Thanks to our FierceHealthcare editorial advisors

Barely a week in, November is eliciting a stream of "I'm thankful for …" articles, blogs, Facebook posts and tweets. Leaving no trend behind, I'd like to express my thanks to a group of people who help us deliver more relevant and quality content and, ultimately, help us better serve you, our readers.

As you may have heard, FierceHealthcare recently introduced its Editorial Advisory Board. Well, I want to thank our new advisors, who already have proven themselves helpful and insightful. With health reform implementation set to go on in full swing, their industry experience and expertise will be even more welcomed.

"As someone involved in new care delivery models and facing challenges that other healthcare companies face, I want to help highlight important issues," advisory board member Gaurov Dayal, chief medical officer and senior vice president of physician innovation and integration at SSM Health Care, a 17-hospital system based in St. Louis, Mo., said last week in a statement.

With a wide-ranging group of healthcare leaders, our editors can delve into the various policies and trends that shape the healthcare industry--all with an inside perspective of what matters most.

Leaders from top-notch hospitals and health systems from across the United States and Canada have offered some wise advice, and a few warnings, about the ever-changing healthcare environment.

For instance, advisor Brian Harte, president of South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, recently explained how to handle the delicate balance of money and physician buy-in on organizational initiatives, such as reducing readmissions or rolling out an electronic medical record system.

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Meanwhile, Kent Bottles, senior fellow at the Thomas Jefferson University School of Population Health in Philadelphia and FierceHealthcare advisory board member, cautioned that pay-for-performance programs, despite admirable goals, won't cut the cost of healthcare delivery.

With Hurricane Sandy forcing hospitals to evacuate due to power outages and failed back-up systems, members of our FierceHealthIT Advisory Board shared how they prepare for natural disasters and potential damage caused by storms. Advisor Stephen Stewart, CIO at Henry County Health Center in tornado-prone Iowa, has his team "invent scenarios" to test their emergency protocols, he told FierceHealthIT.

Earlier this week, FierceHealthcare advisory board member William Cors, chief medical quality officer of Pocono Health System in East Stroudsburg, Pa., offered tips to successfully negotiate a physician employment contract, which could come in handy as more physicians prefer to be employed by hospitals and health systems.

Mind you, a spot on our editorial advisory board doesn't just mean bragging rights. Our members aren't afraid to talk about past failures, what went wrong and how they made it right.

For example, seven years ago, 65 percent of staff at Windsor Regional Hospital in Ontario, Canada, said they would not recommend the hospital as a place for friends and family to work. But once administration started to actively listen to front-line staff and implement their ideas, workplace satisfaction responses soared to 86 percent now saying they would recommend the hospital, CEO and President David Musyj, an advisory board member, told FierceHealthcare.

"We need to share our mistakes so others do not make them," John Halamka, a FierceHealthIT editorial advisory board member who is CIO of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said in a statement.

With editorial advisors having that attitude, I think you'll be thankful too. - Alicia (@FierceHealth)