HFMA announces new event aimed at healthcare financial sustainability

The “Financial Sustainability Summit” will convene healthcare executives from across the country in Denver, April 16-17, 2020, to address the most pressing challenges facing health systems today.

“We hear from our executives from health systems large and small, and they tell us how difficult it is to look beyond the day-to-day horizon to keep financially resilient,” said industry veteran Mary Mirabelli, FHFMA, HFMA senior vice president of content and delivery. “This event is designed to help them plan an agenda embracing the landscape they will operate in five years from now.”

At the Financial Sustainability Summit,  Mirabelli said, “The very best minds in the industry” will be talking about how they’re achieving sustainable performances via diverse portfolios. This includes consolidation, innovation, cost management, acquisition, diversification and strategic partnerships — all the things that, when done well, are contributing to an improved and sustained performance.

“Transforming our health systems’  business models will require the sustained effort and attention of healthcare leadership teams and boards across multiple disciplines,” Mirabelli said. “The C-suite leaders must drive this process.”

HFMA will be releasing more details about the new event’s speakers, session lineup and collaborating business partners in the weeks ahead, Mirabelli said. In the meantime, anticipation is already building for the event among healthcare finance executives.

“Time and again we hear from providers that maintaining a margin is a top concern and the low-hanging fruit has been picked,” said HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA. “The increased focus on affordability, transparency and rising healthcare costs greatly challenges the ability to provide the highest-quality care at the lowest-possible price. So as I’ve shared this concept with industry people,  it’s been no surprise the level of interest is  overwhelming.”

When Mayo Clinic CFO Dennis Dahlen, CHFP, CPA, first heard about the event, he was instantly intrigued.

“When I heard the concept, my first thought was, ‘I’m not going to miss this,’” said Dahlen, also a member of the HFMA Board of Directors. “Like almost every other healthcare CFO, I spend most of my time thinking about clinical transformation and financial sustainability. The opportunity to gather with so many like-minded executives at such a key time for our industry, and with content focused on the task at hand, is irresistible.”