Indiana University Health, a 14-hospital system based in Indianapolis, has undergone various changes in recent years to its hiring strategy, financial picture and geographic footprint.
A representative from IU Health sat down with Becker's Hospital Review to talk about the facility's most recent initiatives.
Here are eight new developments at IU Health.
Hiring
1. The system has more than 1,000 job openings. IU Health held its first systemwide job fair April 22, during which all 14 hospitals were represented. Open positions spanned nursing, emergency medicine, pharmacy, rehab, social work, technology and business roles such as revenue cycle and customer service.
2. IU Health is the fourth largest employer in Indiana, behind state government, federal government and Wal-Mart. The system recruited more than 300 physicians and advanced practice providers in 2016.
3. IU Health named Elizabeth Dunlap senior vice president and chief human resources officer last year. Ms. Dunlap previously served as senior vice president and chief people officer at Panera Bread, according to Inside Indiana Business. She also previously worked for Campbell Soup Co. and The Walt Disney Co.
4. Under Ms. Dunlap's leadership, the system is shifting its focus to reducing turnover, particularly in clinical positions such as nurses and technicians. IU Health said the system is issuing internal polls and surveys to determine why employees come to the system, what their challenges are once they are employed and why they decide to leave. The system hopes to have more data on this initiative later this year.
Finances
5. IU Health reported operating expenses of $5.7 billion in 2016, up about 7 percent from $5.3 billion the year prior. The system attributed the growth, in part, to an increase in labor and supplies costs.
6. IU Health ended 2016 with operating income of $548 million, down 29.9 percent from operating income of $781.8 million in 2015. The system partially attributed the dip to the divesture of one hospital and an 80 percent divesture in two others.
Transactions
7. Bloomington, Ind.-based Premier Healthcare joined the Indiana University Health Southern Indiana Physicians physician group, also in Bloomington, May 1. IU Health plans to build a hospital and education center in Bloomington. Officials said IU Health's plan to construct a hospital and education center in Bloomington "solidified [Premier Health's] interest in merging."
8. The system is slated to take over operations at critical-access hospital Frankfort (Ind.) Hospital June 1.