'Educate, advocate, and participate,' says Weinheimer - Healthcare and Financial Management Association Chmn Christopher F. Weinheimer - includes related articles - Chairman's Profile

Healthcare Financial Management, June, 1993

"I have three key words in my mind," declares Christopher F. Weinheimer, FHFMA, CPA, HFMA's new Chairman for 1993-94. "One is 'educate,' one is 'advocate,' and one is 'participate.'

"As an organization, HFMA has done a lot in the educational arena over the years, and we continue to be strong in that area," says Weinheimer, who is senior vice president of Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. "An area we need to concentrate on is advocacy--but our advocacy efforts should not be limited to purely financial issues. We need to look at tort reform, perhaps at the issues of credentialing, and at other issues as well."

Weinheimer's number one objective as HFMA's Chairman, though, will be to stimulate member involvement, particularly in healthcare reform. "One of the most valuable roles healthcare financial managers can play is to understand the world that we are being asked to function in--particularly the economic world we're being asked to function in--and to be able to translate that understanding into meaningful action. We must educate staff, educate boards, educate members, and develop agendas within our own organizations that will allow us to become not only successful economically, but also to be successful deliverers of health care in a broad set of networks.

"I think it is rather embarrassing to have to explain to people from Europe and from Canada why it is that we, as a nation, cannot provide at least basic coverage for everyone. Reform needs to occur and hopefully will occur within a short period of time."

'You ought to be an accountant.'

As an undergraduate college student, Weinheimer originally pursued a degree in education. "But I gradually came to realize that I was not going to be an overwhelming success at it," he admits. "So I ended up taking a bunch of aptitude and competency tests, and the fellow said, Well, from the looks of this, you ought to be an accountant.'" So Weinheimer changed his major, graduated from New York University's School of Commerce in 1966 with a degree in accounting, and went into public accounting for several years.

In 1970, Weinheimer went to work for New Hampshire Vermont Blue Cross and three years later became director of Medicare audit and reimbursement programs for the Blue Cross plan. In 1975, he moved on to join the staff of Medical Center Hospital of Vermont. Since then, "one thing has led to another, and almost 18 years have gone by." Today he serves as Medical Center Hospital's CFO, a position he has held for six years.

When queried as to what prompted his involvement as a voluntary leader of HFMA, Weinheimer is modest. "Well, I think it is probably more a matter of being one of those people that never says 'no.' I try to find ways to do things to help out along the way. As soon as I went to work for the Medical Center, I joined HFMA's New Hampshire-Vermont Chapter and became actively involved in chapter activities. People just kept asking me to do more, and I just kept saying 'yes.'

"I believe that when you are involved in a profession you should participate in it beyond just what you do in your normal day-to-day work life. It not only helps the profession, it helps you. You come into contact with new people, new ideas, and new ways of thinking about things that you, quite frankly, would not find on your own. I feel that HFMA is a very valuable organization, both for the work that it does and for the kinds of people that take an active interest in it. A number of years ago I made up my mind that I would continue to work with HFMA and, if they asked me to do something, I would go ahead and do it. This is where it has led. It has certainly been a worthwhile experience for me personally and professionally and I only hope I have contributed something of corresponding value along the way.

Dramatic changes

Reviewing his quarter-century career as a healthcare financial management professional, Weinheimer is empathic about the changes he has seen in the profession, and the changes he anticipates. "The changes have been dramatic, absolutely dramatic. We all know the history of Medicare and Medicaid coming in '65. That

actually brought about a dramatic change in hospital accounting and financing activities. Having come out of public accounting in the proprietary sector, I was rather amazed at the state of the accounting systems and thought processes in hospitals at the time. They were antiquated to put it kindly. The amount of change that has taken place over the years has been monumental.

"Of course, our whole way of thinking has changed, too. Back in the early '80s, it was perfectly fine to develop a cost budget and be cost reimbursed. Then came DRGs in '83, and all of a sudden our thinking was forced to change to an understanding of the source of our revenue streams and how we could live within them.

"I think that the next quantum leap will be tied to the whole business of managed care, and some of the global budgeting and capping concepts we hear about today we will see in a changed healthcare delivery and financing system in the future. The magnitude of change has become greater with each cycle, and the cycles are coming closer together. There is tremendous pressure on financial managers to reexamine the way they view the financing of healthcare delivery."