When it comes to change management, there are numerous theories on how to execute it. Many of those, however, fall flat for one main reason: the disconnect that inevitably exists between the those implementing the change and those being asked to absorb it. It’s a gap that can only be bridged, according to Jason Joseph, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Corewell Health, through shared accountability.

In order to make that happen, “You have to be willing, you have to have the right cultural foundation, and you have to have people engaged.” In a recent interview with Kate Gamble, Managing Editor at healthsystemCIO, Joseph spoke about how he is working to build that culture at Corewell, which was born out of the merger of Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health.

He also discussed why he believes technology is only a small part of the equation when it comes to initiatives like ERP, Corewell’s decision to rebrand IT and IS as ‘digital services,’ his concerns about the long-term impact of remote work models, and the advice he would offer to his younger self.

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Key Takeaways

* The objective of the merger that created Corewell Health wasn’t just about expanding coverage, but also “providing more value for customers” throughout the region.

* The key to success with any merger? “Be very clear about your goals and your strategy.” In Corewell’s case, it was to “unify our systems, unity our operations, and become a standardized organization.”

* On driving change: “It’s daunting sometimes to think of the amount of work and the amount of change that we needed to go through as an organization to get there. But it’s the right type of change. It’s change that’s moving us forward.”

* Another critical aspect of change management is accountability, which can’t fall solely on project management. “The people closest to the work know the impact, and you need to make sure that those voices are there.”

Q&A with Jason Joseph, Corewell Health, Part 1

Gamble:  Hi Jason, can you start by giving a brief overview of CoreWell Health?

Joseph:  Sure. CoreWell Health, formerly known as BHSH System, was formed from Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health in Michigan coming together. CoreWell Health is our new name. We are a combined system with 22 hospitals, a little over 5,000 licensed beds, and about 64,000 employees. We’re a $14 billion enterprise, and that includes the main hospital system, the post-acute, full continuum of care, as well as our health plan Priority Health, which serves the entire state of Michigan. It has about 1.2 million members; it’s the second largest health plan in the state.

 

Gamble:  We’re seeing a lot of M&A movement. In Corewell Health’s case, what was the key driver? What is the organization hoping to accomplish?

Joseph:  In the healthcare landscape right now there’s a lot of focus on being able to scale practices as well as innovations. If you think about the landscape that we have as an integrated healthcare system, it has both care and coverage. We have a lot of coverage growth that was starting to spread into other geographies where we really didn’t have a lot of presence. You can do a lot more when you can integrate that care and coverage umbrella.

That was a huge driver for us: being able to balance and expand our ability. But overall, we believe that by creating best practices that are of the highest quality, looking at common care pathways,