Montefiore CFO Talks Digital Investments and Labor Management

Are CFOs making the right investments to solve their organization's issues?

Between an uptick in cybersecurity threats and piling workforce management woes, CFOs are searching for solutions. Montefiore CFO Colleen Blye recently spoke to HealthLeaders, sharing insights on these issues and how her organization is working to get ahead.

Blye took the role of executive vice president and CFO for the New York-based health system in 2016. Recently, she also added chief business officer to her title, taking on the business operations side of her organization as well. See our coverage of her new role in this previous article.

Blye’s top concerns as she progresses in her new role are where to make the best digital investments, and how to approach labor management.

Digital Services

Blye has digital services on her radar, understanding how Montefiore’s digital presence meets patients where they are. Digital communication is vital for patients and has become a critical element of their overall experience.

“That means we need to make it easy for them to find us and access their information online, and we need to provide this information in ways that best suit their communication preference,” Blye said.

As cybersecurity attacks persist across health systems, Blye ensures digital service investments are also top of mind.

“Digital services investments are always anchored in our responsibility to protect patient information and our commitment to ensuring safety protocols. Cybersecurity safeguards are always maintained to protect our patients' privacy,” she said.

Labor Management

Health systems across the country have been grappling with labor shortages and costs. One study notes that labor costs were starting to eat into hospital’s Q1 profits. What can a CFO do? Access to strong real time data plays into the equation here, according to Blye.

“Labor management is at the forefront of our stewardship focus,” she said. “One of the keys is a daily focus of a multi-disciplinary team consisting of operations, nursing, human resources, and finance. We are focused on making certain that real time actionable data is available to those making key staffing decisions.”

An additional aspect of labor management, Blye notes, is continuous investment for needed resources.

 “We are equally focused on making certain that we are investing in a continuous pipeline and access to needed resources, as well as training and retaining our labor force.”