Big Picture, Micro Focus: An Interview with Javon Bea of Mercy Health System

04/10/2008

Chairman's Message

Mercy Health System, headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin, is ranked 16th in the Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks by Verispan and Modern Healthcare Magazine.

Led by CEO extraordinaire Javon Bea since 1989, Mercy transformed itself from a struggling, single-location hospital into a vertically integrated not-for-profit health system. It now runs more than 64 facilities in 24 communities, and serves one million patients per year.

Needless to say, I wanted to know more. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Bea and learn how he did the seemingly impossible. I trust you will find wisdom and inspiration in his words.

Roger Payne

Big Picture, Micro Focus:
An Interview with Javon Bea of Mercy Health System

Interim Report: Mercy is the recipient of many accolades, including the number one spot on AARP's Top 50 Best Employers for Employees Over 50, Working Mother Magazine's Top 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers and the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 2007 for quality and organizational performance excellence. Was your vision for the Mercy Health System crystal clear at the outset, or did it evolve?

Javon Bea: Because we work in such a vibrant and demanding industry, everything is in some sense an evolution. You must be flexible and put dynamic systems in place to respond to changes quickly. We have been very successful in doing this. However, one important part of my vision that was crystal clear to me at the outset, and remains so, was that Mercy needed to become an integrated system. Creating a vertically integrated health care system with an employed physician staff able to serve its patients from birth through end-of-life was critical. This is the cornerstone of our success.

IR: How did you convey your vision to your key managers?

JB: I gathered together a team of senior leaders who embraced change and innovation. Some existing staff members stayed on, and we brought others in from the outside. Creating a dynamic team whose members had different strengths but could work seamlessly together was critical. We had much work to do, and I needed leaders who were passionate about the vision and willing to lead the charge.

IR: How did you keep your key managers focused? Did some advise that "it couldn't be done," and if so, how did you react?

JB: Certainly, we had some naysayers early on, but that came primarily from physicians who were used to the way things were done before and feared change. Early on, some entrenched physicians flatly refused to talk with me and even called for my resignation. They were used to the status quo, and change is always difficult for some. It's important to anticipate resistance as you embark on a new path, and not let it sway you.

IR: What is the most important aspect of making Mercy such a success?

JB: There are truly three principal factors to our success, and they each play a crucial role.

1. Culture of Excellence. First, define and build your culture. We created our "culture of excellence" based on four tenets: quality, service, partnering and cost. This creates a common understanding of Mercy's values and goals that sustains an innovative, service-oriented culture.
   
   
2. Integration. Our vertical service integration enables Mercy to provide a continuum of care with interaction and oversight by physicians and other clinical professionals. This provides consistent quality of care and builds lasting relationships among patients and their families. Our integrated services provide a wide range of patient needs within the same system.
   
   Another important component is the integration of our physicians through the Mercy Physician Partnership Model. This is a key differentiator for our system.
   
   Physician integration is not new, but our approach is. The ideas behind many of the attempts at physician integration and alternative compensation/ incentive structures in the 1980s were valid – the wrong model had been applied and was just not sustainable. More recently, however, the concept of physician integration is enjoying a resurgence, and with good reason. Today, more than ever before, physicians are competing with hospitals and health systems for revenue on many levels. With the growth of outpatient services, procedures that were once the sole domain of the hospital/health system are now performed almost exclusively by physicians.
   
   A strong and mutually beneficial physician/hospital relationship based on trust is the key to success. We created a productivity-based, flexible compensation system that supports independence. This is integrated with our overall quality system to create a win-win for every stakeholder.
   
   Economic pressures abound and reimbursements are down. Creating and sustaining an integrated delivery system that makes physicians true partners in success can build the financial strength others find so elusive. Shared risk and gain are key components that make this a success.
   
   
3. Accountability. This is present at every level of our organization. We benchmark to national best practices/top box performance. We set targets at the top decile or top quartile–to the highest available level in the database. This ensures that we consistently achieve higher levels of performance.
   
   Accountability systems flow throughout our organization, so that goals and their achievement are measured, performance expectations are clear, and everyone is pulling in the same direction. We do this with dashboards, action plans, report cards, the Mercy physician incentive plan, performance appraisals and personal development plans.

I share this amazing story with you so that the next time you are faced with doing the impossible at your organization, you reflect on Mercy Health System's success. Great things can happen with a clear vision, strong leadership and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

Candidates' Corner

We're pleased to add a new feature to The Interim Report this month - Candidates' Corner. We'll present to you some of our top interim healthcare leaders who are completing their current assignments - and are ready to join your organization.

John O'Reilly - Senior Nursing Executive

John is a senior nurse executive with previous roles as CNO & Service Line Director whose leadership skills in quality improvement, customer satisfaction & administration will contribute to exceptional organizational performance and improved patient care outcomes. He is a seasoned professional and has demonstrated the ability to mentor and develop nursing managers. Click to review John's resume.

Ann Smith - Senior Nursing Executive

Ann has 25+ years of healthcare experience across a wide range of facilities including ambulatory, inpatient and mobile hospitals in rural, urban and regional settings. Her positions have involved direct care, education/staff development and administrative operations in women's services, pediatrics, neonatal and adult age groups. Click to review Ann's resume.

Howard Strong - Senior Pharmacist

Howard has been a Director of Pharmacy in new and existing accounts for over 10 years, implementing new contracts, performing due diligence sight visits for potential new accounts, performing Pre-TJC and TJC visits on current accounts and helping to staff current accounts. Howard has also been responsible for all aspects of operations. Click to review Howard's resume.

For more information about these and other great interim healthcare executives, contact Jeff Souza at 508-927-6890.

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