Providence Health and Services

Embracing the Uncertainty of Change

Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit heath care system with 50 hospitals, 829 clinics and hundreds of locally driven programs. The Oregon region of Providence Health and Services was looking to forge new ground in establishing alignment around a strategic platform and develop a set of guiding tenets that would help them to respond to change and continue to be a market leader.

As health care reform unfolds, most health care organizations agree that the industry is changing. There is less agreement on how these changes will impact health care across the nation. National and regional legislation, the emergence of Accountable Care Organizations and an emphasis on integrated systems combine to create a world of significant ambiguity, risk to current business models and unprecedented opportunities for market leadership. In this uncertain environment, it is difficult for organizations to establish clarity on their long-term strategic direction and to make critical business decisions for the future.

As part of developing Providence’s long-term strategic platform, Coraggio worked with the Oregon regional leadership team to redefine its vision and long-term strategy, shaping the concept of a “Connected Experience of Care” as a key element of evolving its market leadership position. This platform created a framework that provided  guidance for ongoing planning efforts and daily operational activities, including implications for patient information systems, care paths, operating norms, culture, brand and physician engagement approaches.

Based on this long-term strategic platform, Coraggio also partnered with Providence to develop a set of guiding tenets and tools that would help them to establish a more integrated and systematic manner for making long-term investment decisions.

As part of this work, Coraggio provided guidance on the key strategic questions related to a cohesive investment strategy in this new environment. We worked with Providence to develop scenario-modeling tools that allow executives to explore multiple investment decision scenarios and establish further clarity on the impact of different assumptions. We also worked together to establish the key findings and implications from strategic investment decisions.

Today Providence still lives in a world of uncertainty, but has a clear strategic platform to guide them on their journey. Based on the work of one of our founders and the Coraggio team, the leadership team has a clear understanding of the key questions that they face as an organization and have the processes to continue to assess the opportunities and risks that may lie ahead. They have a heightened awareness of the potential impacts of key strategic investment decisions they may face and the corresponding financial implications.