Mike Maples

Mike Maples, CEO

In the coming months you will see the impact of our engagement with the Studer Group.  At first it might feel like a lot of new stuff.  For the most part, it’s not.  We didn’t select the Studer Group because we wanted a bunch of new and shiny projects.  There are enough of those in health care already.  We have identified goals that we want and need to achieve, but where progress has been slow, or results aren’t what we hoped for, or we’re just plain stuck.  We chose the Studer Group because they showed us the tools that can help us to move forward.  They have proven their value in many organizations like ours, and we are confident that we can achieve similar results.

Here are some examples of objectives that we’re working on, and how Studer Group can help us do it better:

  • Culture: You’re all aware that we have made a dedicated effort in recent years to achieve HEAT.  We have seen some remarkable successes with the steps that have been implemented, but we have stalled out.  Studer Group brings a number of tools that, with the help of our coaches, we will be working to implement over time, such as:  Rounding for Outcomes; recruitment and retention practices that safeguard culture; and clear communication of standards of behavior.
  • Paying for merit: You told us years ago that this was important to you, and we’ve been working on it…hard…for a long time, and we still have a long ways to go.  Studer Group will help us to clearly communicate organizational goals, and to cascade those throughout the organizational chart to align assessment and incentives, for leadership and staff, around appropriate metrics.
  • Patient Experience: Much effort has gone into customer experience and satisfaction in recent years.  We even borrowed a trademarked Studer tool (AIDET) in our efforts.  Studer Group will help us to put AIDET on steroids, and expand other forms of communication and service for patients.

If there is anything that is truly “new” that Studer Group will bring, it is the Leadership Development Institute (LDI).  Training for managers and supervisors has increased recently, but with the LDI, it takes a quantum leap.  Beginning right after the first of the year, we will have the first of many quarterly LDIs.  At each LDI, every leader in the organization, from the CEO to our clinic and service Leads, will come together to learn the same skills and knowledge at the same time.  The curriculum is informed by the in depth assessment that SG has performed on us.  Think of it as “treatment” for the “diagnosis”.  For CHCW, that will be between 40 & 50 leaders at each session.  It’s a big commitment.  It’s worth it if we can help all of us find meaning in our work, and make CHCW a great place to have a career and to receive care.

Mike Maples, MD

CEO