UPHS drafts strategic plan

As the University prepares to implement its new strategic plan, the Health System is also in the midst of revising its own set of goals and initiatives. Penn Medicine -- the governing board for the Health System -- is slated to complete its new strategic plan by May or June, when it will be submitted to the University Board of Trustees for its approval and adoption. According to Arthur Rubenstein, executive vice president of the Health System and dean of the School of Medicine, about 80 percent of the plan is done. "We analyzed [Penn Medicine] and found areas where we could go from good to better, from excellent to great and from very good to outstanding," Rubenstein said. "We want to promote certain areas and become world-class in certain areas." The strategic model is based on five pillars that include expanding certain clinical services in the cancer, cardiovascular, neuroscience and transplant departments and emphasizing quality patient care. Rubenstein said he will strive to make Penn "a leader in patient safety." "As technology improves, we are able to do amazing things, but we are also able to make mistakes," Rubenstein said. "We will make mistakes minimized." Rubenstein emphasized the coordination of Penn Medicine's strategic plan with the agenda of the University as a whole. "We work closely with the University's strategic plan," Rubenstein said. "Our philosophy is to be greatly integrated with the University." Another significant facet of the new strategy is the spectrum from which advice and comments were drawn. "There has been significant buy-in," said Health System Chief Public Affairs Officer Rebecca Harmon, noting that students, faculty and administrators all contributed to the effort. "It was opened up to input from the people." "Nothing is secret," Rubenstein said. "This includes all the problems and all the joys." Rubenstein said plans similar to the one being composed at Penn are usually drafted by a core group. Rubenstein, however, prefers a more "grass-roots strategic plan." The existing plan -- known as the Molinoff Report-- was pioneered by former Health System Chief Executive Officer William Kelley in the early 1990s. When it was formulated, administrators' primary objectives were to expand the Health System and to raise the level of prestige and selectivity of the Medical School. Now, with the Medical School ranked No. 4 by U.S. News & World Report, the strategic plan that guided the Health System through the past decade is being updated. The new plan also comes at a time of transition for the Health System. In October, CEO Robert Martin announced that he would step down from his role at the end of the academic year. And just two months later, Penn Medicine dissolved its $100 million grant agreement with the Philadelphia Health Care Trust. According to Rubenstein, the grant termination will not affect the development of the new strategic plan. Although Rubenstein admitted that receiving large sums of money is always nice, he said he is "neutral" about the grant dissolving and added that the conditions attached with receiving the grant "became so complicated."