University Hospitals has a new chairman of the board, Nacco Industries‘ CEO Alfred Rankin Jr.
Rankin, who’s served on UH’s board for 25 years, succeeds Monte Ahuja in the chairman role. Ahuja will continue to serve on UH’s board, according to a statement from the health system.
Nacco Industries is a Cleveland-area holding company that’s involved in a wide variety of industries, including lift trucks, housewares and mining.
UH CEO Thomas Zenty lauded Ahuja for his “insight and guidance” in helping execute the health system’s $1.2 billion Vision 2010 strategic plan, which included the opening earlier this year of a new medical center in suburban Beachwood that bears Ahuja’s name.
UH reported some of its 2010 financial data this week, according to The Plain Dealer. Revenue from operations grew slightly to $2 billion, while operating income stood flat at $88 million.
The health system’s community benefit contribution — which includes Medicaid shortfalls, community programs, donations and health clinics — also grew slightly to $237 million, though officials cautioned that was a conservative estimate that could rise as they review spending in more detail.
Zenty also announced a change to UH’s planning process. The health system had previously conducted planning by looking five years into the future, but now that’ll be reduced to three years.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“We have never worked in more uncertain times than we are working in right now,” he told The Plain Dealer, noting that uncertainty surrounding changes to federal- and state-backed Medicare and Medicaid payment plans are UH’s top concerns.
Medicare and Medicaid represented 61 percent of the health system’s gross revenue last year, up from 56 percent five years ago.
