Painting a New Picture

A Message from Michelle LeBeau, RN, BS, MHRM | President & COO

The basic rule to maintaining any budget, whether it’s your family budget or the ledger of an organization like ours, is that you need to have more money coming in than you have going out. When that balance is disrupted, changes must be made. To meet your household’s immediate needs and sustain the family going forward, you adjust by reducing spending and finding ways to increase your cash flow. The same actions are required at CVPH, today.

Despite our great work, our average loss per month before COVID was about $1 million.  It was clear then that our future depended on our commitment to think and work differently. The impact of the pandemic, despite federal and state support of approximately $30 million, have been immense. With all non-essential surgeries and procedures, cancelled for three months earlier this year, our already shaky budget was further eroded and through May, we recorded a $31.7 million loss in patient revenue.

This public health emergency has changed every aspect of our lives. It has also presented us with an opportunity to paint a new picture – a new future for our hospital. In the future I see, we’re providing the care our patients need at the right time and in the right place. It’s done with the great compassion and expertise for which our team is known. We’re working together to provide care that is patient and family-focused, efficient, cost effective and punctuated by a first class patient experience.

The work needed to create this future won’t always be easy or comfortable. It will require our entire team to share the load – and help each other. Our people shine in crisis and this is a crisis like no other. Our community is counting on us. Our patients are counting on us. And we are counting on each other. With a commitment to designing a new CVPH, we’ll get through this and we will be better for it. Even in the uncertainty of our COVID world, I am sure of that.

In order for us to secure our future and paint a new picture that is bright and vibrant, can’t continue to do what we have always done. That is why we have engaged in a redesign that will put us in a stronger position to face our challenges. This is about redesigning the way that we will deliver care to ensure that our care delivery model provides outstanding patient experience in a financially sound way. Our hope is that there will be a job for everyone who wants one, though what’s available may look different.

The thoughtful approach to this redesign and the commitment of our employees throughout this process are the reasons I believe that our future is bright.

I want to thank the community for their trust and support. We will share more information in the coming weeks and months as this work continues.