Industry voices at the AHA Leadership Summit spoke on the approaches that are working at their respective organizations.
The circumstances around providers are not getting any easier, creating a greater sense of urgency for hospital and health system leaders to make strategic changes to improve their viability.
The need for action was the major takeaway from the AHA Leadership Summit in Nashville, where senior executives, clinicians, and experts in the industry gathered to discuss the ways providers can address the harsh realities they’re facing.
From building workforce pipelines to redesigning operations, hospital CEOs at the three-day event made clear that now is the time to implement proactive strategies to reshape how healthcare is delivered and sustained.
Here are four worthwhile approaches that CEOs shared at the Leadership Summit:
Workforce redesign from the ground up
Hospital leaders recognize that building and maintaining a workforce that lasts is central to everything they want to achieve.
UVA Health University Medical Center CEO Wendy Horton tackled the perennial workforce issue by asking how hospitals can increase the number of ready applicants rather than shuffling the deck of existing employees.
That thought process led to the creation of UVA’s Hub Synergy Center, a centralized platform supporting initiatives like clinical ladders, nurse residencies, and an “Earn While You Learn” program accessible to anyone with a high school diploma.
The results of UVA’s focus on educating the workforce of the future include traveler nurse reliance dropping from 785 to just 51, and nursing turnover plummeting from 22% to 9.3%, according to Horton.
Redesigned shifts, frontline feedback, and “relational coordination” have also created a culture of longevity and learning.
“There’s a win-win strategy,” Horton said. “When you really listen, people want to help. But they want to do it in a framework that will make their work-life balance manageable.”
Community partnerships power population health
When it comes to improving access to care, Bristol Health president and CEO Kurt Barwis highlighted the critical role community engagement plays.
His organization partnered with trusted local leaders to better reflect the populations they serve. Town halls and community programs drove deeper understanding, leading to better care.
“When we understood our population, we created programs to support them,” Barwis said.
He also advocated for the importance of understanding your data, using the example of Bristol Health bringing health administration students into its operations to spot gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Finally, Barwis didn’t shy away from financial realities, advising fellow hospital leaders to reexamine their efforts to collect payments and arguing that recovering avoidable losses helps fund the very programs underserved populations rely on.
Operational models require intentional design
To pursue sustainable transformation, Baystate Health president and CEO Peter Banko stressed the importance of setting clear operational frameworks early by defining structures, roles, and expectations.
That meant physician-led decision-making and clinical-driven models built around accountability at Baystate Health. The results weren’t immediate, with Banko admitting that the health system lost “a lot of money” at the 100-day marker, but it eventually led to the organization being on solid footing.
“We had to stabilize financials before doing everything else,” Banko said.
Honest conversations and exchanging feedback with vendors have been key to digital transformation for Boone Health president and CEO Brady Dubois.
A willingness to pilot new systems also allows organizations to get enough data points to gather information, which can be used to propel the business, Dubois noted.
Together, these CEOs stated that building the foundation for high-performing hospitals starts with intentional systems and leadership’s belief in the mission.
Strengthening finances through focus and transparency
In a session on sustainable financial strategies, CEOs shared how they’re finding untapped margin through workforce engagement, operational efficiency, and data-driven decisions.
Donna Lynne, CEO of Denver Health, said financial turnaround began with engaging staff and building a strategic plan around financial stability. Key moves include optimizing revenue cycle and operating 12 Medicaid enrollment sites that will be vital with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act looming, allowing the health system to reach newly uninsured patients.
Chris Newman, president and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare, described a 15-month overhaul to eliminate patient journey waste and centralize flow operations, which cut over 1,000 excess days to improve efficiency.
Meanwhile, Hollie Seeley, CEO of Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center, said she tracks exactly where the hospital makes money and redirects resources accordingly. Even minor barriers matter—after Seeley’s organization discovered parking costs deterred infusion visits, it made parking free.
All three leaders emphasized the importance of real-time dashboards and being transparent with staff to build a financially resilient culture.
Jay Asser is the CEO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hospital CEOs at the AHA Leadership Summit stressed that transformation can’t wait, as financial and operational pressures intensify.
Building lasting workforce pipelines, forging deeper community partnerships, and redesigning care operations are central strategies for sustainability.
Financial resilience starts with transparency, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making, as leaders work to uncover untapped margin and prepare for looming policy changes.