Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Strengthening Financial Performance and Strategy in Rural Healthcare with Todd Roberts

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Strengthening Financial Performance and Strategy in Rural Healthcare with Todd Roberts · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:00
  This is Madeline with the Becker CFO and
• 0:01
  Revenue Cycle podcast, and I'm thrilled to be
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  joined today by Todd Roberts, CFO of Cheshire
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  Medical Center, a member of Dartmouth Health. Todd,
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  thanks for joining me. Thank you for having
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  me. So, Todd, I'm so excited to chat
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  with you today. But before we begin, can
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  you share a little bit about yourself with
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  our listeners and more about Cheshire Medical Center?
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  Sure.
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  So I have been in health care for
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  a little over twelve years now.
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  And I was at a a Alispect A
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  Memorial Hospital for just over eleven years.
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  And Alispect A Memorial Hospital is another, Dartmouth
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  Health System member, and I recently joined, Cheshire
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  back in April. So, a little less than
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  a year, in my current position as a
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  chief financial officer.
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  Chief Financial Officer. Is, located in, King, New
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  Hampshire and, has a a a pretty extensive
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  history, within the community here.
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  Wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing that, Todd.
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  So let's dive right in. You've been in
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  the industry for a while now as you
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  mentioned at the beginning of the podcast. So
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  what are some, from the financial seat, strategic
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  priorities that are taking up the most of
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  your attention right now?
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  Yeah. So,
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  we recently went through a strategic partnership with
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  with the health system around our three forty
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  b program.
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  And this was a a a project that
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  was implemented in a really short period of
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  time. Took a lot of coordination and efforts,
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  from system members as well as the the
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  folks from, Chester Medical Center. There was a
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  financial tail on this project,
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  and we're continuing to to work through that,
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  from a transactional reporting perspective.
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  We knew that we would face some challenges,
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  but did not anticipate it to take as
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  long as it has.
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  This issue that we're we're struggling with has
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  made data and reporting very challenging and with
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  such a reliance on our accurately
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  accurate and timely data,
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  it's taken a lot of my team's attention.
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  And one of the other strategic priorities that's,
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  taken a lot of my attention is strengthening
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  obviously, strengthening our financial performance.
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  Being in a rural region,
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  with an aging demographic, extremely important for us
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  to, look for opportunities and efficiencies,
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  across the organization.
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  We recently kicked off an ops excellence committee,
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  which is identifying some areas that, across multiple
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  disciplines that will help our overall financial performance,
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  you know, and includes efficiencies as well as
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  that potential areas for growth.
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  It's extremely focused work group, and, you know,
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  I'm really excited to be a part of
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  it, because it gets me involved with our
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  frontline operations
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  as well as working across multiple areas, within
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  the organization.
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  And, you know, one critical,
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  component that, when we
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  start discussing strategic priorities is the importance of
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  being being a part of the health system.
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  We don't wanna get, out of line or
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  or off on our own when when looking
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  at these priorities and and keeping the system
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  members involved is critical.
• 2:49
  Yeah. And I I kinda wanna circle back
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  real quick. So at the beginning of this,
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  you mentioned one of the priorities is, you
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  know, obviously, some of the challenges you're facing
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  with the three forty b program. Could you
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  dive a little deeper into some of those
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  challenges there and and some solutions that have
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  maybe been working for you from this perspective?
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  Yeah. We,
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  we're very
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  for the past couple of years, we've been
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  very close to, losing our our three forty
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  b designation. So,
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  you know, really thinking strategically in how we
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  can,
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  help ourselves down the road,
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  and and not have to worry about that.
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  Took a lot of, efforts and
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  coordination with the system and coming up with
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  some real
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  interesting ideas and and
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  implementing those ideas is is what's,
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  been very challenging.
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  This kinda segues into my next question for
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  you. So, obviously, when we think about, like,
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  teamwork, communication,
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  what would you say your approach is to
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  building financial resilience especially when there's so many
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  unknowns and there can be so much volatility
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  in in the industry?
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  Yeah. So, you know, as as as I've
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  mentioned, being part of Dartmouth Health, you know,
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  I rely on our internal experts when and
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  where. You know, being a larger health system,
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  it is, we've got specific expertise across the
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  organization,
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  but not one person that knows
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  or is an expert in in every area.
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  So any, you know, potential changes, regulatory changes,
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  we need to be obviously focused on this
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  at all times
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  And partnering with our specialists,
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  across the system,
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  is is critical.
