Case Study

How Edward-Elmhurst Health Achieved Lasting Success by Integrating Labs with Support from hc1

Key takeaways

Results:

Shared target milestone of $8.7 million and projected savings of $10.3 million at the end of the three-year engagement

  • 3 Hospitals, 35 Affiliations
  • One of the largest integrated health systems in Illinois (Non-Profit)
  • 4,700+ employees and more than 1,800+ affiliated physicians
  • Annual Lab Budget: $43M

Opportunity for Improvement

Taking multiple independent institutions and integrating them into a single unified system with the intent of maximizing cost savings and improving patient outcomes is a tremendous undertaking with both cultural and tactical implications. A trusted partner that specializes in transformation is critical to the success of these system wide efforts. 

At Edward-Elmhurst Health (EEH), it was clear that executive leadership was committed to creating a fully functioning, integrated team to achieve necessary cost savings. The hc1 approach embraced the leaders’ direction and facilitated the labs’ transformation to achieve the organization’s three goals: pursue an improved cost structure, accelerate initiatives to achieve system wide value, and to move toward consistent processes, methodologies, and metrics. 

In the discovery and diagnostic phase, hc1 revealed three key metrics with room for improvement: cost per test, labor management costs, and blood utilization. Improving these three areas would boost patient outcomes and reduce cost.

Building a Shared Foundation to Foster Collaboration

From the beginning hc1 met with all parties together, bringing people from across the system to the table to meet, collaborate, and come to a mutual understanding. One of the biggest struggles in integrating teams is the temptation to let old business processes trump the efforts of the integration. At EEH, leaders’ commitment brought everyone together and ensured our actions were in lockstep. 

In transformational efforts that involve combining resources from across various institutions, it’s easy to focus on our differences rather than the similarities we share. To combat this tendency, the team worked together to identify the shared intent behind our efforts. In putting the focus on our shared foundation, we created space for collaboration and true integration. With a shared foundation, the teams were able to build from a point of commonality. From there, the team identified their own opportunities for cost savings and improved patient outcomes from the strengths across the integrated system. The collaboration process resulted in a much higher level of employee engagement.

 

Looking Forward

As our shared target milestone of $8.7 million and projected savings of $10.3 million at the end of the three-year engagement is achieved, the team within EEH has capitalized on the promise of integrating supply chain and human capital to achieve cost savings. In this partnership, hc1 has equipped EEH with the technology, processes, and expertise to access the data they need to make ongoing adjustments as their business grows and transforms in the future. 

In addition to measurement and monitoring capabilities to ensure their ongoing success, the EEH team also has soft skills that help them work together as an integrated team. This is critical to long-term success, so that future data-driven interventions create a stronger culture of collaboration. 

With committed teams, proven processes, and the necessary technology stack in place, lab transformation in the EEH system will see sustained results. 

Additional Resources

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