A message from COO Jeffery “JR” Robert
Dear Swedish,
Today, I want to share information with you regarding important work we will do together in 2018 – and in the years ahead – to ensure that Swedish continues our legacy of innovating care delivery and leading change in a rapidly evolving healthcare industry. Our new 5-year Strategic Plan and daily focus on achieving our 5 Bests provide important direction and focus for us as an integrated Swedish system.
True to our 107-year-old Mission, we know that our patients and communities deserve the highest quality care that is provided in the most effective way. They also rightfully expect that we deliver outstanding care that is affordable.
Some of you may have heard me talk about the ways that businesses like Amazon and others have dramatically changed expectations in our world today. For example, the traditional bookstore has now become easily accessible by all digitally, and made the ability to get what we want and need at our fingertips. While healthcare may be different and unique in many ways, Swedish has an opportunity to lead as we study the way we deliver the best quality in the most efficient manner. This includes both in our acute care hospitals and our diverse ambulatory care network.
In the coming weeks, we will have teams forming to look at ways we can evaluate our current state, and focus on areas of opportunity for improved operational and financial performance. This work and the initiatives we undertake will be part of a continuous commitment to strengthen Swedish. While certain teams will be charged with improving specific areas, I want to invite all of our caregivers to think about ways you feel we can improve the way we do our work, and in more cost-effective ways. Our caregivers are closest to the care and service we provide every day, and your ideas are always welcome.
Already, we have some great work underway to evaluate our current processes with the intent to better serve our patients. One of these is the work by our clinical teams in partnership with Eddie Swafford to look at best clinical practices that also reduce the cost to our patients and to Swedish. Another example is efforts of a multidisciplinary team formed that is looking at ways to improve throughput across our system. This initiative will help address Emergency Department patient flow, more timely transfer of patient between departments, and efficient discharge of patients to another facility or home. Both of these efforts will improve information sharing, create transparency and ultimately make experience better for our patients, and our caregivers.
I will share more details about additional projects as they are developed and keep you informed of our progress. I know that with the talent and dedication of Swedish caregivers across our system, we can work together to ensure that Swedish is strong and focused on making and sustaining solid improvements. As a trusted community asset, and not-for-profit organization, these efforts are core to who we are, and will help us fulfill our promise to care for all those we serve.
Sincerely,
JR
Jeffery Robert, MHA
Chief Operating Officer
Swedish Health Services