Resource Library

Responsibilities and expectations for board chairs are identified and defined.

The board has three legal duties: a duty of obedience to the charitable purpose of the organization, a duty of loyalty, to act based on best interests of the organization, and a duty of care. The role of the board is to govern, not manage, the organization.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees, in 2015, created a task force to address these challenges and examine ways in which hospitals can help ensure access to health care services in vulnerable communities. The task force considered a number of integrated, comprehensive strategies to reform health care delivery and payment. Their report sets forth a menu of options from which communities may select based on their unique needs, support structures and preferences.

This report discusses the complex challenges involved in community health improvement and makes the case for why health systems should take a substantial role in the multi-sector collaboration needed to achieve significant impact.

Lessons Learned from Foster G. McGaw Prize Recipients Community Partnership Profiles - Advances in Health Care Governance Series

Hospitals’ and health systems’ accountability and commitment to their communities are not only for the care provided within the organizations’ walls, but also for improving the overall health of the communities they serve. Many are acting on that commitment by striving to achieve the goals of the Triple Aim.

To clarify the difference between the board’s policy making responsibilities and management’s operational responsibilities.

To expedite the conduct of routine business during board meetings in order to allocate more meeting time to education and discussion of substantive issues.

Board policies do various things. Some describe how important processes, such as board self evaluation and CEO evaluation, are carried out. Other policies address standards of conduct such as a conflict of interest policy. Still others clarify delegations of authority such as the levels of authority granted to subsidiary boards, board committees and the CEO.

CEOs need to target and develop physicians to play leading roles in health care transformation. Perhaps the greatest challenge health care organizations face over the next decade is physician engagement. As integration and value-driven care continue to advance, physician leaders will be increasingly called upon to meet the demands of a changing landscape.

See the attached sample strategic planning policy.

This checklist poses questions about whether your board is following recommended practices for strategic planning.

As health care transforms, boards are tying executive compensation to long-term performance.

Boards and CEOs must constructively address the succession imperative. Succession planning for the CEO and other senior leadership positions is critical to organizational continuity and stability, especially in a transforming healthcare field.

Boards can play a key role in guiding, supporting young health system leaders.

A decade ago, BoardSource, an organization supporting nonprofit boards, developed a well known list of aspirational principles of governance. For us they still ring true: “mission driven,” “ethos of transparency,” “compliance with integrity.”

Expert guidance to help leaders set priorities, make the right decisions and improve results...

The American Hospital Association’s report, Hospitals and Care System of the Future, describes a series of “must do” strategies and future core competencies hospitals will need as they transform themselves from first curve to second curve delivery systems, driven by a shift from volume-driven to value-driven payment systems.

Regular board self-evaluation is integral to effective governance. Use the questions in the attachment to assess whether your board is getting maximum mileage from its self-evaluation process.

CEO goal-setting and evaluation is a fundamental responsibility of a governing board. These questions are designed to help boards assess their CEO evaluation process and determine if any improvements are necessary.