As part of the hospital’s commitment to its Agenda for Change, BWH has formulated a strategic plan that lays out institutional priorities until 2005. The plan covers seven areas that will cumulatively make it possible for BWH to reach a margin designed to sustain and grow the hospital’s mission. It stands as the guide for administrators, managers, clinicians and all staff to follow to ensure BWH’s continued success in the intense health care environment in Boston and across the nation. The strategic plan was presented to the hospital community at the Nov. 28 Town Meeting. The plan packages hospital activity into the following seven areas—bed supply, inpatient service mix, Faulkner Hospital integration, outpatient services, cost reduction, revenue enhancements and length of stay. Each area has ownership at the executive management level, has specific accountabilities, and includes set goals and a projected action plan. “It is important to understand that a strategic plan provides us with a framework for growth. Although key initiatives and priorities may not be expressly stated in a strategic plan of this nature, they remain as integral initiatives in fulfilling our mission and moving the strategic plan forward,” said Matt Van Vranken, chief operating officer.
1. Bed Supply
The plan calls for BWH to increase its number of beds from 718 to 800 by 2005. This includes opening a total of 82 additional beds in various pods of the Tower. Van Vranken is responsible for the increased bed supply.2. Inpatient Service Mix
The service mix goals are complex, with specific goals related to medicine, surgery and obstetrics. Medical beds will moderately increase by 2005, surgical beds will increase substantially by 2005 and obstetrical beds will decrease by 2005 as the Partners network and other relationships are used to realize births. This calls for department specific five-year goals on size and mix of patients and designated resources. Van Vranken and Troy Brennan, MD, president of Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization, are responsible for the inpatient service mix.
3. Faulkner Integration
To integrate with Faulkner Hospital in a way that makes sense to both Faulkner and BWH, there are specific goals over the next several years to continue to fortify this merger that took place in 1998. Margy Hanson, RN, senior vice president of Network Development, is responsible for the Faulkner integration.
4. Outpatient Services
Improvements in the delivery and efficiency of ambulatory services at BWH hinge on determining the service mix and size, planning appropriate space and location of each outpatient service and concentrating on cost reductions to bring about higher revenue. Brennan is responsible for the outpatient services goals.
5. Cost Reduction
The goals in this area are precise: to achieve a one percent reduction in base inpatient costs and a two percent reduction in base outpatient costs in each of the next three years. Van Vranken is responsible for BWH’s strategic cost reduction goals.
6. Revenue Enhancement
As a way to counteract the current $6 million loss each month due to denied claims and other losses related to billing, BWH has set revenue enhancement as a high priority. To accomplish the related goals, objectives are primarily associated with reimbursement. Roger Deshaies, BWH’s chief financial officer, is responsible for the revenue enhancement component of the strategic plan.
7. Length of Stay
Currently, the length of stay at BWH is 5.5 days. The FY 2002 budget includes a target of 5.4 days and 2003-2005 goals project an incremental decrease of .2 days for each year. Anthony Whittemore, MD, chief medical officer, is accountable for the length of stay goals.
According to Van Vranken, the quality of worklife is key to accomplishing the goals of the strategic plan. Critical are recruitment and retention of high quality staff, adherence to a comprehensive space allocation plan and maintenance of worklife programs.
The successful implementation of the strategic plan will allow the hospital to sustain its long-standing commitment of excellence to patient care, research and teaching while continuing to support the community.