Paul Levy: Taking Charge of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

How would you describe the situation Levy inherited?

The Beth Israel Hospital and Deaconess Hospital were consolidated and became Beth Israel Deaconess (BID) in 1996. BID operated under the Care Group Systems (CGS), which was an affiliation of some Boston-area hospitals. The BID hospital system was in anarchy. There were significant operating losses, amounting to millions of dollars each year. BID management seemed incapable of implementing turnaround plans. The hospital experienced tremendous employee turnover and suffered from poor patient care.
The old hierarchical structure continued in the new BID. There were layers of management with bureaucratic …show more content…

Levy began his career with a very bold and unusual strategy. On his first day, he sent every employee of the hospital a memo that included:
• A promise of an open administration.
• A warning that the hospital had been given this one last chance for a turnaround.
• A promise to post the findings and recommendations of the Hunter Consulting Group.
• Encouragement to employees to read and make comments regarding the report.
• A promise that changes would be implemented and measured.
• Warning of an unavoidable elimination of several hundred staff positions in the hospital.
• A promise that the staff reductions would be carried out as humanely possible and that people would be treated with dignity and respect.
• His expectation of successful turnaround of BID because of the employees, their commitment, their strong sense of teamwork, and their ability to succeed.
In his message, Levy also conveyed that:
• He considered all staff (not just key players) to be team members.
• All team