Mr. Fox’s unique approach to leadership is one reason why he has been selected as The Hospital Review‘s Hospital CEO of the Year.
Mr. Fox’s transparent leadership style has proven to be extremely effective in improving clinical outcomes, and patient and employee satisfaction, within his facility. His commitment to sharing both his own and the hospital’s performance information with hospital leaders, physicians and employees has also led Mr. Fox to be seen as an approachable leader who values the opinions of all hospital employees and believes in the ability of everyone to make noticeable contributions to the hospital.
One colleague praises Mr. Fox for this commitment to the staff. “Dave Fox is known by his first name by many hospital workers, including maintenance, nursing staff and doctors,” says a physician at the hospital. “He conducts regular roundtable sessions, open to all, to discuss how to improve the hospital and to provide information. He is professional and accessible, a rare combination.”
Mr. Fox’s commitment to his staff is apparent in the way he speaks of the successes of the organization, stating that the recent accomplishments that the hospital has achieved, such as being named to Thomson Reuters’ list of 100 Top Hospitals for 2008, would not be possible without the invaluable effort that his staff puts forth every day.
According to Mr. Fox, employees, or “associates,” as they are called at Advocate Good Samaritan, are one of the most important reasons for the hospital’s success. “Our associates are one of our most valuable resources. We greatly value people who choose to work at Advocate Good Samaritan,” he says. “We refer to them as associates, not employees, because of the symbolic partnership we see between them and the hospital as a whole.”
Mr. Fox’s unique leadership style has gained him recognition within the healthcare industry. He was featured by the Health Financial Management Association in its 2008 Special Report for his transparent leadership style. Under his management, Advocate Good Samaritan also earned the 2007 Lincoln Foundation for Performance Excellence Silver Award for “Progress Towards Excellence,” which honors outstanding performance by Illinois organizations.
Mr. Fox has served as a healthcare executive his entire career. He earned a graduate degree from the University of Chicago in healthcare management and became the president of Central DuPage Hospital, located in Winfield, Ill., in 1997. He left Central DuPage to join Advocate Good Samaritan in 2003.
Growing Advocate Good Samaritan
The 340-bed Advocate Good Samaritan is affiliated with more than 900 physicians and employs more than 2,500 employees and is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in the Chicago area.
The hospital scores consistently well on measures of clinical excellence as well as patient and employee satisfaction, with Mr. Fox referring to 2008 as the hospital’s best year in its 32-year history. The hospital received patient satisfactions score above the 90th percentile from four of the five patient groups it surveys and received employee and physician satisfaction rankings at the 93rd percentile. Additionally, the hospital experienced its best financial performance to date, with admissions growing 5 percent, and a net income of $20 million with an operating margin of 5.5 percent in a year where many hospitals did not fare as well.
Mr. Fox’s leadership is respected by colleagues and hospital staff. He treats all hospital employees equally and values all levels of his staff, according to the hospital’s employees.
“It does not matter your title at Good Samaritan; whether you are the head of the hospital or at a lower level, Dave treats you with dignity and respect no matter what,” says a Good Samaritan employee.
Mr. Fox says that his primary job as a leader is to set the agenda for the organization and then help all employees, or “associates” as they are called at Advocate Good Samaritan, understand their role in meeting the organization’s goals.
“What I aim to do is take complex issues and translate them into relevant and actionable goals so that members of our organization understand how their role affects that goal,” he says. “My executive team and I spend a great deal of time formulating organizational goals, which then cascade down through our organization, so that every manager, and eventually every associate, knows how his or her performance is judged,” he says.
Focus on benchmarking
Mr. Fox’s leadership philosophy, and, as a result, the goals that he sets for the organization are deeply rooted in the importance of measurement and transparency. “You cannot improve what you cannot measure,” he says.
One indication of this commitment to measurement is the hospital’s extensive use of performance data to set organizational goals.
Mr. Fox regularly informs Advocate Good Samaritan’s staff about the importance of a measurement called the mortality index, which measures the number of deaths at a facility against the expected number of deaths as judged by presenting patient acuity. Advocate Good Samaritan’s index was determined to be 0.45, which means that only 45 percent of patients who were expected to die due to the severity of their presenting conditions actually passed away. In other words, Advocate Good Samaritan saved more than half of the patients it was expected to lose during the year.
