National Rural Hospital CEO Turnover Study
CEOs in Rural America Are Changing Positions Too Often. Three Organizations Are Collaborating to Study This Issue -- And Find Solutions.
Three organizations – Yaffe & Company, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) -- are collaborating on a national study which will seek the opinions of rural healthcare leaders to address a chronic problem: many CEOs of rural/critical access hospitals are leaving their positions at a high rate. With rural CEO turnover rates exceeding 20 percent in many states, an adverse ripple effect is flowing into the surrounding communities.
The National Rural Hospital CEO Turnover Study, which searches for underlying causes of this problem, will launch on May 31, 2018. It calls for current and prior CEOs and current Board Chairs of rural/critical access hospitals to take a 7-minute survey and share their opinions on why such high turnover rates exist. Results of the survey will be presented at the National Rural Health Association (NRHA)’s Critical Access Hospital Conference held on September 27th -29th, in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Leadership is the single highest predictor of rural hospital success, and today’s CEOs in many of these communities are leaving their positions too often,” said Alan Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of NRHA. “With CEO turnover rates exceeding twenty percent in many communities, this means that one in five CEOs are leaving their positions regularly. And when CEOs leave, a ripple effect occurs: other key staff members may leave, financial performance can erode, and community partnerships may change.”
Morgan added that, along with other pressures inherent in today’s changing healthcare environment, these same hospitals can even be at further risk of closing down.
“Since our company is comprised of former CEOs, we aim to discover the underlying causes of this issue, and then find solutions,” said Alexander Yaffe, President and CEO of Yaffe & Company, a national consulting firm in the healthcare industry. “It is likely that certain practical solutions, such as board education, agreement on mission and vision, and an emphasis on leadership succession planning will make a difference.”
Laura Morlock, Ph.D., Executive Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, commented, “Because we are training future healthcare leaders, and because of our institution’s emphasis on research, we are pleased to collaborate on this important study.”
Starting on May 31st, 2018, the survey will be disseminated to current and prior CEOs and Board Chairs of hospitals in rural communities across the United States, many of whom are NRHA members. It is open to anyone who holds one of these positions in a rural/critical access hospital.
Rural healthcare leaders are urged to find out more about the National Rural Hospital CEO Turnover Study, and access the survey, by visiting: www.ruralceoturnover.com.
Facts about the National Rural Hospital CEO Turnover Study:
- Three organizations are collaborating to conduct this study:
o Yaffe & Company at www.yaffeco.com
o The National Rural Healthcare Association (NRHA) at www.ruralhealthweb.org
o Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at www.jhsph.edu.
- This study is being sponsored by:
o MDR™ at www.mdresources.net.
o Wiederhold & Associates at www.wiederholdassoc.com
o Cejka Executive Search at www.cejkaexecutivesearch.com;
o The Warner Companies at www.lwarner.com
- This study seeks the opinions of current and prior CEOs and Board Chairs of Rural/Critical Access hospitals. The survey takes about seven minutes to complete. It can be accessed at www.ruralceoturnover.com.
- The survey will launch by May 31, 2018.
- Initial results of the survey will be shared at the NRHA Critical Access Hospital Conference on September 27 - 29, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri.
MDR™ - 559.447.4488, info@MDResources.net