ARH’s ePMO Success: Strategic Project Management Office Built in Just 6 Months

Industry

Nonprofit Healthcare

Challenge

ARH faced too many competing projects and low project completion rate, making it hard for teams to deliver on enterprise strategic priorities. With limited resources and uneven processes across 14 geographically dispersed hospitals, leaders needed a better way to manage projects and help patients get the care they need.

Results

In just six months, Corbeau Tech helped ARH launch an enterprise PMO that unified project management and sped up project initiation and delivery. Teams now follow a shared playbook, prioritize the most important work, and deliver better outcomes for their communities.

Key Product

Enterprise Project Management Office (ePMO)

www.arh.org

hospitals in 2 states

6.7K

employees

months—ePMO launched

Strategy dies if it lives on a PowerPoint. The ePMO is the execution arm that helps us reach the outcomes our communities need.

Caleb Cobane

Vice President of Strategy Development and System Integration at Appalachian Regional Healthcare

About Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH)

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) is a not-for-profit health system serving Central Appalachia. Founded in November 1955 with the opening of Middlesboro, ARH operates 14 hospitals across southeastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, with over 6,700 employees and 1,300 providers. ARH’s mission is to improve health and well-being in partnership with its communities, guided by values of trust, innovation, collaboration, compassion, and service.

Hear from ARH

The ARH Mission

ARH exists to deliver great care close to home. Their leadership wanted to turn strategy into action, not just slide decks, so teams could move faster on the projects that matter most to patients and staff.

What is a Project Management Office (PMO)?

A Project Management Office (PMO) is a team or department that sets standards, provides tools, and guides how projects are managed across an organization. PMOs help make sure projects are done the right way, on time, and with the best results.

What is an Enterprise Project Management Office (ePMO)?

An Enterprise Project Management Office (ePMO) is a PMO that works across the whole organization, not just one department. The ePMO connects strategy to action, making sure every project supports the company’s biggest goals.

The Corbeau Tech ePMO Solution

ARH partnered with Corbeau Tech to build an enterprise PMO in only 6 months, cutting the usual timeline in half and accelerating better care for their communities. Our proven approach is designed to be repeatable, so any healthcare or nonprofit team can achieve similar results.

As Caleb Cobane (ARH VP of Strategy Development and System Integration) put it, "Strategy dies if it lives on a PowerPoint. The ePMO is the execution arm that helps us reach the outcomes our communities need.”

Approach: Three-phased build to ensure buy-in and sustained change:

1. Assessments and Report-Out:

Executive and frontline interviews
Stakeholder Traceability Matrix (STM)
SWOT and current-state diagnostics
Clear, people-first problem statements

2. ePMO Build:

Governance model tailored to ARH’s culture (supportive → directed → controlling balance)
Standard processes, KPIs, and a PMO Balanced Scorecard
Unified project tools and transparent reporting so teams can focus on what matters, delivering better care

3. Transition and Uplift

Handover to ARH leaders and contractors
Coaching to elevate project skills across service lines
Intake training so the best ideas get resourced at the right time

“We listen—directly through patient and employee feedback, and indirectly through behavior—and then translate strategy into projects with clear measurements. That’s what the ePMO is built to do,” said Caleb Cobane, Vice President of Strategy Development and System Integration at ARH.

How the ePMO Works and Puts People First

Keeps care local: By moving work forward faster, ARH reduces avoidable delays and transfers that separate patients from families.

Gives teams a partner, not a gatekeeper: The ePMO brings experience, tools, and facilitation, meeting clinical leaders halfway to plan, deliver, and measure outcomes together.

Builds Enterprise Project Acumen and Sustained Best Practices: Training and templates help sites deliver smaller projects independently while the ePMO focuses on the highest-impact work.

Corbeau Tech Deliverables

Corbeau Tech delivered a proven governance model, streamlined project intake, and practical tools that empower teams like ARH to deliver results.

ePMO governance model and operating cadence

Portfolio intake and prioritization framework

Templates and toolkits (charter, status, risk, STM, SWOT, reporting)

PMIS/data architecture foundation for transparent portfolio reporting

Leadership workshops and change-management support

Sustainability roadmap and transition plan to ARH teams

What’s Next?

ARH plans to keep investing in high-mortality, high-need disease areas with comprehensive local services, state-of-the-art tools, and a disciplined project approach—so more families can get great care without leaving their community.

Caleb shared that “We’re optimistic and bullish about the future of the ePMO and ARH.”

About Corbeau Tech

Corbeau Tech builds Project Management Offices (PMOs) and Enterprise Project Management Offices (ePMOs) that deliver project execution systems for nonprofits and healthcare organizations. Our proven approach brings clarity, speed, and trust to mission-driven teams, helping leaders launch PMOs in months, not years, and achieve real results faster.

Why Corbeau Tech?

We help mission-driven organizations like ARH turn strategy into action—fast. Our approach is proven, repeatable, and tailored to your needs.

Ready to build an ePMO that moves your mission?

Let’s align your projects to patient outcomes, fast.