As reflected in the Board of Directors’ Corporate Governance Guidelines, UHS has a deep-rooted commitment to a system of governance that enhances corporate responsibility and accountability. From its start in 1979 as an organization of 6 employees to a nearly 94,000 employee-strong, dual-continent enterprise, this commitment remains intact today.
The UHS Board Of Directors
- The Company’s business is conducted by its employees, managers and officers under the oversight of the Board of Directors. The Board is elected by the Company’s stockholders in accordance with the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, to oversee management and to assure that the long-term interests of the stockholders are served.
- The UHS Board of Directors is chaired by Founder and Executive Chairman Alan B. Miller. UHS Board of Directors has eight members; five (63%) of whom are independent, and three (38%) are female.
- There are currently six committees: Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and Quality and Compliance Committee.
- Nina Chen was elected to the Board of Directors in September 2022 and appointed to UHS’ Quality and Compliance Committee, effective January 1, 2023. Ms. Chen had a 13+ year tenure at Mercer, including her last role as Partner, gaining significant leadership experience in talent management, performance management, business development and benefits.
Learn more about Ms. Chen's election to UHS Board of Directors →
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Local Governance
- In the U.S., the Board of Directors at each of the Acute Care and Behavioral Health facilities have decision-making authority over financial and non-clinical operations issues. Meanwhile, Executive Leadership teams, organized Medical Staff and local governing bodies jointly oversee the day-to-day operations of these facilities, as well as our ambulatory surgery centers. Facilities’ local governing bodies also have Medical Staff oversight.
- As with all healthcare providers, UHS facilities are subject to regular visits and inspections by federal and state regulatory agencies. All our U.S. facilities are fully accredited by widely respected, independent organizations including The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). In the U.K., our Cygnet facilities are subject to regulatory review by the CQC, among others.
- Within the UHS organization, our Acute Care and Behavioral Health Divisions each have a Division Compliance Officer as well as designated Facility Compliance Officers who oversee their respective facilities’ local compliance programs and obligations.
- Similarly, the Acute Care and Behavioral Health Divisions each have Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and quality designees at the divisional and regional levels, as well as at select individual facilities.
Risk Management Measures
- Each Acute Care and Behavioral Health Division’s Risk Management program is led by a Division Risk Management Director, who is supported by Senior and/or Regional Risk Managers and Facility Risk Managers. In addition, the Acute Care Division has a Medication Safety Risk Manager who focuses their efforts on safe medication use including analysis and oversight of the medication administration system. This comprehensive risk management program is also comprised of a dedicated Corporate Loss Control (Employee Injury) staff, Claims Management professionals, as well as an Environmental Risk and Emergency Management (EM) team.
- UHS utilizes an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach to mitigate loss and promote employee and patient safety.
Patient Safety Organizations
The Acute Care and Behavioral Health Divisions each have their own Patient Safety Organization (PSO) to govern their respective risk management process. These PSOs, which are registered with the federal government under the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, voluntarily report and analyze data to help facilities identify opportunities to mitigate risk, reduce patient harm and improve quality of care.
Employee Safety Program Support Measures
- During 2022, the Environmental Risk and Emergency Management (EM) Team continued to diligently identify, analyze and implement risk avoidance measures to ensure a safe and secure working environment for staff, including increasing the number of trainings, consultations and resources provided since the previous year.
- The EM team has virtual trainings, playbooks and toolkits readily available at a secure, online location for all facilities to access at any time.
- The UHS Employee Safety Council, chaired by the Corporate Director of Environmental Risk and Emergency Management, is committed to workplace safety and remains keenly focused on developing training programs.
- During 2022, the Council’s Staff Safety subcommittee, which is comprised of Clinical Services, Loss Control, Risk Management, Human Resources and Legal, implemented Staff Safety Initiatives that were focused on reducing clinical injury rates in our Behavioral Health facilities.
- Similarly, the Acute Care Division has an ongoing focus on reducing employee injuries. During 2022, a work group met monthly with senior leadership teams from 51 UHS facilities, including Acute Care hospitals, freestanding emergency departments and physician practice locations. The group reviewed injuries (and their causes) and offered strategies that could be put in place to avoid recurrence. A measurement of the overall aggregate injury rate from these participating facilities shows that their low injury rate in January 2022 dropped even further by year-end 2022.
- Workplace violence continues to be a heightened safety/security concern across all sectors of society, including the healthcare industry. As a company, one of our top priorities is to maintain a safe and secure working environment for employees. During 2022, a work group comprised of our Employee Safety Council, Legal, Loss Control, Risk Management, Human Resources and other subject matter experts reviewed existing Workplace Violence Prevention Plans to ensure facility plans meet new specific state and regulatory standards.
Our Emphasis On Ethical Conduct
The Board of Directors and senior management of UHS are committed to healthcare operations that are ethical and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
- UHS’ Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer oversees the UHS Compliance Program and regularly reports on the Company’s compliance program operations to the Quality and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors and to the UHS Compliance Committee.
- We are committed to fostering a culture of accountability at all levels and encourage employees to report anything they believe could be noncompliant with our values. We prohibit retaliation for the good faith reporting of compliance concerns and offer the ability for individuals to anonymously elevate any concerns. Our commitment to fairness and integrity extends to everyone with whom we interact and do business.
- Our Code of Conduct provides guidance on expectations for acceptable behavior for those who work on behalf of UHS. It is intended to promote honest and ethical conduct, deter wrongdoing, promote compliance with all applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations, and prompt internal reporting of violations and compliance concerns.
UHS operates a Compliance Hotline as part of our Code of Conduct. To report an ethical dilemma or potentially inappropriate or illegal conduct, individuals may call the Compliance Hotline (toll free at 1-800-852-3449) or use Internet-based reporting at www.uhs.alertline.com.