Champions of change. Today's CFOs learn to say 'yes' to TQM, patient-centered care and critical paths.

Still clinging to that old image of the hospital CFO as the person with the green eye shades and columnar paper who always says 'no'? Forget it. Today's CFO is a coach, teacher, leader and strategist. The new CFO is also a facilitator, actively finding ways to promote change, and actively finding ways to say "yes". At the root of this change is the CFO's involvement in initiatives--particularly TQM/CQI, patient-centered care and critical paths programs--that require a completely new approach to internal financing. In the process, inter-departmental relations at those hospitals are changing dramatically as well.