The two Ontario cottage-country
hospitals had the same number of beds, provided many similar services,
competed for the same medical staff and were just 25 km apart.
For years, the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital in Bracebridge and
Algonquin Health Services in Huntsville considered cooperating more
closely, at least in acute care and purchasing. But it was only
in 2003 that the two institutions took formal steps to amalgamate after
a growing realization that a single regional health care operation
could better serve the area. At the same time, mounting
government pressure to rationalize health care delivery throughout the
province spurred the consolidation talks.
FIND THE RIGHT CONSULTANT
A year later, Bay Consulting Group
won the competition to facilitate the merger. In the end, Bay
Consulting helped the two hospital boards create a more efficient
structure, now known as Muskoka-East Parry Sound Health Services.
Recalls Vaughn Adamson, Algonquin CEO at the time: “Bay Consulting,
with Drew Huffman, was the transformation piece. This merger had
been thought about, talked about and dabbled about for many years, and
no two boards could do it until we made it happen with Drew.”
Bay Consulting beat out three other short-listed consultants with
health care experience because of Drew’s “manner of working,” according
to Gayle Mackay, Algonquin’s volunteer vice-chair at the time and now a
health care consultant. “He was assertive, but not aggressive,
with a clear sense of the necessary steps to achieve the merger within
a reasonable time frame.”
Adds Adamson: “The other consultants had their own templates that they
wanted us to fit into, while Drew emphasized that we would develop our
own plan to suit our purposes.” Helping the parties take
ownership of their solutions is a hallmark of Bay Consulting’s
facilitative approach.
ENGAGE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO
LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Within days of getting the
contract, Drew met the boards of the two organizations at a weekend
retreat and bluntly asked them what they hoped to achieve by joining
forces. “When you look forward a decade,” he challenged them,
“what do you want to see?” The answers, such as always put the
patients first, provided a rationale for the merger which helped sell
the plan to stakeholders.
Drew helped the boards to
establish a joint governance steering committee containing all the key
players from each facility: the board chairs, CEOs, medical chiefs of
staff, among others. He drove the merger process, developing an
implementation road map and keeping the players on track. For six
months, he met with the steering committee once every two weeks,
insisting it make decisions on a consensus basis to ensure a lasting
agreement.
DECIDE BY CONSENSUS
Consensus decision-making is one
of the “rules of the game” Drew helped the steering committee develop
to set the tone for the two different, and sometimes opposing,
institutional cultures working together for their common goal.
Another rule of the game required face-to-face communication instead of
emails for debate, discussion or clarification. Such direct
communication fostered cooperative problem-solving and team-building,
essential to achieving the merger. Another important rule
reminded the parties to focus on the greater good as opposed to
individual desires. “There are no sacred moose,” reads Rule No. 4.
Vaughan Adamson says the rules of the game kept the inevitable
conflicts from escalating and the group on a positive track. Adds
Gayle Mackay: “He did not shy away from difficulties. He was tough on
the issues, but soft on the people.”
Bay Consulting brought considerable direct experience to the
Muskoka-East Parry Sound amalgamation. It had worked on nearly a
dozen similar ventures including helping Bloorview Children’s Hospital
and the Hugh MacMillan Rehabilitation Centre join forces to create what
is now known as Bloorview Kids Rehab. From other mergers, Bay
Consulting learned that measuring success must include the stability of
the new organization after the fact. Does the new entity function
efficiently? Will the merger last?
BUILD IN ACCOUNTABILITY
Sensitive to these issues, Drew
stressed accountability in the new Muskoka-East Parry Sound governance
structure. Even though the steering committee had a full plate in
creating the merger, he persuaded it to adopt a unique governance
measure whereby the new board had to report to the former board members
of the two founding institutions. For at least the first three
years of its existence, the new hospital board must demonstrate
progress towards achieving the steering committee’s objectives, both in
terms of formal amalgamation and patient care.
Drew also worked assiduously with the steering committee to select
Muskoka-East Parry Sound’s first board of directors, ensuring a wide
range of relevant experience and that all communities in the catchment
area were represented—without a potentially restrictive requirement
that each town or region be entitled to a certain number of members.
The post-merger step of establishing a new board that could be trusted
by both original boards was critical to the merger’s lasting
success. And it was another example of how an outside consultant
can provide added value. “Drew had all the answers,” says
Vaughan, “but he has a knack of helping the group come up with their
own version, quietly drawing out a worthwhile solution.”
STAY FOCUSED
She adds: “The nature of a merger
is that people have to give up something to create something new.
Drew kept us focused on the positives and our mission. In the
end, we came up with our own solutions. It was arduous and more
painful than him giving us the answers. But we took ownership,
and the results should last.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT DREW HUFFMAN
Drew Huffman joined Bay Consulting
Group in 1989 because “every partner works.” Like founding
partners Vince Fearon and Hans Jansen, Drew moved from Currie Coopers
& Lybrand where he was principal of the health consulting
group. But also like Vince and Hans, Drew had become frustrated
with the big firm’s “regimented and hierarchical” operation. He
missed working directly with clients, a Bay Consulting hallmark.
At Bay Consulting, Drew is best known as a facilitative
consultant. “I do value-added facilitation,” he says.
“While I provide the client with alternatives, I always keep my eye on
the ultimate goal and objective, rather than simply being an emcee for
a discussion group.”
That approach has won Drew kudos and success with a number of hospital
and other health-care mergers. He has performed strategic
planning and operational reviews for many of the major players in
Ontario’s health industry, including the Ministry of Health, Hospital
for Sick Children, Ontario Blue Cross, St. Michael’s Hospital and
Cancer Care Ontario, among others. But he has also helped smaller
organizations such as the Smiths Falls Hospitals, Altoona Civic
Hospital and community care access centres across the province.
Not surprisingly for a professional engineer, Drew has worked for
non-health care clients as well, including BCE Emergis, University of
Waterloo and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Born in Hamilton and raised in nearby Burlington, Drew graduated from
Queen’s University with a degree in electrical engineering. At
the same time, he took minors in drama and business. He joined
Bell Canada Ontario after leaving school and soon thereafter started
night studies for his MBA with his eye on consulting. From Bell
he moved to Arthur Andersen (now Accenture) where he stayed for seven
years, from 1974 to 1981, developing a practice in health care and
mining before moving to Currie Coopers.
At Bay Consulting, he rediscovered the satisfaction of helping clients
directly, particularly working through delicate situations with
potential conflict. Reflecting on the Muskoka-East Parry Sound
experience, Drew takes pride in the final result. “After all,” he says,
“BCG was not hired so the merger would not take place.”
