by Nick Jacobs

Each and every day hospital CEO's are faced with the reality of the sometimes overwhelming responsibility of ensuring that life is carefully delivered, maintained and, eventually transitioned. We are ultimately responsible for the appropriate allocation of funds for addressing all of these life transition situations.

Each day we face the challenges of probability and statistics as we attempt to deal with whatever the odds parse out. Some days the chiller stops and the house heats up. Some days we have a crush of sick people who all hit the emergency room at the same time, and each time we think the day is running smoothly, a major piece of equipment breaks or one of our twenty plus regulatory agencies shows up with a check list. It's all part of the day.

When you think about running a $50M, $100 M or $1B business with 500, 1000 or 30,000 employees, consider that each one of them typically represents a family of four. Consider the fact that each and every one of those family members in some way, shape or form also come under the umbrella of your responsibility.

If that isn't enough for you to consider, then look into the eyes of a family member who's loved one died because of something that one of your physicians or employees might have either done or forgotten to do.

Bottom line, if you're thinking about trying to make it to the Big Show, just remember that you've gotta pay to play.