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Does anyone remember being in 6th grade? Yes, I know…it's a long time ago (longer for some of us than others!) For those of you who CAN remember…imagine what your reaction would have been had your 6th grade teacher posed the question "What do you plan to do after you graduate from college?" After the butterflies settled down in our stomachs, most of us would have probably reacted in the same way. "COLLEGE?" I need to worry about more immediate problems…like what I'm doing this weekend…and the term paper that's due next month…and earning a spot on that Little League team. College? That's more than ten years away! I can't think that far ahead." As healthcare leaders, we're older and wiser than we were back in our middle school days…but we're faced with a similar dilemma. We know it's important to plan for the future, but the needs of today—meeting the health needs of the poor and underserved, budget concerns, quality issues, labor shortages, reimbursement challenges, technology needs, etc.—usually demand our full attention and resources. However, in our rapidly changing healthcare environment, it is critically important for Catholic Health East to peer into the future as best we can…in order to prepare our health ministry NOW for the realities of the future. For three days in mid-April, forty senior RHC/JOA executives, physicians, Board members and System office staff convened at the Villanova Conference Center in suburban Philadelphia to begin the process of charting the course of CHE's future. "Envisioning the Future" was the theme of our intensive Rapid Design process, a planning tool used by many successful companies nationwide (including some of our own healthcare organizations) to address complex and critically important issues quickly, thoroughly and effectively. By sequestering a group of experts, focusing them on one major issue, and supplying them with the necessary tools and background information, they can emerge with new, exciting and creative solutions. The challenge was indeed a daunting one. CHE's strategic management process requires that we "begin with the end in mind." The task for Rapid Design participants was to envision the CHE health delivery model of the future (we selected 2017, which is 10+ years away) and then, working backwards from 2017, determine how CHE should best position itself NOW and over the next few years so that we can effectively meet these future needs. Several industry experts from outside of CHE were brought in as guest speakers to help inform, educate and dialogue with attendees about specific issues, and to provoke them into thinking "outside of the box." Attendees benefited from fascinating and provocative overviews of where the industry is heading over the next decade, including a glimpse of new technologies and how innovative approaches will impact our patients, our workforce and our facilities; the impact that seismic demographic shifts occurring in the U.S. population will have on the health care industry; and the implications that advances in technology and genomics will have for Catholic caregivers in 2017. After two days of intensive small/large group and round-robin meetings, the entire group came together to review, refine and synthesize their work products. The key outcomes include a preferred CHE Health Delivery Model for 2017, as well as a list of core competencies essential for CHE by 2017 and a list of possible "wild cards" (potentially disruptive, unpredictable events that could impact our future). The draft of our Health Delivery Model for 2017 is as follows: In 2017, Catholic Health East is a mission-driven health system that:
We know our world is changing. What do we all plan to be doing ten years from now? What will our organizations look like? What services will we be providing? How will we continue to meet the health care needs of the poor and underserved? Sure, these questions are bound to stir up those familiar butterflies in our stomachs…again. But we're much better prepared for the future than we were back in 6th grade. Through the Rapid Design and strategic management processes, I'm confident that, together, we will get to work now in building the core competencies, skill sets, facilities, and technological infrastructure required for Catholic Health East to continue to be a transforming, healing presence in the communities we serve in 2017…and beyond.
Sincerely yours,
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