The COO role continues to evolve as health systems grow, adopt new technology and take on increasingly complex operational priorities, underscoring the importance of having the right metrics to track performance and guide decisions.
Those priorities are reflected in what COOs are adding to their dashboards. Becker’s asked three hospital and health system COOs what they have added to their dashboards over the past 12 months and whether any metrics or priorities have come off as a result.
Their responses point to changes spanning capital projects and workforce engagement, new Epic performance metrics, and efforts to more closely connect operational performance with quality and safety.
Albert Boland, COO of WVU Medicine Princeton (W.Va.) Community Hospital, said his priorities have continued to evolve as the hospital executes its growth strategy following its integration into WVU Medicine in January 2023.
“One of the most significant additions to our dashboard has been the management of several major capital projects,” he said.
Those projects include a comprehensive cancer center that will bring radiation and medical oncology together on the main campus, a more than 30,000-square-foot expansion and relocation of the emergency department, added imaging capacity and observation beds at the Bluefield, W.Va., campus, and a 40,000-square-foot medical office building.
Mr. Boland said the hospital has also placed greater emphasis on leadership development, recruitment and interview effectiveness, employee retention, workplace safety and organizational culture.
“While patient experience remains a foundational priority, we have expanded our attention to employee engagement because we believe an exceptional workforce is essential to delivering exceptional care,” he said.
Another newer area of focus is grant opportunities tied to Rural Health Transformation initiatives. Mr. Boland said the hospital is working with state partners on opportunities aimed at supporting return-to-work programs and strengthening partnerships with local employers to address chronic conditions that affect workforce participation and attendance.
Few priorities have come off the dashboard entirely as those areas have been added, he said.
“Rather, our approach has been to achieve key objectives and then shift attention to the next opportunity while maintaining performance in core operational areas,” Mr. Boland said. “Effective prioritization and disciplined use of time have become increasingly important as the scope of our work continues to expand.”
At Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera Health, COO David Flicek said Epic-related performance metrics have been the most significant addition to his dashboard over the past year.
Avera went live with Epic on May 30, moving its hospitals, clinics, senior living locations, health plan and partner network onto a single platform in a single day. The system serves more than 300 locations across South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. The transition has given the system access to more timely and comprehensive data, Mr. Flicek said.
“These metrics have largely replaced a patchwork of legacy reports and manual processes,” he said. “While we’re still learning and refining as we go, the enhanced visibility allows us to focus more effectively on a few critical areas: quality, access, revenue capture and care integration.”
Mr. Flicek said the additional visibility is helping Avera move from reviewing past performance toward making more informed decisions in real time.
At Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham, COO Ron Walls, MD, said the system is working to more closely connect operational performance with quality and safety.
Mass General Brigham has developed operations dashboards over the past eight years and refined them at the system level, while redesigning its quality and safety dashboards over the past three years as part of its high-reliability approach, Dr. Walls said.
The system is now bringing those areas together through Patient Care Performance Management, which Mass General Brigham has described as a structure intended to connect frontline high-reliability units more directly with hospital and system leadership.
“We want the very same people who are focused on OR turnaround time paying close attention to surgical site infections and vice versa,” Dr. Walls said. “This approach, supported by our AI initiatives, ensures that we all drive toward one North Star: highest quality patient care.”
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