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In this Leadership Dialogue episode, I talk with Tom Priselac, who recently retired after 30 years as president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai, based in Los Angeles. Under Tom’s leadership, Cedars-Sinai transformed from a well-known regional hospital into a nationally recognized academic health system. Tom also served as AHA board chair in 2009.

Tom and I discuss the benefits and challenges of health system integration, which includes partnerships, joint ventures and other collaborative arrangements. Integration is one of the ways that hospitals continue to advance health despite financial pressures.

Integration allows hospitals to “take advantage of economies of scale and economies of capabilities — [the latter is] an important element that doesn’t necessarily always get the same attention,” explains Tom. Integrated health systems can lead to meaningful benefits for patients and help hospitals best serve the needs of their communities.

“The purpose of the system is to assure the optimal success of each of the individual members,” Tom emphasizes. “[At Cedars-Sinai], we’re very much interested in strengthening and not disempowering the local hospital or the affiliate hospital.” Benefits include advancing quality, improving research capabilities, recruiting clinicians and making a greater impact in addressing community health needs, he notes.

Local hospitals are beloved parts of their communities. For some, integration into a larger health system is one way to ensure they will continue to serve as a bedrock of those communities for years to come.

I hope you find these conversations thought provoking and useful. Look for them once a month as part of the Chair File.

Watch the episode