Editor's Notes

Retiring Or Recharging?

Now we know what's in the reform legislation, but maybe not what it means to us personally.

So let's talk about retirement; specifically, your retirement. Not to be too forward, but could it be that the much ballyhooed winds of change are starting to stir in the vaunted halls of the C-suite? Many top execs may be veritable young pups, but most top dogs have worn out many a blue suit by now.

A generation of health care leaders is bumping up against the big retirement benchmark. The American College of Healthcare Executives recently reported that CEO turnover in 2009 jumped to 18 percent nationwide, up from 14 percent in 2008. This is the highest turnover rate since 1999 and only the fourth time the turnover rate has reached this level since tracking began in 1981. Since 2001, turnover rates have hung around 14 or 15 percent, with one jump to 16 percent in 2004.

Tom Dolan, president and CEO of ACHE, says there are "many factors" in play, but he believes that "the primary driver for this increase in CEO turnover is the retirement of health care leaders in the baby boomer generation." Yes, indeed, many factors are in play. The lingering economic crunch of the last two years is by itself enough to make any health care leader wonder if they are still having fun. And then there is the big issue of the decade (yes, the decade): health care reform.

In October 2009, Yaffee & Company conducted a survey of 237 CEOs to explore retirement trends. Of the CEOs planning to retire in next five years, 28 percent considered accelerating their retirement due to uncertainties caused by the recession, increased financial pressures, or the extent of changes likely to result from health care reform legislation. While not an overwhelming number, I'm willing to bet that the thought of what reform legislation might bring has caused many of you to look in the mirror and ponder your personal future. After all, it might be a job that you no longer recognize or want.

Reform will naturally generate a re-evaluation of skill sets and talent mixes throughout the C-suite. Care coordination, true clinical integration and managing population health will all leap up in importance. We are still working hard on such complex, but increasingly considered basic and fundamental skills as quality, patient safety and efficiency. And it will all be played out in the age of transparency.

Of course, boards of trustees have an equally difficult row to hoe just in terms of basic understanding of the new landscape. And the art and science of strategic evaluation is going to soar to new heights.

For those execs who feel that they've made their contribution, that's just perfectly fine. Hey, I'm in publishing. I know full well what if feels like to lose your sea legs.

Many others will feel that they've been handed a moment in history and are determined and laser-focused on forging something new and something better. For many, reform may be the professional chance of a lifetime.

This article 1st appeared in the June 2010 issue of HHN Magazine.

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