Hospital and health system CEOs have a lot on their plates, as they need to keep an eye on everything ranging from patient volumes to employee engagement issues to the progressive strategy of the enterprise. With everything happening at once, it can be difficult to pick just one or two metrics as the keys to check on daily.
But here, three CEOs from hospitals and health systems in different parts of the country do just that: pick the most important metrics they look at in terms of their organizations' operations.
Cathy Jacobson, CPA, President and CEO of Froedtert Health (Milwaukee): Ultimately, to have a strong and successful organization, you need two things. First, are more people being attracted to system — are we growing? Second, are we generating a margin that can sustain the organization?
Our key goal is to demonstrate superior value. Quality metrics help keep an eye on and support that operating margin, but ultimately it comes down to the growth number and the operating margin number.
Growth used to be measured in inpatient admissions, but we are making a conscious effort to reduce inpatient admissions, so we're rapidly trying to position growth as a metric of people in our service area accessing Froedtert Health. We can't assess that yet because we're on disparate electronic medical records, so instead we have to focus on new patient visits as an indication that more people are seeking us for healthcare.
John "Jack" Lynch III, President and CEO of Main Line Health (Bryn Mawr, Pa.): I would say two sets of metrics are important to look at. First and foremost are quality metrics. We fastidiously maintain our quality dashboard and, at every board meeting, our board members focus first on our quality outcomes. The other important metric is financial performance. The most attention we give is to cost-per-case and the operating 
margin. We have to recognize that if we're losing money on Medicare, we have to lower the cost-per-case.
Richard Murphy, President and CEO of South Nassau Communities Hospital (Oceanside, N.Y.): Honestly, it's day's cash on hand. As odd an association as it appears, I know that simple measure determines how successful my organization will be in regard to other measures which might seem more important. Patient and physician satisfaction, quality performance, employee satisfaction, clinical technology deployment, building infrastructure and any number of other critical measures are a function of continued investment. Our access to capital, whether through efficient operations, borrowing or philanthropy, will ultimately determine whether we can fulfill our mission to our community in an era of limited resources and almost limitless demand for service.
More Articles With CEO Insight:
Restructuring for Future Success: Q&A With SSM Health Care's Chris Howard
What Attracts Hospital Executives to New Positions: 4 CEOs Weigh In
Insights From a Rising Star: Q&A With Beauregard Memorial Hospital CEO Nathan Tudor