Effective Hospital Leadership Wellness Program Increases Patient and Financial Outcomes

Want to improve employee health? Make sure all levels of management exhibit robust leadership skills. A study of 3,100 men over a ten year period determined that individuals under a manager that is inconsiderate, opaque, uncommunicative, and a poor advocate were about 60% more likely to suffer a heart attack or other life-threatening cardiac conditions. Employees under a manager who was considerate, transparent, communicative, and a great advocate had 40% LESS chance of these problem. Poor leadership trumped work load and whether the employee smoked, exercised or had a weight problem which are the traditional focus of a hospital wellness program.

A second study of 4000 government bureaucrats found that cold-like symptoms where primarily caused by job-stress, dissatisfaction, and poor office relationships. These symptoms are also reflect poor leadership skills.

We know health care’s quality chasm is rooted in its leadership chasm where communication-breakdown is at epidemic levels, transparency is an orphan, being considerate is a political calculation and being a great advocate of other’s work is a selective process if it exist at all. Could dysfunctional leadership be why health care spending is 10% higher for hospital employees than it is for the general employee population?

Maybe a leadership wellness program with a top to bottom evaluation of which leaders inspire their employees to excellence and who demoralizes them to mediocrity could lead to healthier employees, patients and finances.