Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care – Case Solution

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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care Case Answers

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BID) was created in 1996 by merging two hospitals named Deaconess Hospital and the Beth Israel Hospital. The merger was done in order to better compete in the medical market space.

Soon after the merger took place, BID started to face a financial meltdown because of various issues that included the extradition of the Deaconess staff because of the new management style (casual) that encouraged professional autonomy, the problem with quality and safety of care, low staff morale, and poor relationships between management and clinical staff.

Following the financial meltdown, Paul Levy was appointed as CEO of the BID. He soon implemented a two-theme strategy that focused on transparency and commitment to quality.

The changes in the organizational structure and behavior were brought out in three phases by Paul Levy.

Change is an inevitable process in the life of an organization. When you read the case, you will definitely realize that Paul Levy is a focused and effective leader.

I personally like his approach to management. His level of effectiveness can be seen from the results of the change process. It is basically evident that the key to the success of Paul Levy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center comes from the fact that he understood the value of making sure that the cultural soil has been properly prepared for the change.

As a result, the response of the employees to the change was receptive. This is because the employees not only understood the need for the change but were also committed to ensuring that change happens, and they devotedly executed the required steps.

Like several CEOs hired to fix a difficult situation, the first task of Levy was to acquire a mandate for the changes required. Levy was able to set the stage with the hospital staff.

He was convinced that the employees, hungry for change, would do their best to cooperate with him if he could follow and embody the core values of the hospital culture instead of imposing his personal values.

He opted to act as a managerial equivalent of a good doctor, like one who is handling a very ill patient, sends both the bad news and the possibility of success in an honest way, and sends a realistic sense of hope without sugar-coating anything.

Like any leader faced with the need for change, Levy clearly knew that he had to create a bold message to provide compelling reasons for doing things differently. He informed the employees and every stakeholder of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on the need for the change.

To give his message some strength, he linked it to an imminent threat. Taking his signs from the private conversation he had with the state attorney general, whom he persuaded to ensure that the hospital remains open for some time, Levy opted to…