Articles
Changes Abound on Trusteemag.com
While I can't in good conscience suggest that anyone spend a beautiful summer day staring at a computer or iPad, I would be remiss if I didn't alert you to exciting developments related to the magazine.
Care Delivery, Patient and Family Education/Engagement
Patient, and Patience, Lost
This was a classic case of staff-centered care.
“Arrive 15 minutes early for your appointment,” the receptionist at my doctor’s office told me over the phone. “We have a new record system, so there’s some paperwork to fill out.”
Well, finally, I thought. Everything in the office was paper-based, and my own chart had mushroomed into a sheaf of folders bound together with a rubber band. I would be happy to see a laptop in the exam room instead of that dog-eared monster.
Governance Effectiveness
Women Underrepresented in Hospital and Health System Boards
Despite the change washing over every part of health care, one thing has stayed the same: the percentage of women on hospital and health system boards. Women have comprised only 28 percent of boards since 2011, according to the AHA’s Center for Healthcare Governance National Governance Survey.
Governance Effectiveness, Strategic Planning, Issues & Trends
Governance Quality and Resources to Improve it
Twice a year, the American Hospital Association’s Center for Healthcare Governance convenes board and C-suite members for education and discussion and, twice a year, governance consultant Jamie Orlikoff throws icy water in our collective faces with his provocative opening presentations. He points out looming hazards, urges adoption of best practices and delivers truths like the one we heard in February: "The quality of governance that was sufficient to get your organization where it is today will be insufficient to get it where it needs to be tomorrow." Terrified yet?
Quality & Patient Safety, Strategic Planning, Issues & Trends
Facility Design Optimizes Health Care Access
While we were finishing up this issue of the magazine, Jonathan Perlin, M.D., the chair of the American Hospital Association’s board of trustees, and president of clinical services and chief medical officer of HCA, visited our Chicago office for the annual meet-the-chair event. It’s an opportunity for staff to learn about the new chair’s background, professional experience and goals for his or her yearlong tenure, and we were impressed that Perlin was still willing to visit on the coldest February day in 79 years.
The Patient Down the Street
My 79-year-old neighbor is a month into her third attempt to quit smoking. Retired for 15 years, she survives on her monthly Social Security check by shopping at deep-discount stores and keeping the furnace turned low in the winter. The nicotine patches she uses cost far less than cigarettes, but she still can’t afford to get the zipper on her winter coat fixed. For now, she’s making do with a light jacket and layers.
Delivery System Transformation, Strategic Planning
2015 Brings Provocative New Voices
Welcome to the new year, which will be just as exciting — if not more so — than last year. To fortify you and your board colleagues for the challenges ahead, we have added a feature to the magazine called the New Marketplace. It is designed to guide boards in responding to the changes in the care delivery system and developing the agility to thrive in the future. Each month, one of three well-known thought leaders will share an informed, provocative take on the industry.