Jeffrey Hess is a clinical leader with more than thirty-five years of operations experience in hospitals and health systems of varying size and complexity, including post-acute.
He has facilitated turnarounds in financially distressed organizations and has improved margins in financially sound organizations. He has held leadership positions in large consulting firms and served as chief operating officer for a health system. His experience as a Marshall Goldsmith Certified Executive Coach and a Dale Carnegie instructor aid buy-in and create the environment for change management.
Relevant Experience
Representative examples of Mr. Hess’ recent engagement experience include:
- Facilitated the merger between two of the largest home care and hospice companies in the United States, resulting in a new entity with 750 locations and 30,000 employees. This was done by establishing an Integration Management Office (IMO) to steer the integration efforts using a robust project structure. Twenty-seven distinct work streams were commissioned to develop pre-close, Day 1, Day 1 to 100, and post 100-Day action items. Operationally, 750 agency locations were standardized to a single IT platform and staffing model, while maintaining a high level of quality delivery to patients. The average quality score has remained around 4.75 versus an industry average of 3.28. A synergy target of $25 million was established pre-merger, and that target has been exceeded and continues to grow. The stock price rose from approximately $60 in December 2017 to over $140 in January 2020.
- Facilitated the turnaround of a mid-size community hospital ($290 million net revenue) that was part of a larger health system. The hospital had incurred operating losses of more than $10 million annually for three consecutive years. The average length of stay was high. Other consulting companies had been engaged previously, with limited results. While traditional approaches to reducing expenses and improving revenue were critical to the client, engaging the medical staff was required to transform the organization. Mr. Hess led a comprehensive performance improvement engagement focused on improving patient throughput, revenue cycle performance, and clinical documentation; and reducing length of stay and labor and non-labor costs. The engagement resulted in more than $20 million in annual recurring improvements that have been sustained for three consecutive years.
- Facilitated the turnaround of a mid-size community hospital ($140 million net revenue). The hospital had a reputation for lost cost and high quality, but the financial headwinds, including physician practices, were overwhelming, resulting in operating losses. He led a comprehensive engagement that resulted in more than $21 million in annual recurring improvements and returned the hospital to profitability.
Employment History
Huron Healthcare
Senior director
2010 – 2012
Computer Science Corporation (CSC)
Principal
2009 – 2010
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Manager
2004 – 2009
Charleston Area Medical Center
Corporate director of Pharmacy and Drug Information
1998 – 2004
Education
Marshall University
MBA
West Virginia University
BS, Pharmacy