On Brian Bauer’s first day of work as Lutheran Hospital’s new CEO, he took the shuttle from one of the employee parking lots in the far back corner of the campus instead of parking in his designated—and closer—spot.
“Most people on the bus probably didn’t know who the man in the suit was, but I think they knew something was up,” Bauer recalls.
He casually chatted with others heading to their morning shift and later, amid what he calls “meeting central,” he took time to chat with nurses, physicians and dietary staff.
“I’m a relationship-based leader,” says the Butler University grad and lifelong Hoosier. Bauer came to Lutheran from Terre Haute Regional Hospital where he quickly advanced through the ranks, starting as manager of the hospital’s managed care division, then controller and chief financial officer before moving to the CEO position in early 2010. He also earned an MBA with a focus on health care from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Bauer’s résumé and thoughtful confidence defy his age: he’s only 30 years old.
“Am I going to have to prove myself to some because of my age? Probably,” he says, but moves on unconcerned. If being visible to his staff and patients is Bauer’s means of building confidence with the Lutheran team, he’s well on his way. On his first day as CEO he visited patients in four different hospital units asking them about their care, the food, the noise, how quickly their call lights were answered, etc.
“I always tell patients, ‘I have all the time in the world to listen,’” say Bauer.
Ensuring a Healing Environment
Economic concerns aside, Bauer outlines some critical issues facing hospitals today, the first being patient satisfaction.
“Patients expect hospitals to provide great scientific and evidenced-based care. It is now the expectation, however, that hospitals take care to the next level and provide an excellent healing environment where they truly feel like they are receiving compassionate care,” says Bauer. “I tell employees if we expect courtesy and respect 100 percent of the time when we’re at a restaurant, in a hotel or on vacation, then we better expect it from our hospitals.”
Apart from monetary issues, Bauer pinpoints key areas such as a shortage of providers and ensuring employee engagement and satisfaction as complications facing hospitals today. Difficulty in recruitment of physicians and nurses is thwarting access to care, with rural areas being hit especially hard, is also an issue many hospitals are dealing with.
“It would be great if everyone has some way to pay for health care,” says Bauer, “but they also must have access.”
His goal in the coming months is to work varying shifts in several hospital departments to build a culture of engagement by example, saying, “There is no task in a hospital below anyone. It is a total team effort.”
With today’s hospital environment one of ever-changing technology, sicker patients, electronic record-keeping and increasing federal and managed care mandates, “hospital employees continue to have more and more expectations placed on them, and it will be imperative to ensure they have the resources and support to stay engaged.”
The Economic Impact
While provider shortages and keeping patients and employees content and well cared for weigh on the mind of Bauer and hospital leaders across the country, the crucial economic conversations are unavoidable.
“It’s no secret that resources are somewhat capped out,” says Bauer. “Unlike many other industries, we will continue to be paid less and are expected to deliver more. Hospitals are going to have to look at ways to keep people out of the hospital.”
That will require hospitals to creatively partner with physicians, communities and patients to maintain wellness and promote personal responsibility. More on-site clinics in businesses and schools and better avenues for doctor-patient communication are possible remedies, he says.
But hospital beds will always be needed. With the elderly and populations with unhealthy lifestyles increasingly filling those beds, the challenge is to provide a higher quality of care more efficiently to more individuals.
It’s no longer only about what occurs inside the hospital, Bauer says, but what occurs outside and between hospital stays as well. For example, Medicare will soon cease to reimburse hospitals for re-admission of a patient within 30 days of a previous stay if re-admission is for the same condition. But what is the role of hospitals to ensure patients follow discharge instructions?
The complex health care delivery system can keep any hospital CEO’s head spinning. Bauer is grateful he can lean on the experience of Lutheran Health Network CEO Joe Dorko. Still, he says what keeps him most centered is the patients.
“The patient lying in the bed isn’t concerned about health care reform or the politics of health care.” The patient “simply wants to be taken care of and that needs to be our focus.”
Lutheran Hospital
Address: 7950 West Jefferson Boulevard
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46804
Phone: (260) 435-7001
CEO: Brian Bauer
Number of employees: 2, 771
Number of beds: 396
Website: www.LutheranHealth.net
Years in Business: 107
Products and Services: Lutheran Hospital offers the region’s only Transplant Center featuring certified heart and kidney transplant programs. Accredited Chest Pain Center, Accredited Heart Failure Institute, Primary Stroke Center, Lung Center, 27 specialty clinics through Lutheran Children’s Hospital, Verified Level II Adult and Pediatric Trauma Centers including Lutheran Air critical air response team, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cancer Resource Center, Sleep Disorders Center, Weight Management Center, LHN Bariatric Center, Childbirth Suites, Tobacco Intervention Program, diabetes education, intensive care for pediatrics and adults. Ancillary services include: Diagnostic services, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, anesthesiology and rehabilitation, nutrition, respiratory and physical therapy.
