How Cedars-Sinai's Next CEO Strives to Build a 'Positive, Joyful' Work Environment

Peter Slavin shares his biggest areas of focus when taking the helm at the Los Angeles-based health system.

Cedars-Sinai is set to have a new leader for the first time in three decades, but for incoming CEO Peter Slavin, the priority remains solving for healthcare’s number one pain point.

When Slavin becomes the next president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Health System on October 1, he has his sights set on improving the workplace for clinical staff through technology solutions and a people-first approach.

“Clearly the workforce was traumatized during the pandemic and is slowly recovering,” Slavin told HealthLeaders. “How do you make the work environment as positive and joyful as possible? That really is an important focus of mine, as well as the basic economics of the organization.”

Slavin will replace longtime leader Thomas Priselac, who is retiring after 45 years with Cedars-Sinai, including 30 as president and CEO. Most recently, Slavin served as an advisor and board member for multiple healthcare companies, but before that he was president of Massachusetts General Hospital from 2003 to 2021.

During his time in Boston, Slavin “successfully led major growth in the hospital’s clinical care mission, research funding, scientific impact, workforce development and fundraising,” according to the news release announcing his appointment.

He also witnessed firsthand the effect the pandemic had on the physicians, nurses, and other staff, exacerbating workforce challenges that hospitals and health systems continue to contend with.

Pictured: Peter Slavin, next president and CEO, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Health System.

Relieving the administrative burden placed on workers is vital, Slavin said, especially with younger generations placing greater value on work-life balance. Addressing that requires a multi-pronged approach that utilizes technology and is attentive to solutions like flexible and virtual work.

“One of the sources of trauma that the healthcare workforce is facing is just the trauma caused by spending too much time in front of computers and not enough time in front of patients,” Slavin said. “Generative AI and other aspects of artificial intelligence, there's incredible opportunity to shift that balance between time in front of computers and patients and make it much more favorable from clinician standpoint.

“But I would emphasize that I don't think technology is the only answer to the issue. I think it's a variety of other things. It's just management paying close attention to the needs, the voices of the workforce and making sure that we're as attentive as ever to how to make the work environment as positive as possible.”

Strengthening the workforce can also help hospitals build back trust with the public, Slavin acknowledged. New research published in JAMA Network Open revealed that trust in physicians and hospitals from 71.5% in April 2020 to 40.1% in January 2024.

“It is disheartening that we've gone from heroes to goats in such a short order,” Slavin said.

A worn-out and overburdened workforce had its hands full with capacity constraints during the pandemic, making the public wary about providers’ effectiveness.

Alleviating staffing shortages isn’t the only way to win back patients though, according to Slavin. As demand for a retail experience continues to build, traditional providers must make the experience of receiving care as user-friendly as possible.

He said: “Using digital technology, using customer service training, I just think it's incumbent on healthcare organizations to make the user experience as positive as possible and as good as it is when people go to restaurants or hotels or other activities in their lives.”