Berini shares update on relaunch of Hershey Medical Center’s five-year strategic plan

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center President Deborah Berini sent the following email to all Medical Center employees on Wednesday:

Dear Colleagues:

During early 2020, the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center began work on a five-year strategic plan. Not too far into that process, COVID-19 disrupted our world and we had to pause our work. I am pleased to say we are back on track and will be working hard to bring our planning work to completion later this fall. Our planning work will continue to align with Penn State Health’s three core strategies:

• Developing and extending our local health care network to continue the strong referral base to Hershey Medical Center
• Remaining a strong player in the competitive referral market for the specialized care provided by Hershey Medical Center, within and outside our system’s network
• Positioning Penn State Health to be a high-value provider

Now that the college also has advanced its planning process, we will be aligning our patient care strategies with the college’s key strategies for research and education. This will allow us to have a cohesive strategic approach for Hershey Medical Center. At the beginning of August, we reassembled our strategic planning teams. Participants are charged with developing our strategic priorities around performance (quality and financial or value), faculty and staff satisfaction, patient satisfaction and innovation.

I am excited that this work is resuming. Effective strategic plans are actionable and measureable. They foster innovation and position the organization positively for the future. They allow the organization to focus and align investments and the people within the organization to tackle what lies ahead and envision a future that blazes a new path for the organization.

Imagine strategic planning from this perspective. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before Congress and proposed that the U.S. “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Project Apollo became a reality on July 20, 1969 when Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon’s surface.

This is an extreme example, but it hearkens the effort and the collective expertise required to make great things happen. This all is to say strategic planning is truly about taking risks, thinking big, looking forward and including input from many sources along the way.

I will continue to share information about our progress, and I welcome your questions so do not hesitate to email me.

My next President’s Perspective will highlight the outcomes from our shorter-term FY20 Operating Plan. Your commitment to support that plan is greatly appreciated. Despite the disruption of COVID-19, I am inspired by the successes we have achieved together.

Deborah Berini
President

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