The former CFO at Iowa Health Care starts a new role in one of the country's leading health systems, as it looks to evolve and change to meet new patient needs.
On August 17, Brad Haws was appointed chief financial officer at Emory Healthcare in Georgia, part of Emory University, and one of the leading health systems in the country.
Haws joins the healthcare system from the University of Iowa Health Care, where he was associate vice president and CFO. Before that, he spent 13 years in the University of Virginia health system, including leadership stints in its healthcare group and its school of medicine. Earlier in his career, he was the CFO at Intermountain Healthcare.
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Emory University Hospital the No. 1 hospital in Georgia and metro Atlanta in its 2020–2021 Best Hospitals guide, and bestowed that honor on the hospital for nine years in a row. (Emory University Hospital includes Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital and Emory University Hospital at Wesley Woods.)
The medical staff at Emory Healthcare have likewise been honored repeatedly in top rankings. Almost half of the physicians recognized in the 2021 "Top Doctors" issue of Atlanta magazine are physicians within Emory Healthcare or Emory Healthcare Network, Emory medical staff, or faculty of Emory University School of Medicine.
HealthLeaders had the opportunity to catch up with Brad Haws and ask him about his goals in this new role, and his advice to other healthcare executives on how health systems can thrive in these turbulent times.
HealthLeaders: Tell us a little bit about Emory Healthcare and the community it serves.
Brad Haws: Emory Healthcare, part of Emory University, is the most comprehensive, academic health system in Georgia. We are comprised of 11 hospitals, the Emory Clinic, and more than 250 provider locations. The Emory Healthcare Network, established in 2011, is the largest clinically integrated network in Georgia, with more than 2,800 physicians concentrating in 70 different subspecialties.
Emory Healthcare is an integrated academic medical center committed to providing the best care for our patients, educating health professionals and leaders for the future, pursuing discovery research in all its forms, including basic, clinical, and population-based research, and serving our community. As the clinical enterprise of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University, Emory Healthcare is dedicated to the unifying core purpose, core values, and strategic direction of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
HealthLeaders: What are your primary responsibilities in this role, and what is it about your background and experiences that makes your recent appointment a mutually good fit for both you and the organization?
Haws: I am in charge of the normal financial functions with the healthcare environment but view my role of being a partner to the other members of the leadership team as my primary role. The role of finance has evolved so that we are an integral part of successful operations and strategy development/implementation.
I have spent most of my career in academic healthcare in a variety of roles and settings. The experiences I have gained will be useful to the organization and its missions. Balancing the tripartite missions can be challenging, and I look forward to working with the incredible team here to meet the challenge.
HealthLeaders: Aside from the pandemic, what do you believe are the top three challenges facing healthcare organizations today?
Haws: The nature of our services is evolving—the patients have always wanted excellent life-saving care and service, but now may expect that it is delivered in a different fashion. Telehealth is one simple example of that evolution.
Our ability to evolve and change will determine our future success. We are always looking to manage cost, quality, and access, but those are simple fundamentals of the business. Competition, consolidation, cost pressures are ongoing areas that must be managed. Lately, staffing challenges associated with the pandemic are probably one of our most pressing issues.
HealthLeaders: What goals do you want to achieve in this CFO role, and have you been asked to lead or meet any specific missions?
Haws: I am still very new in the role but am thrilled to be part of the senior team that is working on a variety of projects.
I want to be a value-added partner to the overall success of the organization. Sometimes, finance can get lulled into sitting back and evaluating/reporting "balls and strikes." My goal is to roll up my sleeves and partner with the great team here and to be part of the solutions to our challenges.
HealthLeaders: In what ways can CFOs help health systems, hospitals, and the healthcare industry plan for an uncertain and turbulent future?
Haws: Solid financial performance allows for a couple of things. It gives degrees of freedom to work on different solutions. Not all efforts succeed, but when financials are tight or less secure, those plans or bets take on added significance.
Managing the risks associated with the various challenges we face often comes with a need for information and data. While not perfect, analyzing and projecting potential impacts and sensitivities is a vital part of our role in finance.
HealthLeaders: What advice do you have for other healthcare CFOs on how to best help their organizations succeed at serving patients, nurturing staff, mastering efficiencies, and surpassing the competition?
Haws: Define relative metrics, benchmarks, and goals and manage to them. If there are gaps, work on plans to close the gaps. Lean management (called Empower here at Emory) is the best way to implement change and test potential solutions. Trending not only against our past but against our peer groups is a vital way to measure and define success.
Brad Haws is a HealthLeaders Exchange member. The HealthLeaders Exchange is an executive community for sharing ideas, solutions, and insights. Please join the community at https://www.linkedin.com/company/
healthleaders-exchange/. To inquire about attending a HealthLeaders Exchange, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.
David Weldon is a contributing writer for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Haws joins excellent company. Emory University Hospital has been named the top hospital in Georgia, and nearly half of its physicians are cited as top doctors in the Atlanta area.
Many patients are demanding that care be delivered in a different fashion, and Brad Haws says he believes the ability to evolve and change will determine future success.
Haws says lean management is the best way to implement change and test potential solutions.