Dr. Kevin Barnett, center, led a recent Alignment of Governance and Leadership in Healthcare session in Las Vegas. The program is offered across the HASC region March through October.
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HASC’s Communities Lifting Communities initiative, aimed at improving community health and reducing health disparities, invites leaders to a no-cost training focused on population health. The program is led by Kevin Barnett, DrPH, of the Public Health Institute.

Alignment of Governance and Leadership in Healthcare: Building Momentum for Transformation sessions take place in Southern California through this autumn. See below for dates, session locations and registration link.

Presented by the Public Health Institute, dozens of health care leaders from across the country have attended the half-day session. Its title, however, can pose a few questions.

CLC’s Susan Harrington and Karen Ochoa invited Barnett to share details. The resulting interview follows.

What challenges do health care leaders face as we build momentum for the transformation of health care?

Health leaders are faced with a spectrum of challenges, ranging from the redesign of care and workforce capacity building to data systems development and “rightsizing” of facilities. As they assume financial risk to keep people healthy and out of acute care facilities, they are challenged to engage a diverse array of external stakeholders with whom they may have limited historical experience to address issues with which they have limited expertise. It is not a scenario for the faint of heart.

Why is it important for hospital leadership and board members to engage and increase their understanding of population health concepts and strategies?

Given the scope of immediate challenges, leaders may find it difficult to carve out time for relationship building with external stakeholders and the design of comprehensive strategies to address both the symptoms and drivers of poor health. A commitment to quality in this arena requires moving beyond a project mentality to a systems approach that informs and is integrated with the historical focus on acute care delivery.

A growing number of senior leaders recognize this practical reality but are often constrained by a leadership team which lacks the expertise and bandwidth to operationalize such strategies. Building understanding and support for a more comprehensive approach takes time, adjustments of accountabilities and incentives, and often changes in personnel.

What will participants take away from the training?

Participant teams can expect to walk away with new knowledge and insights about potential strategies to build on efforts to date that are tailored to their needs and current capacity. In addition to the identification of specific next steps, individual and/or groups of teams have an opportunity to benefit from follow up technical assistance and support to assist in the achievement of both institutional systems changes and community level outcomes.

Sessions are set for March 11 (Orange County), June 7 (Inland Region), Aug. 7 (Ventura and Santa Barbara), Aug. 14 (Los Angeles County), and Oct. 30 (Los Angeles County). To register for the program, please click here.

The program is funded by grants from The California Endowment and Blue Shield of California Foundation.

Contact:
Karen Ochoa
(213) 538-0765
kochoa@hasc.org