GREAT BOARDS 2003
The Online Governance Newsletter

Fall 2003

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Best Practices for Investment Committees
The market bubble has burst, the easy times are over. Great Boards asks investment experts what investment committees need to do now to steer a prudent course in today's markets.
Boardroom Briefing: A Comprehensive Dashboard
Middlesex Health System in Middletown, CT explains how a comprehensive dashboard of key performance indicators has strengthened the board's understanding and oversight of the hospital's performance.
Best Board Practices Checklist: Educational Audit of the Physician Reappraisal and Reappointment Process
How effective is your hospital's process for reappointing physicians to the medical staff. Is it thorough and data-based, or just a rubber stamp? These questions can bring you the answers.
Best Practices for Audit Committees
Robert Wilson, a one-time auditor and now an independent consultant, details eight practices to strengthen the work of your board's audit committee.

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Boardroom Briefing
Short-stay, specialty hospitals that attract profitable patients threaten the full service hospital's ability to sustain trauma, emergency and other essential community services. What's the hospital board to do: Hunker down or fight back? Read what several experts advise.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can we energize our hospital foundation board? Fund-raising has become critical for hospitals as margins shrink and capital budgets explode. Is your foundation board leading the charge? We asked experts how to make a foundation board rewarding for the hospital and a fulfilling experience for its board members. (Hint: They're connected.)
Best Board Practices Checklist
Educational Audit of the Medical Staff's Initial Appointment Process. How can the board know if the process the medical staff uses to develop its credentialing recommendations is diligent and comprehensive? In this first of a two-part series, we describe how the board can conduct an "educational audit" that allows board, medical staff and senior management leaders to take an in-depth look at the credentialing process. In our next issue, we'll examine the reappointment process.

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Boardroom Briefing
"Best Practices for Board Quality Committees." More than 80 percent of hospital and health system boards have formed committees for oversight of clinical quality, patient safety, performance improvement and customer satisfaction. Optimize your committee's performance with these best practices.
The Effective Board
"Governance Policies in the Post-Enron Environment." Is your board prepared to meet new standards for effective governance that are emerging in the wake of accounting scandals and failures of board oversight? Governance consultant Barry Bader and health attorney Michael Peregrine of Gardner, Carton & Douglas recommend ten policies boards should adopt and follow.
Best Board Practices Checklists: Top Ten Practices of Great Boards
Here are the most important things your board can do to go from "good to great."

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The Effective Board
"CEO Goal Setting and Evaluation." How good is your board’s process for CEO goal setting and appraisal? Does it promote accountability, aligned expectations and "no surprises"? See how your organization’s approach stacks up against our ten critical elements of a good CEO evaluation process.
Frequently Asked Questions
"How should boards handle conflicts of interest?" They’re occurring more and more, and outside scrutiny is increasing. Should boards adopt a "no conflicts allowed policy" to stay squeaky clean? We think not: Boards would lose valuable members they critically need. Instead, we lay out practical ways boards can handle conflicts of interest legally, ethically and consistently.
Best Board Practices Checklists
In this new feature, GREAT BOARDS shares recommended practices for board self-evaluation, board policy manuals, new member orientation manuals, and performance dashboards.

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