continue reading…]

  “Necessity is the mother of invention.” -Plato The impact of this age-old proverb is unrivaled in our coronavirus pandemic era. It’s no secret that the last few years have forced innovation into nearly every industry worldwide, and it’s abundantly true for healthcare organizations. Between overloaded hospitals, limited staff, and unprecedented employee burnout, the healthcare  [continue reading…]

It takes a special type of person to be a successful children’s hospital leader. In addition to their clinical expertise, healthcare professionals who specialize in children’s care have a distinct set of interpersonal skills that position them to successfully navigate the particular challenges associated with caring for sick children and their families.  1. Compassion First  [continue reading…]