Strategic Planning and Business Development for a large health network

The Problem

Formed in 1994, Citrus Valley Health Partners (CVHP) is a network of three hospitals, a home health agency, hospice care and an ambulatory surgery center that serves nearly one million residents in the East San Gabriel Valley. In 2010, CVHP was facing challenges common to community hospitals across the country, including declining payer mix, an aging medical staff, and competition from other hospitals and physician groups. As an organization committed to delivering quality health care to its large service area, CVHP wanted to partner with its physicians to redefine its vision and overall strategic direction to adapt to the rapidly changing health care landscape and ensure long-term financial sustainability.

The Solution

To strengthen organizational infrastructure and improve performance, CVHP engaged COPE Health Solutions to provide strategic planning and business development expertise. This engagement led to the development of a system-wide multi-year strategy. In addition to providing project management throughout the entire engagement, COPE Health Solutions focused on the following areas for improvement: clinical programs and service lines, physician alignment, facility and capital planning, government relations and advocacy, and research and teaching opportunities. Further, our team identified and pursued strategic partners for growth and built relationships with key stakeholders – particularly physician and medical staff leadership and IPAs.

Working closely with CVHP leadership, COPE Health Solutions helped establish the Transformation Partnership Task Force, which was a joint physician-hospital led team organized around the development of the 10-year vision and multi-year strategic plan that incorporated eight pillars for strategic objectives focused on clinical outcomes, customer experience, physician alignment, economic drivers, community health, business mix, partnerships, and demographics.

Notably, our team facilitated the successful alignment of physicians with CVHP through the proactive engagement of physicians and key CVHP leaders in joint strategic planning, and explored potential opportunities for joint ventures and coordinated care activities.

Results

• Established a “Transformation Partnership Task Force” comprised of CVHP and its physician partners to engage and educate stakeholders, conduct community assessments, evaluate best practices, and develop and implement action plans
• Completed market and competitive analyses
• Assessed current organizational performance of CVHP using SWOT analysis
• Developed a 10-year vision and outlined a visual roadmap for achieving vision
• Established work groups to implement objectives