CHOC has launched our strategic planning process, “CHOC 2020.” As the name suggests, the product of this visioning effort will be a comprehensive road map to guide our organization through the next seven years — an era that will bring dramatic change for CHOC as well as our surrounding environment.
The Process
CHOC 2020 is being overseen by a steering committee comprised of leadership from CHOC and CHOC at Mission Hospital, our Board of Directors and medical staff. We also have engaged Navigant Consulting, Inc., one of the nation’s leading healthcare planning firms, to assist us. Initial efforts included a comprehensive review of market and internal data, along with significant input and insights from key stakeholders and constituency groups, including physicians, through interviews, focus group, and meetings.
At the MEC retreat in October, the agenda included a strategic planning session in which market forces were presented and physicians indicated their desired role in the strategic planning process. This was followed by a strategic planning retreat in November, which was attended by more than 40 organizational stakeholders, more than half of them physicians. On December 8th, 41 physicians participated in another retreat which included dialog among CHOC physicians and hospital leaders around our mission, vision and values, as well as an exploration of strategic imperatives.
Emerging Themes
One clear theme that emerged out of the December 8th discussion was the interdependency among CHOC, community pediatricians and subspecialists practicing at the hospital, and the importance of continuing to advance alignment, communication and partnership among these vital stakeholders to ensure clinical access and excellence for the children we serve. These ideas relate to “clinical integration,” a concept we will continue to examine as we move forward with the strategic planning process.
Another idea clearly expressed as a priority was the importance of promoting innovation at CHOC to set new standards of distinction in pediatric care and position the hospital as an indispensible provider in the marketplace. Many modes of innovation were explored during this discussion, including research, education, clinical advancement and new program development. We will be tasked with prioritizing these and other areas of focus in the coming months, and I am eager to gain an understanding of your perspectives regarding CHOC’s top strategic initiatives.
Next Steps
Work groups assigned to each strategic priority will begin to meet in January. The groups, each led by a physician and hospital representative, will define goals and begin to develop tactics, including resources, to meet those goals. This will be followed by a prioritization process.
As always, we value your ideas and feedback and encourage you to share them by emailing chocdocs@chocchildrens.org.
