temwide Perioperative Olympics, they said, a friendly competition to
see which frontline staff from all 5 campus locations could come up
with the best cost-saving ideas. Instead of curling and ice dancing, the
Perioperative Olympics would focus on water conservation and pref-
erence cards — things that could give a boost to sagging margins.
Staff submitted 78 ideas on Olympic-themed letterhead, 52 of which
the hospital implemented immediately. In the first 3 months, the num-
bers were eyepopping: $127,443 in actual cost savings or avoidance,
says Alex Warman, MBA, director of perioperative business services.
For such a gold-medal performance, the Lehigh Valley Health
Network is the runaway winner of the 2018 OR Excellence Award for
Financial Management.
No margin, no mission
At the start of the year, Lehigh's financial picture was grim. Put anoth-
er way: The margins projected for the end of the fiscal year were, let's
just say, not favorable. Surgical volume and margins were down. Case
costs were up. On top of that, a private urology group had just left
Lehigh for another hospital system — and taken a lot of cases with it.
The clinical and financial leaders convened in the conference room
for a serious sit-down. They agreed that the best way to enhance rev-
enue was to decrease and control expenses by focusing on the things
they could control. It just so happens that the meeting took place in
February, during the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Perhaps to break the tension, somebody in the room suggested they
hold a Perioperative Olympics. Why not make a financial crisis, they
said, a fun and creative project for everyone?
"We couldn't change the why's, but can change the way we expend
ourselves," says Hope Johnson, DNP, MBA, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, direc-
tor of perioperative and endoscopy services at Lehigh Valley Hospital–
6 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8
