SYRACUSE — Kimberly Boynton stands ready to become Crouse Hospital’s new CEO on New Year’s Day, and she believes her time as the hospital’s CFO has prepared her well.
Crouse’s board of directors on Oct. 30 announced that Boynton would replace Dr. Paul Kronenberg in the top job on Jan. 1.
Kronenberg has served as Crouse’s president and CEO since February 2004. The hospital appointed Boynton as CFO in October 2003.
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Boynton, who has worked for Crouse Hospital since 1998, tells HealthCare Provider she is “very excited” about becoming the hospital’s chief executive.
“In the past couple of years, I’ve had additional responsibilities to round out my role as CFO [focusing on] not just the financial aspect but also the operational aspect of the hospital,” Boynton says.
For example, the personnel involved in engineering and construction projects, who normally wouldn’t report to a CFO, have reported to Boynton.
In addition, she’s overseen information-technology efforts and been “greatly involved” in physician recruitment over the past few years, she says.
“I have a broader perspective of how the hospital operates beyond just the finances, and I think that that’s very important for me to have going forward into my new role,” she says.
In her current position, Boynton’s responsibilities “go far beyond what would be considered the normal scope” of a CFO role, Patrick Mannion, chair of the hospital’s board of directors, noted in the Oct. 30 news release announcing Boynton’s CEO appointment.
In addition to overseeing all day-to-day finance and business-office functions for the hospital, Boynton also has oversight of health-information management; patient access; housekeeping; purchasing; and materials management functions for the 506-bed hospital, Mannion added.
When asked about any plans she might have for the hospital’s future, Boynton says Crouse will continue to have a “very positive relationship” with its physicians.
“Even though I’m not a physician, I’ve worked very closely with them, and I will continue to make sure that they’re a priority going forward,” Boynton says.
In addition to its doctors, Crouse Hospital will also continue to focus on “other strategic areas” that include growth in its volume of surgical patients, growth in its primary-care presence in the community, and women’s and infant’s services, Boynton adds.
The hospital is also working to grow Crouse Medical Practice, PLLC, a physician-practice entity, which is a separate entity from Crouse Hospital, Boynton says.
Boynton currently serves as the president of Crouse Medical Practice and will continue in that role once she becomes CEO, she adds.
As the hospital continues recruiting additional internal-medicine doctors, it also aware of what Boynton says is a “nationwide shortage” of primary-care physicians.
“People in our community are waiting a long time to see a primary-care physician, so we’re trying to grow that practice to meet the needs of the community,” Boynton says.
In addition to physician recruitment, Crouse is examining options for a new information-technology system that targets its patients, she adds.
When asked about what concerns she has, Boynton says health-care executives are always concerned about reimbursements from both the state and federal governments.
“And that’s just an ongoing concern that any hospital or any provider would have,” she says.
Crouse Hospital also wants to continue promoting the “culture” of the organization, which Boynton says is a focus on satisfied employees, patients, and families.
The transition
Crouse’s current CEO, Dr. Kronenberg, had discussed succession planning with the hospital’s board of directors since early 2011, Mannion said in the news release.
“He had previously stated a desire to retire in 2012, but was asked to continue in the CEO role to oversee a number of strategic initiatives, which he graciously agreed to. With the board’s full confidence in Kimberly as his successor, Paul feels now is the right time for him to transition to another role within the organization,” Mannion said.
Kronenberg will next serve as vice chair of the board and will continue to be a member of the hospital’s senior-leadership team, Mannion noted.
Mannion called Boynton a “dynamic, action-oriented leader” and “uniquely qualified” to assume the role of CEO.
“Her depth and breadth of experience within the Crouse system in virtually all operational areas of the organization, coupled with her loyalty to and passion for Crouse and her community engagement experience, give the board great confidence that she’s the right individual to move into this critical role at this important time,” he said.
As CFO, Boynton has been “instrumental” in the Stage 1 “meaningful use” roll-out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the federal law commonly referred to as the economic-stimulus package); the acquisition of Internist Associates of Central New York; the formation and integration of Crouse Medical Practice; and construction of the hospital’s $53 million Witting Surgical Center and $13 million parking-garage projects, according to Crouse.
Boynton was also an “original core group participant” in Crouse’s efforts to “transform the culture of the organization” following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2003, the hospital said.
And a decade later, Boynton believes the organization is in good shape financially.
“At this point in time, Crouse Hospital is absolutely on a very sound, financial footing,” she says.
Crouse Hospital generated annual revenue of about $365 million in both 2012 and 2011, the hospital said.
Boynton started at Crouse in 1998 as a finance analyst and has been part of the hospital’s senior-leadership team since 2004. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
CFO replacement
Kelli Harris, a certified public accountant, will replace Boynton as Crouse Hospital’s next CFO, also effective Jan. 1. A Crouse employee since 2002, Harris currently serves as director of finance and patient-financial services, the hospital said in a news release.
Harris oversees all finance, reimbursement, financial forecasting, decision support, and budgeting activities for the hospital and its affiliates. She also is responsible for all patient accounting and patient-access functions across the Crouse system.
In addition to finance and patient financial services, Harris will also have oversight of the hospital’s health-information management and materials management and purchasing functions, according to Crouse.
Crouse Hospital, located at 736 Irving Ave. in Syracuse, employs more than 2,700 people. The private, not-for-profit hospital is licensed for 506 acute-care beds and 57 bassinets.
It serves more than 23,000 inpatients, 66,000 emergency-services patients, and 250,000 outpatients a year in a 15-county area, the hospital said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
