Productivity Efforts and Service Line Development Sustain Margin Improvement.

Summary: How can healthcare organizations best attain sound financial results and, in turn, sustain market growth? Leaders at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, part of Dignity Health Arizona, realized that they could not cut their way to success. They needed a plan for strategic growth that fit their corporate mission and expanded their market. They moved forward with a proven productivity process that would engage stakeholders at all levels of the organization. Supported by commitments to the necessary financial investment and the patience to see the plans through, their efforts have paid off with substantial improvements in margin. Similar financial growth success stories are playing out in other markets, including Froedtert Health in Wisconsin and Avera Health in South Dakota.