Lisa Montman, CFO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based HonorHealth, has the advantage of working in a high-growth healthcare market. But that doesn't insulate the system from every financial challenge.
Becker's connect with Ms. Montman to learn more about her financial strategy, from workforce stability to an expanding outpatient footprint.
Question: What are the top three strategic financial priorities for your health system in the next fiscal year? How do these align with the organization's overall mission and goals?
Lisa Montman: Our first priority is a healthy and stable workforce because without it, we can't provide our patients with the care that they need and deserve. People are at the core of who we are. As a healthcare system serving a diverse and growing Phoenix market, the collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our team members invest in their work represents a significant part of our culture, our reputation and our achievements. To support our team members, we have a wide-ranging compensation program, an Employee Crisis Fund to help those who find themselves in a financial crisis, a robust DEI program, and leadership development programs to ensure team members play an active role in how HonorHealth moves forward as an organization.
To continue exceeding our patients' expectations, we also must maintain financial sustainability as we continue to improve the health system by expanding access points to provide convenient, high-quality care that is being coordinated efficiently and effectively for all patients. As a locally owned, nonprofit healthcare system, we can't care for our community the way that we have for more than 100 years without a solid financial base. This allows us to reinvest in the programs, people and facilities to grow access to high-quality care.
A third priority for HonorHealth is our continuing efforts to provide value-based care for our patients across the continuum of care. HonorHealth is utilizing evidence-based practices to address the community's toughest challenges, including social determinants of health, because we believe in inspiring people to live healthy and stay healthy.
Q: What are the biggest financial challenges facing your health system today? On the other hand, what are the most promising financial opportunities?
LM: At HonorHealth, we look at challenges as opportunities for us to prove yet again that we can adapt to an ever-changing financial environment while continuing our exceptional care for our patients. One thing that is working in our favor is the fact that Arizona is still a growth market, but the current economic conditions that exist in our industry and country including labor costs, inflation and the resulting increased cost of supplies and pharmaceuticals is a pain point. These are also affecting things that our patients rely on that are out of our control like Medicare reimbursement and payer reimbursement reductions.
To counteract this, we continue to responsibly expand our footprint of specialty care practices and outpatient surgery centers to provide more convenient access and affordability for cases that can safely be done outside a full-service hospital while still meeting the needs of our community.
Q: How is your system leveraging technology and digital health platforms to enhance patient care, improve operational efficiency and generate revenue?
LM: At HonorHealth, we are using multiple tools in our system to enhance care and efficiency. One example is a system which manages our throughput from ED to inpatient to discharge. This allows us to ensure we maximize our scarce capacity to serve more people in our community. In addition, we are able to monitor clinical, operational and financial performance by using an enterprise data warehouse which contains data from over 100 different clinical and operational systems in our organization. Lastly, we have begun to implement AI based systems to monitor patients' course and predict those patients who are likely to deteriorate so we can intervene earlier before patients become unstable.
Q: What partnerships, joint ventures, mergers or acquisitions is your system exploring to strengthen its financial position or expand service offerings?
LM: HonorHealth believes in leveraging partnerships, in a variety of forms, that will enhance its ability to meet a fast-growing community need and in as comprehensive a set of services and programs as makes it an effective network for value-based risk contracting. We have joint ventures that have allowed us to expand into a wider catchment area, with specialized services that tap into unique partner expertise, with more physician alignment in ambulatory care settings and more physician engagement in managing value-based risk.
Furthermore, as the presenting sponsor of the Blue Zones Scottsdale Project, HonorHealth is expanding our role as a community convener to rally around solutions that enhance a better environment to promote healthy living and choices for individuals. This exciting initiative will transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play to improve community well-being, resilience and economic vitality.
Q: Given the unpredictability of events like pandemics, what are you doing to ensure financial resilience and sustainability in the face of unforeseen challenges?
LM: Financial resilience and sustainability are at the core of what I do. No matter the current, or future environment, we are constantly assessing and seeking out diversified sources of revenue to reduce our dependence on any single area. That means being responsible as we diversify and expand our footprint and services while assessing and optimizing our operational costs to improve efficiency while never losing sight of our commitment to provide exceptional care that meets the needs of our community.
Another area that we focus on is talent retention and development of our staff to ensure that we have a dedicated workforce that continues our mission during challenging times. We do that by nurturing a healthy and diverse workforce, with a culture centered around caring for each other like we do for our patients. We have a variety of programs that support their whole health, including physical, emotional and financial well-being. We are confident this approach will allow us to fulfill our mission to improve the health and well-being of those we serve no matter what’s going on in the world around us.