By Reuben J. Pettiford, CLC CEO Consultant
We live in turbulent times, immersed in two major crises - both unprecedented.
1) The Coronavirus crisis, which is a natural crisis and 2) civil unrest, man-made. As a leader of a FQHC, given all you’ve been through and everything you’ve dealt with, have you taken the time to step back and think about what’s next for the FQHC industry? Here are a few questions you might consider asking yourself and your leadership.
What happens after the COVID funding goes away?
How will you sustain your clinic once these funds run out?
Are you positioned for long-term sustainability?
The truth is, but for the COVID/Stimulus funds, far too many FQHCs might have been forced to close their doors. While some have used these funds just to survive, others have had the ability to use a portion of their funding to position themselves for the future. Which are you?
If you haven’t taken a hard look at your organization and how you can position it for future stability, it’s not too late to do so.
Competition is at an all-time high in the FQHC world with many new players vying to enter the market. Newly formed organizations like City Block on the east coast (backed by Google) are formidable adversaries, successfully leveraging their resources and technological capabilities to enter the market by using innovative and appealing approaches to attract a share of the insured patients that FQHCs have historically served. In another area of the country, a very famous sports celebrity has successfully opened two health centers that are doing well and successfully gaining a share of the market.
FQHCs that will survive and thrive, will compete at new, intense levels. They must think more creatively, looking at their organizations with an entrepreneurial eye towards increasing revenues and improving operational efficiencies while fulfilling the mission of providing accessible and affordable care for more and more patients. Considering this, have you asked yourself, your leadership team, and your Board, “Is our strategic plan robust enough to successfully lead us into the future?”.
At this moment most health centers are at a crossroads. With change swirling around you and your health center, make sure you do not get left behind.
Over the past 30 years, I’ve seen FQHCs evolve from a neighborhood place to see the doctor, to substantial and sophisticated health care corporations. The industry has grown significantly and as with all things, to whom much is given, much more is required. FQHCs are in the business of providing care to underserved populations. But being a nonprofit does not mean ignoring the bottom line. It is incumbent upon all health center leaders to maximize every revenue opportunity so that your center can expand its ability to provide care to those most in need.
FQHCs have become increasingly complex organizations to operate. Often, they don’t have the capacity (human and financial resources) to do it all so many must rely on outside consultants to assist. Some of the challenges that FQHCs currently face include:
Increasing HRSA grant requirements
Transformation to Value Based Care
Increasing competition & scrutiny
A growing talent gap
Experienced C-Suite level staff aging and/or burning out
Long gone are the days when the CEO was the chief cook and bottle washer. To effectively operate in today’s FQHC environment, you need a well-trained, business oriented and accountable workforce. But, unfortunately, as with the rest of the country’s labor pool, qualified candidates are hard to find.
With the challenges and increasing complexities of FQHCs - especially newer starts and those in smaller and rural areas - being connected with a qualified FQHC consultant has become a “must have”. It’s like having an attorney or CPA on speed dial that you can reach out to at any time. Community Link Consulting can be that support system for you. As a former client, whenever I’ve needed to call CLC, they were responsive and provided excellent services at very reasonable rates. If you’d like to explore how we can be of service to your organization or if you’re an existing client and want to explore how we can further support you, contact either Amy Brisson at amyb@communitylinkconsulting.com or me at reubenp@communitylinkconsulting.com .