Keeping in Touch

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Hi! This week I thought I’d talk about round tables. No, I’m not venturing into interior design.

But rather I’ve been using this format as a way to come together to get to know new people, share ideas and develop solutions.

On December 30th, we convened a group of 30 central Ohio leaders to have a roundtable discussion about health care reform. I want to thank Jennifer Carlson from our Government Relations team for coordinating our meeting and Pete Geier, Elizabeth Seely, and Drs. Mike Caligiuri and Chip Souba for participating.

Held at University Hospital East, this discussion was part of a nationwide effort that President –Elect Obama and Senator Tom Daschle have initiated. They asked for input from communities all over the country during the time period Dec. 15th through Dec. 31st to answer the important question, how can we transform health care in this country.

Our roundtable consisted of leaders from each of the health care systems in Columbus, representatives from local and state government as well as leaders who represent insurance companies, physicians, businesses and patients. I have to say the conversation was energizing. We all agreed that to succeed we must continue to work together. We agreed on what is broken in health care, and we even ended up with nine recommendations to send to President Elect Obama’s team. Some of these included making affordable, quality health care available to all of our citizens, emphasizing prevention and wellness, the importance of a “medical home,” a centralized “home” to coordinate an individual’s health care over time, the importance of an electronical medical record, involving our community and its resources to enhance health and health care, and making pediatric and prenatal care a priority.

This was the first in a series of roundtables that I am hopeful will result in real health care reform here in Columbus in our state and even in the country.

I’ve also been conducting roundtable discussions with faculty and staff in our organization. So far I’ve met with a group representing our shared service areas, one representing nurse managers and another representing our physicians. Many more are scheduled.

Each participant is nominated by his or her manager as an influential and contributing member of our organization. We talk about the strengths of the Medical Center as well as what they would do if they were me – what would they concentrate on improving. I then follow up on their recommendations and I generate a list to work with our senior leaders to implement. I’ve enjoyed getting to know more of you this way and I look forward to many more of the discussions in the future.

Next time you have a problem that seems insurmountable, why don’t you try inviting folks from varied backgrounds to engage in a roundtable discussion. You might be surprised by what you are able to accomplish together.

Well, have a great week.