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Home / Washington Business - July/August 2006 / Profile - Rich Umbdenstock: Heading back to where he started |
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Profile - Rich Umbdenstock: Heading back to where he started |
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Written On: July/August 2006 |
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Written By: by Charles Henry Thomas |
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Providence Health and Services CEO Rich Umbdenstock, who migrated to Spokane from the "other Washington," is going back to his roots—the American Hospital Association. This time, he will be president and CEO of the 4,800-member organization.
Umbdenstock has strong ties to AHA. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science from Fairfield University and his masters in health services administration from State University of New York, he was hired by then-AHA President Alex McMahon as his special assistant.
"Rich has first-hand experience about what does and does not work for hospitals," AWB President Don Brunell said. "He is very well qualified to lead AHA and has a way of coalescing people around him to be successful. He makes good things happen."
Brunell serves with Umbdenstock on Washington’s Forum, a group of hospital, insurance and provider leaders collectively addressing health care issues.
Over the years, Umbdenstock has remained active with AHA and was elected to its board in 2000. He also serves on a number of local boards, including the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Before the creation of Providence Health and Services, Umbdenstock was president of the Spokane-based Providence Services. During his tenure, Umbdenstock helped create Inland Northwest Health Services, a community-based organization with a cutting-edge information-technology system, a regional rehabilitation institute, a tele-medicine network and emergency transport system. The organization also shared services in a joint venture with Empire Health Services.
This regional information network became a national model for sharing patient information among hospitals, physicians and other providers. That network digitally links 35 hospitals in eastern Washington so all providers can call up a patient’s medical history in a matter of seconds. It cuts down on medical errors and helps ensure that patients are treated quickly and appropriately.
Umbdenstock said the network and its accompanying technology requirements are hugely expensive, but by combining information technology, it saved millions. The network is one of Umbdenstock’s proudest achievements. His challenge at AHA is to emulate what was accomplished in Spokane and apply it nationwide.
In Washington, D.C., he inherits a staff of 85. AHA’s leadership team is located in the nation’s capitol because government policy and funding is a key driver in how hospitals operate today. AHA’s headquarters are in Chicago, where it has 325 employees helping hospitals with operational and training needs.
Umbdenstock has significant challenges with federal funding, given the nation’s $8.5 trillion federal debt and soaring medical costs from government-sponsored programs. So, when he takes over as AHA president in January, he feels his biggest challenge is to find ways to improve health coverage and access for all citizens and to obtain fair and equitable funding so hospitals can survive.
"Umbdenstock will be the most qualified person ever to be named to this position," said Leo Greenawalt, president of the Washington Hospital Association. "He knows the workings of the AHA, the diversity of the health care delivery systems, and cultures in all parts of the country."
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