Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013 - (Page 7)

acknowledges that the new organization will be distinctly different than the separate entities. its differences reflect the mix of catholic, Jewish, and secular academic legacies as well as the diversity of the communities served by KYone’s academic, teaching, and community hospitals located in urban, rural, and small-town environments all across Kentucky. this mixture of cultures and historical missions makes KYone one of the most diverse and uniquely sponsored healthcare delivery organizations in the United States. the values that KYone has adopted will drive behaviors and be incorporated into every major action the organization takes. in fact, when key decisions are made, the values will be incorporated into a broader process, sometimes referred to as an ethical discernment process. During the ethical discernment process, decision makers use the organization’s mission, vision, and values as a framework to consider a broad set of decision-related factors, including financial impact. they also take into account the impact of various alternative actions on the community and other stakeholders. for example, we expect to use the ethical discernment process on a regular basis as we begin integrating, rationalizing, and consolidating programs and services across the organization. in many instances, services are redundant or the level of service required by a particular community requires evaluation. as a system, KYone is committed to providing the resources necessary to serve the healthcare needs of its communities. in the reformed healthcare environment, those resources will be based on a population health management model of service delivery. Under such a model, the need for acute care services is expected to decrease. R ut h W. B r inkl e y, FAC H E • 7 f e a t u r e the University of louisville School of Medicine. as part of an academic health sciences center, UlH brings additional diversity in the areas of state ownership, historical mission, and organizational culture. the addition of the third partner brings KYone a greater level of distinction as perhaps the only health system in the United States that is combining catholic (christian), Jewish, secular (state), and academic components. this cultural mix results in a rich and dynamic environment for which no current model is available to replicate in developing the organization’s culture. culture-shaping efforts, then, are focused not only on shaping the internal culture of KYone and its partners but also on preparing it for the way care will be delivered in the larger, reformed healthcare environment. an example of the parent organization’s influence can be seen in the process KYone used to define values for the newly merged organization. Because it recognized that each predecessor organization had its own set of defined values, the organization used focus groups and surveys to gather input from employees across the legacy organizations, including UlH and the University of louisville School of Medicine. the KYone board has been actively engaged as well. in april 2013, the board adopted the values that cHi used for many years: reverence (respect), integrity, compassion, and excellence. the reasons for this choice are discussed later in this article. although those values come from one sponsor, KYone has devoted much time and care to defining them and shaping the overall culture in ways that recognize the best and most important aspects of all three organizations. KYone

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013
Contents
Editorial
The Case for Values as a Basis for Organizational Culture
A Moral Compass for Management Decision Making: A Healthcare CEO’s Reflections
Ethics, Values, and Decision Making
Wanted: Morally Courageous Leaders
The Imperative of a Moral Compass–Driven Healthcare Organization

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Fall 2013