Collecting with compassion: Patient financial care grows in importance
Health system leaders increasingly believe more communication is better when it comes to telling patients what they owe. When the pandemic began, Henry County Health Center’s revenue cycle department took a gamble to relieve the financial stress of care for patients. Executives for the 25-bed, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, critical access hospital, which serves a large…
Dan Heckathorne: Healthcare CFOs need a guiding philosophy and a mantra
What are the qualities that make a successful healthcare CFO? Is it leadership skills? Financial acumen? General management skills? Teaching and/or mentoring skills? A commitment to continued learning to maintain or acquire new skills? Answers vary. But for Dan Heckathorne, CFO of San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital (SGMH) in Banning, California, success in the CFO role…
2022 midterms aftermath: Gridlock or bipartisanship?
Studies conducted over the past several years have found the polarization is increasing in American society.a And not surprisingly, the 2022 midterm elections reflected the deep divisions. Two fiercely contested Senate seats in this past election are emblematic. Democrat John Fetterman won Pennsylvania’s hotly contested Senate race over Republican Mehmet Oz, MD, taking over the seat…
Hospitals require an integrated team approach to ensuring revenue integrity
Hospital and health system finance teams should not view payment audits and denials as being solely their concerns. Instead, these issues require an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Monument Health revamps its revenue cycle leadership structure for the benefit of patients and the organization
Looking to break through the cultural silos that can hamper operations at hospitals and health systems, Monument Health has engineered a new brand of clinical-finance collaboration. Headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota, the community-based health system established a dyad leadership structure in which a clinical leader has joint oversight of the revenue cycle. It’s a…
Creating a sustainable healthcare workforce demands innovative solutions
Five healthcare leaders share insight on how their forward-thinking healthcare organizations approach staffing challenges facing the industry.
News Briefs: Healthcare industry disrupter CVS Health to shell out billions to buy Oak Street Health
A month after stating it hoped to gain a presence in primary care, CVS Health accomplished that goal with a massive deal that could fortify its efforts to advance value-based payment in healthcare. The proposed $10.6 billion acquisition of Oak Street Health, a provider of senior-focused primary care, adds to a portfolio of assets that…
Brent Feickert joins Jefferson County Health Center as CFO
Jefferson County Health Center (JCHC) recently welcomed Brent Feickert, MBA, as its new CFO. In addition to providing fiscal leadership for Iowa’s oldest county hospital, Feickert will oversee several departments at JCHC, including the business office, main hospital registration, materials management and environmental services. A current member of HFMA’s Iowa Chapter, Feickert has more than…
Meet HFMA’s newest chapter: Empire New York
Here’s an HFMA riddle for you: When does 63 – 4 = 60? The answer: When four local chapters consolidate to form a single chapter. And that’s what happened recently when four existing chapters — Central New York, Hudson Valley New York, Northeastern New York and Western New York — joined to form the Empire…
Joe Fifer: Healthcare leaders require the courage to put consumers first
It takes courage to be among the first healthcare organizations to do something totally new. I had that in mind when I chose “courage in leadership” as my theme for my 2006-07 term as HFMA’s board chair. The need for courage is perhaps most readily apparent on the clinical side of healthcare because human lives…