Organizational and governance changes help regain shareholder support for hospital cooperative.

Founded in 1983, Child Health Corporation of America serves 41 of the largest, most successful children’s hospitals in the U.S. with a wide range of programs, including group purchasing, clinical improvement initiatives, web-based education and the sharing of knowledge across institutions to improve pediatric care. Despite coming off of several years of record growth and profitability, the Board of Directors of CHCA recognized the need to reassess the core structure and practices of the organization to address concerns expressed by several shareholder hospitals. These concerns included corporate structure, governance principles/practices and compensation structure.

Assessing the diverse concerns and goals voiced by the 41 CHCA shareholders, Burl Stamp helped the Board navigate some of the most challenging problems faced by the organization since its founding. Listening and understanding the perspectives of all shareholders was the first critical step in making decisions that would allow the organization to regain lost momentum and chart a new future course. Recognizing that no action would be completely supported by all shareholders, the Board’s decision-making process had to be seen as fair, open and equitable.

“Burl Stamp did a highly professional job of listening to all perspectives, organizing the issues and presenting options in a manner that the Board could understand and make informed decisions,” comments CHCA Board Chair Walter W. Noce, Jr., President & CEO of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Today, CHCA has moved beyond the difficult, contentious issues that faced the organization in 2003 and is developing a new strategic plan for its next phase of growth and success.