In this special Speaker Series, Becker's Healthcare caught up with Karen Teitelbaum, president and CEO of Chicago-based Sinai Health System.
Ms. Teitelbaum will speak on a panel at Becker's Hospital Review 7th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable titled, "Diversity and Updated Thinking About Impact," at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Learn more about the event and register to attend in Chicago.
Question: What keeps you excited and motivated to come to work each day?
Karen Teitelbaum: Sinai has been the most satisfying, and yet most challenging, responsibility I've had in my career. I am so proud to work with our caregivers — people who are dedicated to serving the most vulnerable citizens of Chicago.
I am excited about our focus on keeping people healthy in the community, even before they come through our doors. Sinai is, quite simply, a leader in community engagement and partnership. We know it is not enough to take care of the patient, we have to take care of the community. We partner with our community to ensure access to the resources needed for our patients to better take care of their own health, bringing down barriers and creating a better Chicago for all. This means working together every day on initiatives to help change the trajectory for those facing issues — before they end up in the hospital.
We are providing high quality healthcare for those in need, including programs aimed at promoting family and community health, behavioral health, diabetes, asthma, early childhood development, community partnerships and workforce development opportunities.
A great example is our Asthma CarePartners program, which helps adults with asthma and caregivers of children with asthma learn to control the disease so that they can lead more healthy and active lives. The program utilizes community health workers to educate people about the disease, its triggers and management in their own home. CHWs are local residents who share a strong connection to the community they serve and are able to quickly establish trust and identify and address barriers to disease prevention and management. CHWs increase knowledge and self-sufficiency through outreach, navigation, education, counseling, social support and advocacy.
So, not only are we dramatically improving outcomes and keeping people healthy and out of the hospital, but because we're recruiting and training local residents, we're also addressing the issue of job training and opportunity in the communities we serve. That sort of innovative thinking has extended into our efforts to improve housing and economic development, to create and implement violence prevention and mentoring programs, and offer education and support for mothers and families to ensure healthier babies and young children. That's what we mean by partnering with our community residents to see our communities thriving in good health.
Q: What major challenges, financial or otherwise, are affecting hospitals in the markets you serve? How is your hospital responding?
KT: Like many others nationwide, hospitals and health systems in the Chicago region are challenged by adapting to what seems to be a constantly changing healthcare system, particularly in the way care is delivered and reimbursed. Illinois has made a major shift in the way it pays for Medicaid, moving from a largely fee-for-service system into managed care. It is not a secret that this transition to managed care has resulted in some difficulties, particularly in relation to cash flow and payments.
At Sinai Health System, we are addressing these challenging financial issues, working to adapt to the new realities of the healthcare market and positioning ourselves for long-term success. It's not easy. As one of the largest safety-net health systems in Illinois, Sinai's service area includes 1.5 million Chicagoans, many of whom are disproportionately affected by illness, poverty and other social challenges. Eighty-five percent of our patients are insured by Medicaid, Medicare or were uninsured in 2017.
Despite the challenges, throughout the system, our caregivers are working hard to continually improve our patient experience, quality outcomes and internal processes. Tremendous work has been done to address cost control and revenue cycle improvements resulting in our getting paid correctly and more quickly. We are seeing positive results from these efforts.
Dedication to our mission runs deep within every caregiver at Sinai Health System – a special breed that has the strength and character to face our unique challenges and is proud to make a real difference in the lives of those we serve every day. It is why we place a special emphasis on retention of our talented caregivers, including physicians, nurses, medical staff, technicians and our administrative and support teams.
Our best caregivers come to Sinai — and stay — because they want to serve a mission caring for Chicago and its most vulnerable residents. We take care of everyone — with compassionate, comprehensive and quality care – regardless of who they are, where they come from, or their ability to pay. At Sinai, we believe living a healthy life is a right, not a privilege.
Q: If you could pass along one piece of advice to another hospital executive, what would it be?
KT: Here are two pieces of advice that have served me well:
First, don't be afraid to be decisive. Once you've considered and evaluated your course of action, trust yourself and move forward.
Second, take the time to develop relationships with your caregiver colleagues. Get to know them, what's important to them, what their ideas are. It goes such a long way toward fostering commitment, effort and enthusiasm – they'll know that their individual contributions matter and are valued, and your organization will be stronger and better for it.