Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021 - 26

mEdiCal rECord FEaturE
INTERVIEW WITH
Sue Perrotty,
President and CEO
of Tower Health
by the Editors of the Medical Record
1) Thank you, Sue (and I trust we
can call you Sue based on your perceived
preference) for responding to these questions
from the Editors of the Medical Record.
When you joined the Tower Health Board
of Directors in 2019 I doubt that you
anticipated your current position. Your
career is primarily in banking so does it seem
like a big change for you? Of your successful
past career what best prepared you for this
new role?
Response: I was really pleased to join
the Tower Health board in 2019, not only
because I believe strongly in supporting
non-profit, community-based organizations
like Tower Health but because healthcare
is so fundamental to everything else in our
community. I learned a lot about how the
system worked in my time on the Board,
but when I accepted the CEO role, I was
upfront that I do not have a long background
in healthcare. What I do have is extensive
experience in leading large organizations and
teams through periods of change. In my years
in the banking industry, I oversaw multiple
mergers and acquisitions-events that, by
definition, involve change. Both COVID-19
and Tower Health's financial turnaround have
new ways of doing things, both large and small,
throughout the organization. My experience in
banking, and also as chief of staff for First Lady
Midge Rendell, demonstrated the importance
of strong communications, especially in an
26 | w w w .berkscms .or g
environment of change. These are qualities
that have been valuable to Tower Health, I
believe. At the same time, I am supported by a
very strong team of clinical and administrative
leaders.
2) We would like to primarily discuss
the current status and future plans for Tower
Health but let me first ask what factors led to
the current difficulties facing Tower Health?
Of course, no one predicted the COVID-19
Pandemic, but could Tower Health have
made better decisions to grow and yet
avoid the serious financial consequences
confronting the system?
Response: I have said from the day I
arrived that I never got anywhere looking in
the rearview mirror. My task, and the work to
which our entire team is dedicated, has been to
improve our operational performance in a way
that will secure our mission for the long term.
Not just two or three years, but for the decades
to come. It's hard to overstate the impact that
the pandemic had on our operations in 2020.
In January and February of that year, we
were just beginning to see positive volume and
operating trends at the hospitals we acquired to
create Tower Health. The shutdown mandated
by the government in response to COVID and
the resulting significant revenue losses were
dramatic. We've been working extraordinarily
hard ever since to turn it around. The good
news is, we have made real progress and are in
a much better position today. Our work is not
done, but we are making great progress. In fact,
the last quarter of fiscal year 2021 was our first
financially positive quarterly performance since
2019.
3) What are the major challenges now
that confront Tower Health? Are there
positive signs? How is Reading Hospital
holding up to its role as the system
" Flagship " ?
Response: We still have a lot of hard
work and tough decisions ahead to strengthen
operations, but we are making a remarkable
turnaround. We benefited tremendously from
the involvement of Guidehouse, who helped
us accelerate improvements that were already
underway, as well as identifying additional
opportunities. While our main engagement
with Guidehouse is winding down, we are
working to hardwire a culture of continuous
process improvement throughout Tower Health.
These improvements have included Reading
Hospital, which is, and will remain, one of the
best hospitals in Pennsylvania.
4) You recently announced that Tower
Health, after holding discussions with a
variety of health systems, is entering into
a " strategic alliance " with Penn Medicine.
What were the primary goals of Tower
Health as you entered these various
discussions? What were the key factors that
led to the agreement with Penn Medicine?
Do you foresee any major changes for Tower
Health and its hospitals and other facilities?
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Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021

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