Medical Staff Update


	March 2003 Volume 27 • No. 3
	March 2003 Volume 27 • No. 3
					SHC reports positive earnings, successful turnaround effort Martha Marsh, president and CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics, announced that the hospital ended fiscal year 2002 with a net income of $12.5 million, reversing several years of losses. When Marsh became CEO in April 2002, the hospital had suffered two years of losses and was projecting a $10 million loss in 2002. Instead, the hospital finished the year with a positive net income. Marsh credited the financial turnaround to a strong new management team, outstanding efforts by physicians and staff, operational improvements and careful financial management. The turnaround is even more noteworthy, she said, given diminishing state and federal support for health care and increased state and federal requirements for efforts such as bioterrorism preparedness and new technology to protect patient privacy. "In the last year our physicians and staff have done an excellent job of refocusing our resources on quality care and service," Marsh said. "We are pleased to be able to put Stanford back on a strong financial footing so we can reinvest in new programs and services for patients and their families, new equipment and facility improvements." Stanford reported losses in 2000 and 2001 following efforts to merge and then separate again from the UC-San Francisco Medical Center. In 2002 Marsh's new management team at SHC was able to stop the financial losses through several major efforts. The hospital reduced supply costs 20 percent by working with doctors and nurses to identify the best supply vendors and then negotiate a limited number of supply contracts with those vendors to take advantage of volume discounts. The new management team also strengthened business systems and operations, resulting in improved productivity and cost-efficiency. "This is an exciting time at Stanford," Marsh said. She noted that construction of Stanford's new state-of-the-art cancer center is well under way and that the facility is expected to open in early 2004. Christopher Dawes, president and CEO of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, also announced a strong financial performance for fiscal year 2002. The hospital earned $38.6 million in fiscal year 2002, which ended on Aug. 31, compared with $9.7 million in the prior year. Approximately 40 percent of 2002's earnings were the result of several one-time items and increased philanthropy. Despite positive financial results for both hospitals, the health-care environment remains volatile, and the administrations of both institutions remain braced for continuing challenges. Like hospitals nationwide, both organizations continue to be adversely affected by reductions in federal reimbursement, especially for academic medical centers, and by labor shortages in skilled positions.

	PET/CT scanner offers improved cancer diagnosis, treatment SHC reports positive earnings, successful turnaround effort New medical staff Web site provides useful information School of Medicine retreat strengthens support, collaboration on strategic planning effort Principal-investigator status approved for MCL faculty members Lane Library hosts event celebrating National Doctors Day Activities planned for national Patient Safety Week New patient satisfaction survey will help improve service Surgeon and community health-care pioneer dies at 82