Trustee Articles
Given the nature and challenges of small, elected boards, choosing to look inward and improve governance is no easy decision.
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 provide guidance.
Bringing new members onto the board has its challenges. In small or rural communities, the pool of potential trustees is often limited, with desirable candidates already serving on multiple boards. Even in bigger urban areas, it sometimes seems the same people rotate on and off the boards of larger…
Maintaining the public trust a hospital and its board can only be effective if they maintain the trust of those the organization serves. According to the Center for Healthcare Governance and the Health Research…
The recent economic crisis, coupled with weekly headlines about one company after another demonstrating poor corporate governance choices, led investors and corporate watchdogs to blame boards of directors for less than-expected company performance. These stakeholders argue that directors were…
The rules of engagement for board members have changed dramatically. Historically, the trustee position was honorary; today, trustees are expected to interact more with management and the community and know more about operations.They also have added accountability for legal and regulatory matters.…
Health care organization trusteeship is getting more complicated and challenging as pressures to improve quality and safety, reduce costs, increase transparency and accountability, and use changing and evermore-expensive technology converge. At the same time, hospitals face increasing competition…
The hospital's board chair picks up the phone in his office at TriState Bank headquarters. The CEO’s voice on the other end of the line is stark and serious. “The medical executive committee just gave me a unanimous no confidence vote,” he says. “They’re complaining about closed communications and…
Hospital and health system boards are being overwhelmed by hundreds of quality indicators from numerous sources. Many are required or linked to payment incentives, but some are part of voluntary improvement programs. Amidst the deluge of numbers, leaders could miss valuable, potentially actionable…
There’s hardly a health care board member, past or present, who hasn’t heard of the age-old governance mantra “no margin, no mission.” For years this simple phrase captured what most trustees came to believe was their primary obligation: to ensure the financial viability of their hospital or health…