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Posts Tagged ‘American College of Healthcare Executives’

Thoughts about ACHE week

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 27, 2011 | 1 Comment »

So, one week post becoming ACHE chairman I have some thoughts about the entire process. 

First, there were lots of summaries of the event in many news outlets, but I’ll refer you to two which caught my eye.  The first is from HHN Daily.  I think the post was fair and represented valid questions from the day and the week.  The second is from The Furst Group and mentioned that I’m into social media.  Nice of them…but I have tutors! :)   They also mentioned the speech given by Ben Carson…and I have to agree.  He was fabulous and I encourage you to check out his web site.

Second, I received hundreds of comments about the idea that healthcare executives can have such a positive impact on saving lives and improving healthcare.  I am more convinced than ever that healthcare executives in ACHE are, at their core, focused on quality and improving patient care.

Finally, thanks to the Chicago Hilton.  They and their staff are unbelievably friendly.

Thanks for a great week.

Rulon

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Charlie Evans Visits Colorado

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on February 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Charlie Evans, FACHE, the Immediate-Past Chairmain of The American College of Healthcare Executives, spoke to the Colorado Association of Healthcare Executives on Thursday night.  It was a great experience to be there (special thanks to Mimi Roberson, the CEO of Presbyterian/St. Lukes Medical Center in Denver for hosting the event…great job!).  At the meeting Charlie told us that this was his last official presentation to an ACHE Chapter as an ACHE Chair Officer…we were all excited to have him be with us at that end!

Charlie Evans and Rulon Stacey

 Charlie offered his insights into effect leadership.  As I have come to learn from him over the past several years, his insights are always valuable, and he lives his life by example.  I thought that his most intriguing suggestion to leaders was to learn that leaders can maximize their effectiveness by seizing the authority of their position (he said it better than me! :)   Essentially, don’t wait to be told to do everything.  Rather, understand your position and do what you need to do in order to be effective.  As you take control of your position, you will become more effective.  That was just a small part of what he offered…so, if you should have been at the meeting and missed it….your bad! :)

Charlie also talked about his recent efforts in establishing the International Health Services Group.  During his presentation he talked about the passion he has for his profession and his partnership to create better healthcare around the world.  He talked to us about the difference it makes to have trained and professional healthcare executives and encouraged us to never take what we do for granted.  His organization has been effective in several different countries in improving access to healthcare and the service to the local populations.  Again, it was so impressive to see his ability to make his vision a reality. In conclusion, Charlie showed this video which we all believed was a fitting conclusion to his comments.

Charlie is truly a remarkable leader and ACHE, IHS and all of us in Colorado are lucky to have him.

Rulon

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CHEF is 35!

Posted in Healthcare reform, tagged , , , , , on February 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I had the wonderful opportunity this week to visit the Chicago Health Executives Forum’s 35th anniversary celebration.  CHEF is the largest ACHE Chapter and a great supporter of health executives in Chicago.  I have to tell you, the event was spectacular and well worth attending.  Congratulations to the leaders and members of CHEF for your long-term commitment.  Some highlights of the meeting included:

Chicago Soul Children:  We had the good fortune of hearing the Soul Children of Chicago perform.  Wow…just…wow!  They started to sing and I honestly had to look closer to see if they were lip-syncing.  It was amazing!  Great job, kids!

Regina Herzlinger:  I also had the great opportunity to hear nationally recognized healthcare expert Dr. Herzlinger speak on Thursday night and participate with her on a panel on Friday morning.  My reaction is that she is gracious, personable and brilliant.  Those of you who know me know that one of my favorite sayings is that “it is easier to make nice people smart than it is to make smart people nice.”  Well….I can assure you that Regina Herzlinger is both nice AND smart. Very impressive.

If you have not read her best selling book “Who Killed Health Care” you would find it interesting.  Dr. Herzlinger’s book argues that if we were to alter the tax code in the United States such that individuals could gain control of spending their own healthcare dollars (as opposed to employers currently buying health insurance for their employees) that the decisions made by individual consumers in a free market would drive healthcare reform better than anything else we are doing.  She was fascinating, and when you add the fact that she was engaging as well, it made for a very enlightening day.  I highly recommend her book to you.

She also brought to our attention a very interesting web site.  The web site, called StickK, is an innovative site which helps people set and achieve personal wellness goals.  As consumers get more engaged in their own healthcare, Dr. Herzlinger argued that this type of process will be more and more available.  I think you would find the web-site most interesting.

Thanks to everyone at CHEF for your support of ACHE and for 35 great years!

Rulon

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ACHE president Tom Dolan visits PVHS

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

In March I am going to have what will certainly be one of the greatest honors of my professional career when I’m installed as the chairman of the board of governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives.  Being allowed to serve in this great organization has been a thrill, and this is certainly the pinnacle.

In preparation for this event, the president and CEO of ACHE, Tom Dolan, Ph.D., FACHE, took the time out of his schedule to come to northern Colorado and talk to the staff and the Poudre Valley Health System board of directors about the upcoming year.  Tom has been, I believe, the most capable leader in the history of ACHE, and has established ACHE as the premier professional organization for healthcare executives in the world.  PVHS owes Tom a debt for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come and visit us, and we all can thank him for all he has done to establish our profession.

