THE MERGER OF THREE HOSPITALS

Kantonsspital Baselland

Kantonsspital Baselland (KSBL) is a central hospital providing basic medical care for 250,000 people in northwestern Switzerland. KSBL offers first-class medical services in clinics at three locations in Liestal, Bruderholz and Laufen and employees over 3,500 people. With over 850 beds, KSBL is one of the 10 largest hospitals in Switzerland. In 2012, the electorate of the canton of Baselland decided to take the three hospitals Bruderholz, Laufen and Liestal out of the cantonal administration and merge them into the new "Kantonsspital Baselland".

Challenges

  • Merging three hospitals – each with their own stories and cultures – with one another
  • Each and every player had to work together: Employees, politicians, partners, doctors and hospital managers and their participation had to be ensured
  • Realigning strategies and developing sustainable structures and culture
  • Generating a buy-in for employees and the population

Contribution

  • Supported the CEO in the merger of the hospitals as external advisors. Jointly propelled the merger forward in a committed and systematic manner
  • Development of a joint strategy, necessary management structures and a sustainable corporate culture
  • Conception and implementation of leadership and communication opportunities
  • Management of the project team and all change management activities

Impact

  • Successful merger of the three hospitals
  • The strategic, structural and cultural prerequisites for the merger were created within a very short time
  • Stronger competitiveness and autonomy
  • Anchoring of new management processes and the KSBL identity
  • The project’s success was also verified by the nomination for the ASCO Award "Best Business Transformation"
More than 20 years of close cooperation speaks for itself! Even before the merger, I worked superbly with Bernd Remmers Consultants for the Canton Hospital Liestal in the areas of culture, leadership, mission statement development and so on. As a result of the cooperation, we are now ranked as the top hospital in Switzerland in terms of price, performance and quality. Bernd Remmers Consultants was the perfect partner for the merger of the three hospitals, Bruderholz, Liestal and Laufen. In my opinion, what distinguishes Bernd Remmers Consultants from the rest is their many years of experience in guiding change processes with their aspiration to empower managers internally as well as their profound hospital know-how. Thank you for your excellent support! Heinz Schneider, former CEO, Kantonsspital Baselland
Hch. Perschmann