October 03, 2016

It’s official – kids are back in school, the football season is underway (Go Bengals!) and pumpkin spice lattés are everywhere! Fall is here and with it comes fun family traditions and a renewed sense of purpose in all we do.

Speaking of renewal, you may have noticed some changes to my Update. In response to team member feedback, we’ve given this communication a new look, making it easier to identify and hopefully more enjoyable to read. And we’ve set the last business day of each month as our mail date, so you know when to expect it. We hope these changes make it more convenient for you to stay up-to-date on system news and progress.

Fiscal Year 2017, First Quarter Highlights

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve already reached the end of the first quarter of our 2017 fiscal year (Q1, FY17) – and thanks to you, we're off to a solid start! 

September Highlights

• McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital reinstated as a preferred Tier 1 provider in UnitedHealthcare Network
• Bethesda Butler recognized for nursing excellence by The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators™ (NDNQI®)
• Bethesda North Hospital named as one of Becker’s Top 100 Heart Programs
• TriHealth publicly announces plans to expand ambulatory campus in Anderson
• TriHealth to begin offering Hospital Medicine Program at Dearborn County Hospital in October
• Good Samaritan and the TriHealth Cancer Institutes’ Leukemia Program nationally recognized by The Joint Commission
• Good Samaritan parking expansion slated for completion in October
• Greater Cincinnati “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign, sponsored by TriHealth, has already raised $40,000 – far exceeding projections – before October campaign even begins 

System Progress Discussed at Fall Quarterly Team Member Forums. Earlier this week, Gail Donovan, COO, David Cook, CHRO and I wrapped up our Fall Team Member Forum series. Over the course of 10 sessions, we had the pleasure of meeting with more than 4,300 of our TriHealth physicians and team members.  At the sessions, we welcomed and introduced our new Regional Division Senior Vice Presidents, Rob Cercek and Jason Niehaus, and then engaged in a discussion about how we’re doing on our Journey from Good to Great, answered questions and heard what’s on our team members’ minds. Look for a Forum follow-up report on LinkNet in the next few weeks that will include answers to your questions and results from the Forum survey.

Xavier and TriHealth Expand Partnership. Fall marks the start of basketball season, and I’m happy to share we have another great reason to cheer on our hometown Xavier team! After 10 months of discussions and negotiations, we’ve signed a letter of intent with Xavier to strengthen and expand our partnership and serve as the university’s exclusive student and athlete health provider and health system sponsor over the next 10 years. In addition, we will partner to develop a state-of-the art recreation and wellness center on campus, and will offer wellness programs for students and staff. I’ll share more details in the coming months as this expanded relationship is formalized.

Operational Excellence Work Key to TriHealth’s Financial Health. At a time when health systems locally and nationally are experiencing growing financial pressure, TriHealth continues to perform effectively against our financial goals. Despite FY16 financial challenges, the system was able to finish the year ahead of our operating budget – largely due to our system-wide Operational Excellence work being organized and implemented by our own TriHealth administrative, clinical and physician leaders in partnership with team members across the system.

The work is two-pronged, focusing on administrative improvements – such as revenue cycle performance, supply chain and purchasing efficiencies – as well as clinical process improvements aimed at achieving greater clinical outcomes, efficiency and patient experiences.  An example of this work is the development of a higher quality, more innovative way to manage observation patients in dedicated “Clinical Decision Units,” which we will transition to starting later this year at our two flagship hospitals.

The efforts we are making today will help ensure we maintain the system’s strong financial health in the face of the challenging times ahead.  Thank you for all you are doing to support us in this effort, and please, keep up the good work!

United Way Campaign Underway. I was excited to join the United Way Board earlier this year continuing TriHealth’s long-standing support of the United Way’s enormous contributions and important work to strengthen the quality of life in our community. I hope you will join me and our fellow team members in giving what you can to support this year’s United Way campaign, which runs through October 25.

Balanced Scorecard Coming in October.  In July, I introduced the “Balanced Scorecard,” which is a new communication tool we will use to openly report our monthly and year-to-date performance against our five Pillars Goals (Quality/Safety, Service, Growth, People/Culture and Finance). Balanced Score Cards will be shared for TriHealth overall, as well as for each of our hospitals, ambulatory campuses, physician enterprise and other business units.  In October, the Balanced Scorecard will be available on LinkNet, and will be shared at monthly department meetings – providing you with an up-to-date picture of the progress we are making in achieving our annual goals. Look for more details coming soon.

Thank you for all you do to SERVE our patients, family members and each other, every day!  Have a great weekend – I hope it’s filled with some of your favorite fall traditions!