Welcome to the first issue of the Experienced Resources’ quarterly newsletter.  The objective of this newsletter is to disseminate pertinent and practical information related to the health care industry, and it is our hope that you will find the information thought provoking and useful.

This newsletter is intended to be interactive, and we welcome your input.  If you have suggestions for topics or would like to submit an article, please feel free to send us your thoughts to info@FlexGenER.com.  The goal is to provide content from a wide variety of health care sources including Experienced Resources’ talent and clients.

Senator Tom Daschle speaks on Health Care Reform

By Damian Martin, co-founder Experienced Resources, LLC

It seems somewhat old news that General Motors, due to its legacy health care costs, spends more on steel than on health care.  However, did you know that Starbucks spends more on their health care costs than on their coffee? 

On March 12, 2008, the National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP) hosted Senator Tom Daschle at The University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis.  In his first presentation on the subject outside of Washington DC, the former senate majority leader discussed his newly published book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis.  (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2008)

Senator Daschle’s focus, as many before him, approaches health care as a triadic system – composed of cost, quality and access.  The current crisis finds us in crisis mode in each of these three components, individually and collectively.

“We confuse technology with outcomes”, stated Daschle.  A reminder that we do not have the best health care in the world despite the investment of 16% of our economy.  Millions of Americans go without health care due either to access or cost or despite a long-held belief that we have the best health care in the world, statistics on mortality and outcomes do not support this.

Senator Daschle, with 20+ years in Congress, stated that our legislature cannot resolve the current health care crisis.  His vision includes major reform and proposes a Federal Health Board, similar to the Federal Reserve Board, to make decisions and provide oversight to the national health care system.

In addressing the shortage of primary care physicians, Senator Daschle suggested that Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and Registered Nurses can and should play a more consequential role in the providing of primary care service by recognizing “we need them in primary care.”

“Big decisions come from two factors, crisis or leadership” was among Daschle’s closing remarks.  Daschle would clearly call himself and others to choose leadership over crisis to resolve the on-going health care crisis in America. 

MHA and MMGMA Summer Conferences

Mary Christensen to present:

Minnesota Hospital Association, “Governance Standards for Trustees”
July 11th – July 13th, Alexandria, Minnesota
General session topic: “Leadership Perspectives on Health Care 2008”
Break out session topic: “The Future of Health Care Employment”
http://www.mnhospitals.org/

Minnesota Medical Group Managers Association, “Leaders Lighting the Way”
July 30th – August 1st, Duluth, Minnesota
Break out session topic:  “The Four Pillars of Marketing: Effective Strategies for Growth”
http://www.mmgma.org/

Experienced Resources, LLC releases study on Perspectives of Twin Cities Health Care Leaders

During the fourth quarter of 2007, Mary Christensen President of Experienced Resources, LLC interviewed health care leaders working within the Twin Cities metro market.   This group included Practice Administrators, Human Resource Managers, Operations Consultants, Medical Directors, Business Development Vice Presidents and others.  Participation of leaders included those employed by small independent practices to the larger metro health care systems. 

Following a similar study in 2006, these health care leaders were asked to share their perspectives on any and all of the challenges they face including declining reimbursement, technology, mergers, strategic planning, physician recruitment and retention, marketing and quality. 

These interviews and the analysis of emerging trends are the focus of a recently released paper entitled Leadership Perspectives on Health Care 2008.  It is apparent that we are working harder than ever and our work grows more complex every year.  These interviews offer perspectives from successful leaders who are growing more nimble and preparing for the future.

Click here to access Leadership Perspectives on Health Care 2008 through our website.

Star Tribune features Experienced Resources, LLC

Dick Youngblood, columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, featured Experienced Resources, LLC and its founders, Mary Christensen and Damian Martin, in his February 8, 2008 weekly column on small businesses.  As a working retiree himself, Mr. Youngblood presented the concept of providing temporary work to FlexGeneration® executives as the intriguing and rewarding experience it is for our growing talent pool. In addition, he interviewed a recent client who was able to speak to the value of engaging a temporary executive during a time of significant corporate growth. 

Mary Christensen is quoted, “…part of our service also involves identifying a client’s needs and finding just the right match for those needs.”

Experienced Resources, LLC is growing exponentially and if you have not yet taken advantage of our highly experienced and professional executives, give us a call to schedule a free consultation to assess how we can partner in your success.

Click here to access the Star Tribune article on our website.