Leadership Insights: Fueling Growth in the Academic Health Enterprise

Academic health enterprises are the foundation of the U.S. health system, diagnosing and treating complex patients, training future physicians and researchers, and pioneering the most advanced medical research in the world. Their unique positioning enables them to have a profound impact on improving the health of patients and populations through their clinical, education and research missions.

However, the complexity of these missions poses substantial challenges. Forces such as reimbursement constraints, changing regulatory requirements, rising costs associated with research and education, and decreased government support, among others, create pressures that can fracture a collaborative tripartite mission and create silos rather that synergy across clinical, education and research divisions. Strategically on-point efforts to integrate and align the enterprise can fall prey to politics and tradition despite the widespread belief that the success of each entity within the academic health enterprise is inextricably linked with the others.

With external funding pressures accelerating, the time is now for academic health enterprises to move beyond the cultural and political barriers that have fueled hesitancy and resistance to collaboration. Occasional cooperation must be exchanged for a full commitment to integration, alignment and the actionable strategies that translate these concepts into action. UChicago Medicine, the Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division have been on an 18-month journey to create their first enterprise strategic plan covering actions through 2035. This panel, facilitated by Tom Jackiewicz and Amy Ross, will feature a candid discussion with senior leaders across the three divisions to gain their insights on navigating the inherent challenges of the process, including:

• Setting the stage with a highly participative process to create joint mission, vision and values statements


• Creating an architecture that encompasses the higher-order, foundational direction for the three divisions on through to the detailed priorities and actions


• Educating stakeholders about the need for aggressive clinical growth to support long-term aspirations and then developing plans to achieve organic and inorganic growth


• Navigating the complex and historic silos and traditions that can derail enterprise-wide strategic planning and execution


• Building and sustaining momentum to drive execution