On Sept. 11, the Nashville Health Care Council launched recruitment for the 2018 Fellows class, an annual initiative to explore new business strategies to address the greatest challenges facing the American healthcare system. Applications are open to top healthcare executives from around the country through Oct. 27, 2017.
Founded in 2013 in an era of unprecedented change for the industry, Fellows leverages Nashville's legacy of healthcare expertise to create an open and collaborative forum for national and global thought leadership. The program is co-directed by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, and Larry Van Horn, a leading expert in healthcare management and economics and professor at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.
"There is no other initiative like this in the country," Frist said. "The Fellows program breaks down the walls between healthcare's many silos and brings leaders from diverse focus areas to the table to collaborate and work together toward a smarter health care system."
The 2018 class will be selected by the Council Fellows Advisory Committee and announced in early December 2017.
CLASS DETAILS
The Fellows initiative annually engages a select group of approximately 30 senior executives in a nationally unique curriculum over eight daylong sessions. Discussions focus on innovative business strategies, creating value for patients, driving industry efficiencies and effecting change while also taking into account the latest emerging industry trends.
The work of the class includes strategic and collaborative discussion, creating solutions through small group exercises, leadership development, and in-the-field immersion activities.
"Healthcare is in the middle of disruptive transformation. Leaders must think differently and drive change from inside their organizations in order to find meaningful solutions," Van Horn said. "Fellows are exposed to the brightest minds in the healthcare space and are given access to an exclusive network of peers who share the same goal - to shape the future of health care."
Adding to the Fellows experience will be a distinguished faculty of renowned thought leaders facilitating the discussions, representing innovative companies, government agencies and academia. Previous guest lecturers have included Bernard J. Tyson, chairman and CEO, Kaiser Permanente; Regina E. Herzlinger, Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; George Barrett, CEO, Cardinal Health; Joseph R. Swedish, chairman, president and CEO, Anthem; David Brailer, CEO, Health Evolution Partners, former national coordinator of HMS; Kent Thiry, CEO, DaVita; and many others.
"The Council serves as a catalyst for leadership and innovation, and Fellows is a critical part of our work," said Hayley Hovious, Council president. "It's this commitment to collaboration that has made Nashville the nation's healthcare epicenter for nearly 50 years, and will move the industry forward."
THE 2018 APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested applicants can find more information or begin the application process by visiting the Fellows website.
Applications are encouraged and accepted from a wide range of sectors within the industry - from privately held startups to publicly traded corporations - including service delivery, hospital management, managed care, HIT, pharmaceutical, medical device, nonprofit, law, finance and government. To be considered for the program, applicants must be employed by a member company of the Council, or be a government employee or a practicing clinician.