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  You know, without knowing what we might be
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  facing, we'd be behind before, anything was ever
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  implemented. So
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  utilizing the the appropriate resources obviously helps us
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  get ahead and, you know, be strategic on
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  this.
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  And, you know, as a finance leader, I
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  love to ask CFOs this question because it
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  does seem like, you know, the traditional CFO
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  role of, you know, numbers crunching behind the
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  desk has changed.
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  So how are you working to partner differently
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  with clinical and operational colleagues to drive sustainable
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  performance?
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  Yeah. So,
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  for me, being somewhat still new to the
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  organization, you know, less than a year, it's
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  it's building relationship.
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  You know, being able to get to know
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  current operations and the way things are being
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  done is is really important to me as
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  opposed to just coming in and and assuming
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  that I know. Each organization is different. And,
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  you know, I think as a CFO showing
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  interest in how things are currently being done,
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  helps to build relationships.
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  I think it's much easier working together and
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  making changes as opposed to, you know, just
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  coming in and and demanding changes.
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  Yeah. Those partnerships are so critical.
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  And, you know, again, to segue, what would
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  you say some major decisions today what are
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  some of the major decisions that would require
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  CFOs to even think beyond that traditional financial
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  management perspective and act maybe even as like
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  a enterprise strategist?
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  Yeah. I I think it's, have an important
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  relationship with with our CEO,
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  you know, and and being open,
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  being engaged. And, you know, as you said,
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  it's not just,
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  as a CFO, just about crunching numbers anymore.
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  It's being strategic
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  and really buying into, the, you know, the
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  overall mission and and vision of of the
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  organization, which, you know, we just went through
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  a refresh on that with our board of
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  trustees approving it. And, you know, it it
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  it really aligns with,
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  you know, what I, I have looked for,
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  in in a career. And, you know, I'm
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  excited to
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  partner with with our executive team as well
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  as our board to to make sure that
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  we see that through.
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  Looking to the future now, maybe even three
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  to five years out, what would you say
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  are some capabilities
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  that will separate
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  thriving organizations
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  from maybe some of those that will continue
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  to struggle?
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  Yeah. We, we recently saw some real eye
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  opening data, regarding our clinical care staffing, the
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  expected shortfall in the future,
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  specifically around the physicians and nurses. I mean,
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  we're already seeing this, but, you know, the
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  the the further outlook doesn't doesn't look like
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  it's getting any better. So being in a
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  rural community, it's it's already challenging to recruit
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  for our area. Yeah. But being able to
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  partner or think strategically around housing or other
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  other factors to
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  help us recruit young talented staff is is
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  gonna be key for us to to continue
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  to strive and, you know, kind of separate
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  ourselves.
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  The other critical component is, you know, we're
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  we're dealing with a multi generational workforce,
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  you know, when there's another generation that, supposed
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  to be joining us shortly.
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  So being able to adapt to those generational
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  differences and offer, you know, something that each
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  of those generations is looking for will will
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  also be key to closing that, you know,
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  staffing gaps as well as being able to
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  continue to strive.
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  Yeah. Todd, you know, as you mentioned, you've
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  been in your role here for around a
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  year. So anything that you're looking forward to?
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  Anything exciting down the pipeline for 2026?
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  I think, you know, as I I mentioned,
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  you know, health care always has its challenges,
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  and it seems like, you know, every day
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  we come to the office, something new pops
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  up. So,
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  you know, I I think that's exciting. I
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  like,
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  we like challenges.
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  And, you know, within health care, I think
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  that, there's there's gonna be plenty of those,
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  moving forward. So,
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  you know, I I I look to the
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  next day and kind of, wondering what I'm
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  gonna get into. And, you know, for 2026,
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  you know, we're making some changes,
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  from a payer perspective,
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  you know, making the, making making some shifts
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  to incentive based models as well as value
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  based care models from a reimbursement perspective. And,
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  you know, I think that brings an opportunity
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  for us to,
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  really partner within the organization and and and
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  try to get ahead of things.
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  Wonderful. Well, Todd, it has been such a
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  pleasure getting to connect with you and hear
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  about, you know, everything that's on your mind
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  right now. Again, such a interesting time we
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  live in and especially with health care. So
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  appreciate your sharing your thoughts and insights and
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  excited to connect again down the line. Sounds
• 8:57
  good. Thank you so much for having me.
• 8:59
  Thank you.