by Christopher Cornue

As part of an ongoing series reviewing my first 100 days as a CEO, I spent the first 45 to 60 days assessing the current culture, operations, strategy and environment at my new hospital. My initial (and lasting) assessment: I'm working for a wonderful group of individuals--the employees, physicians, board, community, etc.--everyone has been so welcoming and positive!

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But, as with most institutions, we have room for improvement and the path for the future is exciting. Folks with whom I spoke are excited about the future and our direction going forward. Throughout these interactions, I have developed a strong sense of what the direction and focus should be for the next 18 to 24 months.

All of this feedback from these early days became the foundation of our Strategic Planning Session, which was held in very early December. This is where we identified the organization's focus for our efforts in 2009. During this summit, I formally introduced my vision for the areas of focus--quality, fiscal accountability, satisfaction (for the patient, employee and physician) and growth/outreach. These "foundations of excellence" would drive, support and interweave through all of our actions in the coming months. Additionally, they would provide a solid foundation for a structured and formal service line approach, which hadn't been in place at this hospital before.

My strong belief is that this focus will allow us to build upon past successes, and position us for greater success in a very competitive market. The retreat went well, but its success was not without a number of competing issues, challenges, and unexpected bumps that began to crop up well before the retreat. It was during the latter part of my first 100 days that I recognized some of these unexpected issues that have refocused many of my efforts.

More to follow in my next posting.