Mr. Fox explains that these type statistics, while very useful, can be difficult for all hospital employees to comprehend. He sees it as his job to translate these statistics into meaningful information for his associates. “I translate these types of figures into something that makes sense, in this case, how many potential deaths were avoided. Using this statistic, I was able to calculate that in 2008, 284 patients that should have died, statistically speaking, survived because of the great care we provide here at Good Sam.”
Mr. Fox believes that statistics and other measures of organizational and personal performance are the first step in improving the hospital. “Measurements show you where you stand and can track your progress toward improvement,” he says. “Because we measure our performance and do so frequently, we are able to know throughout the year if a certain department or manager is not hitting a goal, and we can work with them early in the year to help ensure that the goal is met.”
Mr. Fox personally shares his monthly performance assessment with the entire board of directors, the hospital’s management team and the leadership of the medical staff. “It can be embarrassing if I have a bad month,” he says “But it ensures that I am accountable for the decisions I make.”
Great communicator
Mr. Fox has been identified by his colleagues as a great communicator and leader. He is highly visible in the organization and meets each new employee that begins at Advocate Good Samaritan during new employee orientation.
“Dave Fox is the most visible CEO I’ve ever met,” says a colleague. “He constantly communicates with all levels of staff, holds associate forums and visits nursing units in which he describes his own experiences in a caring and concerned way with the patients and staff.”
The employee forums that Mr. Fox hosts quarterly are referred to as “round the clock” associate forums. During the approximately 20 forums, which occur literally around the clock to ensure that employees from all shifts can attend, Mr. Fox responds to questions and concerns that hospital employees have and listens to suggestions from employees to improve the hospital. Colleagues of Mr. Fox say that his being a great listener is yet another reason why he is such an effective leader.
“He truly listens and has the interest and wellbeing of all [in mind]. Good Samaritan Hospital has improved 200 percent during his leadership,” says a colleague.
Associates also report that they feel valued by Mr. Fox and that their input effects the organization.
“Dave Fox has been an excellent president for Advocate Good Samaritan,” says a colleague. “He has always been sincere and has been able to engage the medical staff and understand their views and solicit their ideas … He has worked very hard to earn everyone’s trust and respect, and this helps define him as a great leader.”
Concern for people and financial performance
Colleagues also tout Mr. Fox’s knowledge of issues affecting hospitals in general.
“In my 30 years as a practicing physician, I have never worked with such a great hospital administrator,” says a physician affiliated with the hospital. “Dave Fox has great in-depth knowledge of healthcare issues and a wealth of practical experience. He understands how to relate to people in all levels of the hospital and is able to accomplish things that transform the way people view their jobs. The result is better care for our patients and great pride in our hospital.”
Mr. Fox is also respected within the hospital for his concern for the financial performance of the facility.
“Dave does a great job balancing the very difficult task of looking out for the staff at Good Samaritan Hospital and making the very tough financial decisions that have to be made at the present time,” says a colleague.
Mr. Fox reports that one of his primary objectives for 2009 is ensure good financials so that the hospital will not be forced to lay off any employees. “My major priority for 2009 is to be proactive in managing expenses so that we can meet our financial goals without losing associates,” he says.
Mr. Fox also plans to continue to lead Advocate Good Samaritan toward outstanding clinical outcomes, patient and associate satisfaction and physician support in the coming year.
Quint Studer, a healthcare veteran of more than 20 years and founder and CEO of Studer Group, an outcomes-based healthcare consulting firm, says, “Dave Fox is a role-model healthcare executive. He has the ability to combine technology and advances in medical treatment with the human capital of an organization in order to provide excellent clinical outcomes and an excellent patient experience.”
Mr. Fox works every day to create a positive hospital environment where employees are inspired to live out Advocate’s core values of compassion, equality, excellence, partnership and stewardship. Although Mr. Fox has already helped his hospital achieve numerous accomplishments during his tenure, he hopes to continue to improve the already outstanding care the hospital provides.
“When I started here as CEO, someone gave me a conductor’s baton. I see it as symbolic to what I do here everyday,” he says. “A bad conductor can ruin even the most talented orchestra, but a good conductor can get everyone playing from the same sheet of music.
“The hospital is the world’s most complex business organization,” Mr. Fox says. “My job here is get everyone working together and behind a vision to deliver world-class, compassionate care.”
Learn more about Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital.
Learn more about The Hospital Review’s CEO of the Year award and the winners.
