There is little doubt that our country, indeed the world, is in the midst of an economic crisis unlike anything most of us working in hospice care today have ever seen. That sad fact is complicated by the sometime contradictory information and advice that is available to us as professional managers, and even in our personal lives.

In our opinion, the principles of good management and thoughtful leadership, which have been the hallmark of successful hospices and businesses across the decades are as important as they have ever been, if not more so. Those principles include:

• Focus on the patient and family and the delivery to them of the highest quality service
• An understanding that our “customers” also include others in the community, for example: physicians, discharge planners, other health care providers, our employees and volunteers, and the community at large
• A commitment to a deliberative and inclusive decision making process
• A commitment to information driven management and planning that allows us to differentiate between “data” and information
• A commitment to education and training, and continued improvement of the quality of the care we provide and the skills of the staff that provide that care
• The ability to measure and understand risk so that especially in these trying times, we do not let opportunity pass us by

With these and other principles in mind, Summit Business Group, LLC is pleased to have achieved more than decade of service to the nation’s hospices. Please visit our services section and let us know how we might be able to serve you.