Frontiers of Health Services Management - Spring 2013 - (Page 31)

The CHRISTUS Health Journey to Excellence in 1999, two large catholic healthcare systems in texas—the Sisters of charity Health System in Houston and the incarnate Word Health System in San antonio—merged to form cHriStUS Health. at its beginning, cHriStUS Health had 22 hospitals and multiple clinics in eight states. as of 2000, cHriStUS Health had acquired majority ownership in a hospital in Monterrey, Mexico, and over the next ten years, the cHriStUS Muguerza region expanded to include seven hospitals and multiple clinics in six states in Mexico. as i began my leadership role, the senior leadership team and i committed to moving the new organization from a holding company model to that of a moderate operating company. this model guaranteed that regional boards and leadership teams would have some fiduciary and strategic responsibilities but would also be committed to focusing on “systemness” driven by a strong brand identity, which was identical in all regions. the cHriStUS brand was driven by the health system’s shared mission, vision, and values. We communicated with all the leaders and employees at cHriStUS Health frequently and with clarity as to who we were, where we were going, and the behaviors—our values—we would live out daily to get there. the brand’s foundation was our Journey to excellence, which was composed of performance metrics in the four Directions to excellence: • • • • Clinical (quality and safety) Excellence Service Excellence Business Literacy Community Value the level of service excellence achieved was judged by scores in patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and employee engagement surveys. the business literacy metrics included measurement of the major cost drivers: labor and supply expenses. Monitoring the performance metrics in the four Directions to excellence propelled cHriStUS Health to become a high-quality and safe delivery system that was becoming increasingly accessible and affordable. in addition to the Journey to excellence and its four Directions, the cHriStUS brand featured a strong commitment to providing ongoing development efforts for leaders throughout the system, organizational development programs for all staff, and the excellence in governance training programs for regional and system board members. these programs fostered continuous learning at cHriStUS Health, an objective highlighted by both authors. through these education forums, all members of the cHriStUS Health family gained clarity in their roles, responsibili- Thomas C. Royer • 31 c o m m e n t A r y the health system’s version of tPS, and in 2012, after its implementation. and toussaint outlines the positive impact of his management-by-process principles at thedacare and other organizations with which he has collaborated. for additional proof that a well-defined transformational journey can be successful, i can report that at cHriStUS Health, the leadership team and i successfully applied many of the suggestions for improvement processes described in the feature articles. although they were known by different names, our processes were similar and likewise led to the types of sustainable transformational change that the feature authors report.

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

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Spring 2013
Contents
Frontiers of Health Services Management - Spring 2013
A Management, Leadership, and Board Road Map to Transforming Care for Patients
Pursuing the Perfect Patient Experience
Adapting to the New Healthcare Market
High Reliability: Truly Achieving Healthcare Quality and Safety
Making Lean Progress Last: Why Sustaining Excellence Requires the Right Leadership Framework

Frontiers of Health Services Management - Spring 2013