Trustee Articles

Great Boards talked further with author Casey Nolan, managing director of Navigant’s Healthcare Provider Strategy Practice, Washington, D.C., about how boards typically function and the challenges they are likely to face at each stage of development. Nolan also discussed what board members need to…
Society and industries are always evolving; revolutionary change occurs sporadically when powerful forces align to disrupt the old order. The health care delivery system today is in the midst of an historic transformation to redesign how care is delivered. The quite immodest aim is to take 20 to 30…
An emergency succession plan may never be used, but it’s still a necessity for every hospital. A key function of every board is to ensure that effective leadership is in place so that the institution it governs can continue to achieve its mission, vision and strategic goals.
Our understanding of effective governance in hospitals and health systems is growing. Several recent studies find that meeting certain benchmarks for board structure, composition, culture and evaluation practices has become a basic governance responsibility. These studies also call for heightened…
Mentoring, a process that pairs board members who are new to their roles with more seasoned board and executive resources for growth and development, traditionally has been used by health care boards to orient new trustees for board service.
Don’t overlook the importance of CEO-board etiquette — it’s a pillar of good governance. The relationship between boards and chief executive officers can be fraught with challenges, and trustees often are unsure of how to handle certain delicate situations. But using a framework of etiquette can…
Given the sweeping changes in health care, forward-thinking hospitals, systems and medical centers are carefully evaluating board member succession and recruitment. The challenging environment in which these organizations operate requires strong, knowledgeable boards whose members have deep…
Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld, it appears that the American health care delivery system is about to embark on unprecedented change. This transition encompasses a staggering number of issues: integration and physician alignment; significant reduction in Medicare reimbursement;…
As boards navigate between today’s fragmented, volume-focused health care system and a system that is more integrated and value-driven, there are plenty of issues that keep trustees up at night (see Figure 1). Are the transformational changes now confronting health care organizations affecting the…
In the publication, authors Joshi and Horak state that hospital trustees support hospitals’ fundamental missions to improve the health of the community. In a climate of growing concerns about the quality of health care and the amount we pay for it, trustees are called upon to oversee the…