By Kenneth Aaron, Times Union, Albany, N.Y. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jan. 21--A health services veteran will take over the reins at McClellan Health System in February, becoming the latest in a succession of chief executives at the Washington County organization.
Susan M. Mathews, who co-founded Corporate Health Dimensions in Latham and helped turn it into a 700-person, 20-state business before selling it in 1999, has been charged with the task of putting the institution's emphasis on primary care.
'This is a new vision that we have,' said Nancy Flint-Budde, chairwoman of the McClellan's board of directors. 'And one that we came to after a very lengthy strategic planning process. And Susan is very different than any CEO we've had before.'
Instead of working as a hospital administrator, Mathews has a background in building health systems. Educated as a registered nurse, she also has a doctorate in health care administration. 'She is very experienced, a dynamic change agent,' Flint-Budde said.
For Mathews, the fifth interim or full-time chief executive to lead McClellan since 1999, the switch from the corporate world didn't worry her.
'Is the not-for-profit sector different than the for-profit sector?' she asked. 'Everything is a business, and you need to operate it with good operating principles.'
While Mathews said she joined McClellan because of the board's passion, she didn't pledge undying allegiance to the institution. She said both sides would appraise the situation after a year and decide whether to keep going. 'I'm not somebody that will languish in a position or a business,' Mathews said.
Mathews most recently served as president of Flow Management Technologies Inc., a Saratoga Springs firm that supplies administrative services to physicians. She left there in April, after six months at the helm, when plans to spin off a company division faltered.
Since leaving Flow Management, Mathews has worked with the venture capital industry in Boston, assessing the potential for massage schools to consolidate.
Mathews said she is interested in bringing holistic techniques, such as massage, reiki and acupuncture, into the McClellan fold.
That might be a little more touchy-feely than residents in McClellan's rural service territory are used to. But that doesn't faze Mathews. 'I think you will find people in rural areas are very practical,' she said. 'They will be open to understanding how a more holistic approach is better for your long-term health.'
That can also bring additional revenue, as those services are typically not covered by insurance and result in cash payments from patients. One of Mathews' challenges will be to restore McClellan to profitability.
Like many upstate hospitals, McClellan has languished in red ink. Flint-Budde, the board chairwoman, declined to reveal the extent of the institution's losses for 2002, which are due to be reported to the state Health Department in March.
Mathews said she wants 'to pull the physicians into understanding the business of medicine.'
'They tend to be the producers, but don't have all the facts (of) what the results are of their production,' she said.
Besides a network of four family-care offices, McClellan Health System include a 74-bed hospital and 40-bed nursing center in Cambridge.
To see more of the Times Union, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesunion.com
(c) 2003, Times Union, Albany, N.Y. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
