Hospital rolls out three-year strategic plan

Sonoma Valley Hospital has released its three-year rolling strategic plan, a document designed to define strategic priorities for the near future and identify the tactics Hospital staff will use to achieve them.

“It’s a very important document that leads us to step back and look at the trends and challenges affecting our industry and hospital, identifying the steps we need to take to better serve District residents,” said CEO Kelly Mather.

This year, the Hospital identifies five strategic priorities:

1. Achieve the highest levels of health care safety, quality and value as measured by Patient Satisfaction and National Quality Benchmarks
2. Be the preferred hospital for patients, physicians, employers and health plans as measured by volumes and referrals
3. Implement new and enhanced revenue strategies as measured by increased direct margins in each service area
4. Continue to improve financial stability as measured by operating margin
5. Lead progress toward being a healthier as measured by community benefit and reduced readmissions.

“I feel we’ve done a good job in executing our strategies in prior years, but a lesson I’ve learned is that improvement is a process, not a destination,” Mather said. “The plan provides an evolving view of the Hospital’s role in serving the Sonoma Valley and doing so in a financially sustainable way.”

She noted that in the past couple of years the Hospital has focused on increasing access to physician specialists in Sonoma. It has added two new general surgeons, expanded cardiology care, and brought in specialists in pain management, nephrology, podiatry, OBGyn and Urology, while opening two timeshare offices in the community for physicians.

The plan was developed by a committee of board members, physicians and hospital leaders. “We’ve updated it annually since 2011 and it’s proven to be invaluable in helping us stay focused on our priorities and identifying ways to measure our progress,” Mather said.

Another area of emphasis has been achieving excellent quality, safety and patient satisfaction outcomes, she said, “We’re pleased that CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has awarded SVH 4 Stars which places us in the top 25 percent of hospitals in the nation for quality outcomes.”

A copy of the SVH 2018-2020 Strategic Plan can be found on the Hospital’s website at svh.com/strategic-planning.