As we head into a new year, the healthcare industry faces increased uncertainties stemming from potential policy changes. To combat this, many financial leaders are building sustainable performance improvement programs to weather whatever storms lie ahead.
At Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health, CFO James Siegel told Becker’s the system’s “Thrive 2026” initiative incorporates around nine performance improvement teams led by senior leadership to help target key areas like inpatient efficiency, revenue growth, outpatient access and expansion, labor costs and clinical variation and transformation.
VCU Health comprises its academic medical center, a children’s hospital, two community hospitals, and more than 14,000 employees, Mr. Siegel said.
The program focuses on sustainable improvements rather than one-time fixes, with clinical chairs working alongside administrators.
“How can we thrive in 2026 and beyond? The notion of beyond is critical,” Mr. Siegel said. “We built a lot of muscle memory in terms of performance improvement…and what we’re navigating right now with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is no different from what healthcare leaders have been experiencing for decades.”
Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is taking a partnership approach by treating Ensemble Health Partners as a “co-innovation partner” to strengthen revenue cycle performance while locking in costs of collections, John Mallia, interim CFO, told Becker’s.
The health system comprises six hospitals, a home health agency, outpatient facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, hospice residence and physician practices. It has nearly 12,000 employees and more than 2,000 providers, according to its website.
“We want to make sure that it truly improves cash and yield,” Mr. Mallia said. “That benefits both sides of the partnership, but we want to reduce the friction for patients and staff as part of the evaluation of these innovations, investments and improving the patient’s financial experience, which can be rocky.”
Methodist Le Bonheur also implemented Epic systemwide in October 2024, a move that was “transformational” for the system.
Mr. Mallia emphasized that today’s CFO role must extend beyond numbers to support a forward-looking strategy.
“It’s so much less about numbers now and more about telling a compelling story,” Mr. Mallia said. “It has to stay focused on the future…it’s our responsibility to outline all of the knowns and give the best guidance we can about the unknowns.”