The video below includes some thoughts given by Tom during his visit to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.  Thanks again, Tom!

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Stranger uses Facebook to return my lost iPad

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on November 18, 2010 | 7 Comments »

So, I have to tell you what happened the other day.  I was attending the meeting of the Board of Governors of The American College of Healthcare Executives (there are wonderful things happening with ACHE…by the way! I hope if you are a healthcare executive that you are actively involved in ACHE…but I digress). So, on the way home I was using my iPad on the airplane, and because I’m generally a dope, I left it in the seat pocket in front of me. I had been sending my daughter Catherine a note on Facebook, and quickly turned it off like a good airplane passenger…then left it in the seat pocket.

Later that night I started getting phone calls and e-mails from a million friends. Apparently someone had found my iPad and couldn’t find any identification and so they turned on the iPad and it opened to my Facebook account. So, he posted on my wall that he had found my iPad and gave everyone his phone number for me to call. Hence…a million people called me!  The next morning I was able to track down the good Samaritan and he sent me my iPad the next day via FedEx. Can you even believe this?  He found it and sent it back to me. I was so impressed. When I was talking to him he told me that he would have given it to the airlines, but knew that would create more problems than not, so he just took it home and sent it to me himself.

So…who is the hero of this story?  It is Hector Morales, a program manager with Electricore, Inc. in Valencia, Calif.  I don’t know Hector…but I need to be more like him for sure.  Thanks to Hector for making what could have been a miserable experience instead be just a little embarrassing.  I also don’t know much about Electricore, Inc., but I know that they have really, really honest people working for them. So, I highly recommend the company and would use them instantly if the opportunity presents itself.

Thank you again Hector!

Rulon

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ACHE Central Texas Chapter

Posted in Aging population, Healthcare reform, Physician integration, tagged , , , , on August 29, 2010 | 4 Comments »

As I have discussed, last spring I had the honor of a career when I was elected to serve as the Chairman Elect of the American College of Healthcare Executives.  I would never have dared believe that I could have such an exciting opportunity.

One of the highlights of this experience is the chance to travel to different locations around the world to meet and speak to different ACHE affiliates.  On Friday, August 27, I had the chance to go Austin, Texas, and speak to a combined meeting of the Central Texas Chapter of ACHE and the South Texas Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).

Central Texas ACHE Chapter Annual Meeting

As a part of my discussion we talked about healthcare reform and the challenges it would bring to healthcare providers around the country.  In our discussion on Friday we talked about several things that will have to happen in order to be adequately prepared for reform.  Some of those things include:

Reduced variation:  Right now one procedure or one process might be completed in a variety of ways, according to the preference of a person or an organization.  However, in the future, we will be required to identify the best way to do something, and mandate that process be followed.  That is not as easy as it may seem, but quality, cost-effective care will demand that we be prepared to alter how we provide our care.  And, above all else, it is just the right thing to do.

Clinical Integration:  In the 1990s “managed care” was really just managing cost.  The industry didn’t focus enough on truly managing “care.”  However, in the future, we will be required truly integrate between all different providers to ensure that we meet the needs of patients.  Physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, home health companies…all aspects of the industry will have to work in a more collaborative fashion to reduce costs and increase quality.  This will also be a challenge…but again, it is just the right thing to do.

Thanks to the people in Central Texas for their hospitality and engaging discussion.  I will say, however, they did seem obsessed with one thing.  I personally could not understand it…but it was EVERYWHERE.  See the following picture…and you’ll understand better.  Personally….I just don’t get it!   :)

This kind of stuff was EVERYWHERE! :)

Rulon

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Connecticut ACHE – WOW!

Posted in Electronic health records, Employee engagement, Healthcare reform, Hospital errors, Physician integration, Quality improvement, Talent Management, tagged , , , , on July 1, 2010 | 4 Comments »

I spent the day yesterday with the Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives.  All I can say is…wow!!!  What an extraordinary group they have.  They are totally engaged in ACHE and in the advancement of the profession.  I can’t tell you how impressed I was.  Kudos to the CAHE Board and especially to Steve Merz, the President of the Connecticut Chapter.

Speaking at the CAHE Annual Meeting on June 30

The other opportunity I had was to serve on a panel for a panel discussion at the CAHE annual meeting.

Panel Discussion at the CAHE Annual Meeting

The distinguished panel represented all different parts of the healthcare industry.  I learned a lot listening to others offer their thoughts.  Some of the lessons of the panel:

1) Integration is going to happen whether we like it or not.  Those organizations which lead the change will be most successful.

2) We will not have the luxury of allowing variation in how we provide service in the future.  Organizations which are able to identify the best practice and duplicate that practice across their organization will be the most successful.

3) Hospitals think that integration means that other organizations will come into hospitals and hospitals get to decide how best to utilize their resources.  However, true integration means that all parts of the system will have access to decisions and how we prepare for the future.

