CEO Notes

John Murphy, MD, President and CEO,
Western Connecticut Health Network

As we continue to plan our affiliation with Norwalk Hospital, we consider how forming this new organization will strengthen how we respond to the state’s intention to cut its support for hospitals.

Over the past weeks, we have taken a lead to work with other hospitals around the state to bring common sense to the public discussion of hospital funding. While the intent of our message may have been heard, the details of our suggested alternatives have not been absorbed. No matter the result of the vote in the legislature, we have learned a lot from this year’s debate. We have to take every possible step to remain focused on our vision of providing the right care in the right place at the right time. We can’t let any challenge stand in our way.

That’s why our affiliation with Norwalk Hospital makes so much sense. The realities of today’s healthcare marketplace and political environment make this upcoming relationship more essential today than when we first announced our plans a year ago. Months of intensifying political discussion and marketplace threats make our vision of a new picture of health even more critical to the communities we serve. Our affiliation with Norwalk, which our 22 transition teams are now planning, will give us a range of new ways to deliver the care that our communities need. Specifically, these transition teams are considering:

How to deliver the right care.
As some integration teams work with the care we deliver to our patients, from cardiovascular services to cancer to pediatrics, they look beyond how each organization works today to consider the most critical approaches to care in the future. Members of these teams are also working through how we can deliver the care so the ideas they recommend will be as practical as they are visionary. These teams, along with others, will deliver recommendations to the affiliation steering committee later this month.

How to manage the business to deliver the mission.
Other integration teams are focusing on the business we operate, from supply chain to information technology to accounting and payroll, looking beyond how each organization operates today to consider the most efficient ways to stretch our budget dollars in the future. As they look beyond immediate ways to be more efficient, they will also consider how to streamline our essential operations and systems to efficiently manage the business so we can effectively deliver the care.

How to tell our story to the marketplace.
Others involved in the transition are considering the most effective ways to tell the story of our new organization in the marketplace. They are taking a close look at how our brand resonates with the various stakeholders that we need our marketing and communications to reach so that, when the new organization begins, the people in our communities will notice.

How to attract, retain and engage our staff.
Finally, other teams are focusing on the details most relevant to our staff, from how we pay to what benefits we offer and how we get things done. While the details are many, and the considerations complex, how we focus on our people is essential to the care we deliver.

Any organization, including ours, has to constantly consider every possible way to strengthen how it works and what it offers. Our affiliation with Norwalk offers us the chance to think big about what we offer our patients and communities at the same time we think smart about how we get things done. As we continue to work through the early part of the summer, with an October 1st start date in mind, we welcome your comments and questions. Please let me and Matt know what’s on your mind.

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