The Georgia Scroll
April 1998

Member Spotlight:

LARRY WEBB, CFO
Athens Regional Medical Center
By: Karen Mowrey, Director of Operations
Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren G. Bennis

How can I keep up?" "How can I ensure that I’m focusing on the right things and taking the actions that will ensure my hospitals’ success in the increasingly complex, fast moving healthcare industry?" For those of us struggling with these questions, we can look to this month’s featured CFO, Larry Webb to provide the answer and the proof that success is not so much a matter of "reacting to the ever - quickening pace of healthcare" as it is maintaining commitment to, and acting from, core values and principles.

Larry Webb, the Senior Vice President and CFO of Athens Regional Medical Center since 1984, received his fellowship in HFMA in 1979 and has received numerous awards including the Follmer, Reeves, Muncie and the Medal of Honor. In addition to his commitment to Athens Regional, he serves as a board member of Georgia First, a network of affiliated hospitals with the Emory University System of Healthcare, the Medical College of Georgia, and approximately 30 other medical centers in the state.

He began his career in the healthcare industry in 1969 at the Center for Management Systems of the University of Georgia. Armed with an MBA from the University of Georgia, he went to work at Candler Hospital of Savannah and in 1973 accepted the position of CFO at South Georgia Medical Center where he worked for nine years.

A two year hiatus from health care to work for the chemical industry taught Larry about financial controls used in that industry. In 1984 he returned to healthcare, accepting the position of CFO at Athens Regional Medical Center bringing with him financial skills gained in the chemical industry and at South Georgia Medical Center.

During Larry’s tenure as CFO, Athens Regional has accomplished a great deal. The hospital is financially more viable and has seen significant physical enhancements including the construction of a new North and South Tower, the addition of a substance abuse unit, a surgical center, and successful CON application for open heart surgery. In 1997the hospital established an HMO that, as of March – one year from the date of its inception – has enrolled 6,000 members. Currently the hospital is establishing an integrated health system. A physician panel, an insurance product, and additional services are being integrated into an overall system of care.

The hospital can also boast about the outstanding ratings it receives from patients. Polled on a quarterly basis, patients have rated Athens Regional’s employees and services as exemplary.

What are the secrets behind this success? Larry responded: "We (Athens Regional) are lucky…and what I mean is that old saying that "luck is when preparation meets opportunity"…I’ve lived that all my life…some people think I preach that, but I think it’s very important."

Asked what advice he would give a new CFO, Larry’s response was quick and to the point: "Know your issues and have strong convictions of your values…respect people, property, and ideas…work diligently and care about what you are doing." He brings his values to the forefront of his work; an example – about hiring new staff members he says, "I don’t care how much you know ’till I know how much you care." He is more committed to hiring people who genuinely care than he is to hiring knowledgeable people who lack caring and conviction for their work.

Larry reported that what he loves the most about being CFO is "the success and accomplishment of implementing plans…. It’s been fun to plan our work and then work our plan…" That his hospital now performs 440 open heart surgeries each year, representing revenue that used to flow out of the community directly to Atlanta and Augusta – based facilities, is evidence of the success of his approach. "Work diligently, alongside people who care, and know the issues, and respect people and their ideas."

What are the biggest challenges facing Athens Regional? "It’s taking care of the charity/indigent patient when no one will pay for their services." The changes in the health care industry, Larry said, are forcing us to "to take care of the community and to become more entrepreneurial in our approach."

Reflecting on the "old days" we all remember, Larry mused, "The cost report used to be three to five pages long, and we used to take two and a half days to complete what we now have to do in twenty minutes… (today) it’s warp speed." He identified an industry - wide phenomenon: the number and complexity of issues are continually increasing, with only continued acceleration in sight.

In fact, Larry reported that the biggest frustration about being a CFO today is that "there are forty to fifty projects ongoing and the CFO is fairly essential in the success of each. It used to be," he said, "that we had five to ten projects we’d tackle in a year, now it’s thirty a month!"

"How to deal with warp speed?" Larry focuses on his core beliefs: unwavering commitment to his values and the inherent belief that the keys to success are found in caring, respect, and diligence. He has witnessed how adhering to fundamentals can drive organizations toward their goals.

Larry approaches his free time with the same diligence and commitment as his work; "I spend as much of my free time as I can with my kids." He has three children: his oldest son is a general surgeon in his second year of residency at Augusta; his daughter is a financial planner in Atlanta; and his youngest son will graduate with a degree in finance this Spring. JoAnn, Larry’s wife of thirty years, is a third grade school teacher who Larry says has helped him a great deal. "Her skills (managing) third graders are …useful. Human nature is often best expressed in children….Joanne’s skills have helped me a lot as a CFO!"

When he’s not spending time with his family, Larry can be found at Road Atlanta, enjoying racing, or at home working on his mini-museum of auto memorabilia and scale model cars; a framed photo of a red and white ’57 corvette hangs behind his desk. In addition, he loves reading and keeps a 3,000 - volume library dedicated to the topics of Revolutionary War history and automobiles.

It was apparent to me, as I am sure it is to those who have had the pleasure to work alongside Larry Webb, that he is a leader with a strong track record of "turning visions into reality" and a highly valued member of the HFMA organization.

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Last modified: June 22, 2001