4) Employment of physicians will continue to increase.  Employed physicians will have the largest role in leading change within hospitals to improve quality and decrease cost.  They will be leading the integration change…from the inside out.

5) Health information will rule the next several years.

6) The “Medical Home” and “Accountable Care Organization” concepts seem like nothing more than the old “capitation” and “gatekeeper” model.  Does this mean that healthcare reform in the future is simply an HMO on steroids…controlled by the government?  Interesting question.  Any thoughts on this one?

It made for a fascinating day.  Thanks to Steve and the entire crew for their help and support.

Rulon

P.S.  One last thought.  Special thanks to Lubna Shamsi for taking me around yesterday.  I’m not sure how she drew the short straw and had to drive me around, but it was a great experience to learn all that this talented young executive has accomplished.  Thanks Lubna….you have a very bright future ahead of you!

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In Ohio with the American College of Healthcare Executives

Posted in Healthcare reform, Patient safety, Patient satisfaction, Physician integration, tagged , , , , , , on June 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I had a great opportunity to speak this morning to the American College of Healthcare Executives affiliates at the Ohio Hospital Association’s annual meeting.  Thanks to the ACHE Regents in Ohio, Kevin Miller and Tim Ols, for putting on a great meeting and mostly for giving away all their Regent Awards! That is a big deal…thank you for your collaboration and effort. 

ACHE breakfast

The topic of discussion on Monday morning (full slideshow of presentation is below) centered on what we needed to do in order to prepare for the challenges of healthcare reform.  In each of the next few years different aspects of the healthcare reform legislation will take effect, until, basically, everything has hit by 2014.  That is when healthcare executives will have had to make sure that they have prepared their organization for the future.  While I’m not sure what all will be in the system in 2014, I am sure that whatever the system is, it will require complete clinical transparency. I argued at the meeting that the future system will fully require: 

1) Full integration. 

2) Cost reduction. 

3) Transparency. 

In the future, I am certain that everything we do will be open to the public and we might as well start now to make sure that our outcomes and data are publicly available (one reason for my blog!). I argued this morning that those who are ready for these changes will survive what will certainly be a financial drought, while those who are not ready will be left to either go out of business or be absorbed by larger organizations.  No doubt it will be a challenging time, but my final point was that ACHE will prepare healthcare executives for these changes better than anywhere else.  A person with FACHE behind their name will, by definition, be in a better place to make these types of calls and better prepare for the future. 

Congratulations to Kevin and Tim for their efforts on putting the breakfast on this morning.  Great job.  Thanks for letting me participate. 

Rulon

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Lynn Brewer, Enron, and the importance of integrity

Posted in Corporate accountability, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

As the chairman-elect of The American College of Healthcare Executives, I get an opportunity to mix with the speakers who present to the organization.

This week I had the chance to sit and talk to Lynn Brewer, the woman The Economist calls the real whistleblower for the entire Enron scandal.

Lynn Brewer and Rulon Stacey

Rulon Stacey and Lynn Brewer at the American College of Healthcare Executives meeting in Chicago, March 2010.

Lynn talked about some interesting dynamics in the country which will generally focus around December 21, 2010. That is when a great deal of corporate debt in the country comes due, and executives will be under a great deal of pressure leading up to that point.

She said that this was similar to the situation in which she found herself in Enron. After working there for just six months she found some information which could have been interpreted as bank fraud. When she addressed this issue she was told to ignore the data and not speak of it again.

Compounding her issue was the fact that she had stock options making her thousands and thousands of dollars a day. It’s this kind of pressure and incentive that lead good people in organizations to do the wrong thing. Fortunately, she did the right thing and now is the CEO of The Integrity Institute, helping others deal with such issues.

In a typical company, about 2 to 6 percent of employees will come forward with concerns about what is going on, Lynn said. In a company where the number is less than that, people are generally being told to not report and the organization runs the risk of violating law and frustrating employees. Where the rate is higher than that, employees may be wiling to talk, but there would appear to be more causing concerns than there otherwise should be.

Rulon

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ACHE Annual Meeting provides great honor

Posted in employee turnover, Healthcare reform, Hospital errors, Quality improvement, tagged , , , , , , , on March 21, 2010 | 4 Comments »

I am in Chicago, Illinois, today where on Saturday I was elected by the Council of Regents of the 38,000 member American College of Healthcare Executives as their 77th Chairman-Elect. Clearly one of the greatest honors of my career.

When I was speaking to the Regents (ACHE’s elected representatives from the geographic areas around the world) at the ACHE annual meeting, I argued that healthcare executives had more opportunity to influence the quality of care provided to our patients than any other group in the world.  My point was that if a physician provides superior care, then that physician will impact the lives of each patient they treat, one at a time.  Clearly a mandatory component to the healthcare system.

However, if a healthcare executive creates systems and processes to address quality of care, they will impact the thousands and thousands of patients seen in their organization.  The commitment to performance excellence by a healthcare executive will postively impact all the patients that organization sees, all of the employees who work to meet patient and customer needs…everyone.  I’m honored to be involved with ACHE and all that they do to promote excellence in healthcare management.

Rulon's remarks to Council of Regents

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