CEO FORUM | Executive Attendees

On capturing stakeholder attention:

“To keep your employee base focused on your top priorities, make sure they know your progress toward annual measurable goals. And communicate continuously. I have a blog. I’ve also found that, because I don’t do a lot of written communications, when I do, everyone really listens.”

On knowledge management and IT:

“Our electronic data warehouse is rich with data from a broad array of clinical and financial data systems. But right now, it’s simply data. We need to find and then allocate resources to our performance analytics group to really look at the data strategically.”

On managing care across the continuum:

“Behavioral health issues have become a major challenge for us. We operate one of the few remaining inpatient psychiatric facilities in the area. The state has drastically reduced services and closed facilities. We are seeing a significant increase in repeat visits in our emergency department from patients suffering from mental health issues.”

About Dean M. Harrison:

Dean M. Harrison is president and chief executive officer of Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, the parent corporation of Northwestern Memorial Hospital including its Prentice Women’s Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, and Northwestern Memorial Foundation. Before joining Northwestern Memorial in July of 1998, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of the University of Chicago Health System.

Mr. Harrison currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Illinois Hospital Association, Member Board of Directors of the University HealthSystem Consortium, Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Board of Directors of World Business Chicago, and Board of Directors of the Executive’s Club and is a special advisor to Merrick Ventures. He is a former Chairman of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council Board of Directors. Mr. Harrison is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Commercial Club of Chicago, The Institute of Medicine of Chicago and the Business Leadership Group for Workforce Chicago 2.0.