A national search for Kevin Slavin's successor is currently underway.
Paterson, New Jersey-based St. Joseph's Health announced yesterday that the health system's president and CEO is retiring.
Kevin Slavin, who has a healthcare career spanning over forty years, will end his eight-year tenure leading the nonprofit Catholic health system at the end of 2023.
A national search for Slavin's successor is currently underway and being conducted by a search committee convened by the system's board of trustees. A leadership transition process will take place over the next twelve months. In the meantime, Slavin will continue to lead St. Joseph's Health, working closely with the organization's board and leadership team.
"It has been my great honor and privilege to lead St. Joseph's," Slavin said in a press release shared with HealthLeaders. "I am proud of the organization we are today and the impact we've had on so many lives. St. Joseph's is a remarkable family of extraordinary people, bolstered by our sponsors, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. I am in awe of their compassion, their commitment to excellence, and their resilience, and I am confident that St. Joseph's will continue to grow and flourish in the years ahead."
Since becoming the leader of St. Joseph's in 2015, St. Joseph's University Medical Center became the first hospital in the country to launch an Alternative to Opioids Program (ALTO) and was the inspiration for the U.S. ALTO in Emergency Departments Act, signed into legislation in October 2018.
He spearheaded a clinical and strategic partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health, which began in 2020 to expand home care, rehabilitation, and cancer care in northwestern New Jersey.
He also had the difficult task of leading the health system through the COVID-19 pandemic. He also served as chairperson of the board for the New Jersey Hospital Association during the height of the pandemic in 2020, where he played a critical role in hospital response to the pandemic in the Garden State and across the northeast.
In 2022, the health system opened a new 140,000-square-foot ambulatory facility in Totowa, New Jersey under Slavin's leadership.
During his healthcare career in New Jersey, Slavin has had a lasting impact in addressing social determinants of health through award-winning initiatives in Passaic County, including addressing food insecurity and violence in the community, and launching the state's first supporting housing facility adjacent to the campus of St. Joseph's Health.
Praise for Kevin Slavin
"Kevin has played an instrumental role in our continued success, expanding care throughout the region, leading us through the pandemic and sustaining our 155-year mission to the community. We are privileged to have worked with Kevin and are enormously grateful to him for his many contributions … Kevin is giving us plenty of time to conduct a comprehensive search and prepare the organization for his departure. The Board extends immense gratitude to him for his exemplary leadership." — Wilfredo Fernandez, Chairperson, St. Joseph's Health Board of Trustees.
"Kevin has been a strong leader guided by the Charism of Charity having a special concern for those who were poor and vulnerable in the communities St. Joseph’s Health serves. He has served as a visionary leader, with integrity and compassion, in a time of extraordinary change in healthcare," —Sr. Maureen Shaughnessy, SC, General Superior, Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, the sponsor of St. Joseph's Health.
"Kevin helped steer us through one of the most important periods for health care in our state’s history, and we will forever be grateful for his leadership." —Cathy Bennett, President and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association.
Notable U.S. sector job gains occurred in healthcare, as well as leisure and hospitality, construction, and social assistance.
The healthcare sector saw more job growth while closing out 2022.
Last month, healthcare employment increased by 55,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The ambulatory healthcare sector saw an increase of 30,000 jobs, hospitals saw an increase of 16,000, and nursing and residential care facilities gained 9,000.
"The December jobs data show that hospitals and health systems continue to prioritize filling critical positions to care for their patients," the American Hospital Association's vice president of policy research, analytics, and strategy, Aaron Wesolowski, said in a statement released by the AHA. "However, they continue to face tremendous workforce and inflationary cost pressures, which resulted in unprecedented losses for many hospital and health systems in 2022."
The sector, overall, experienced notable job growth during 2022, compared to the previous year. On average, the healthcare sector experienced 49,000 job increases per month, which the BLS reported as a considerable increase from the 9,000 monthly average job growth in 2021.
The healthcare sector's 2022 snapshot features a few slow months at the beginning of the year, but overall it had steady growth throughout the year.
A big focus for hospitals and health systems this year will be to continue to fill critically needed doctor, nurse, and staff positions, a feat which has plagued the healthcare sector even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December, total nonfarm employment increased by 223,000, the BLS report. Payroll employment increased by 4.5 million in 2022, with an average monthly gain of 375,000. This is lower than the 2021 payroll increase of 6.7 million, which was a monthly average gain of 562,000.
The unemployment rate decreased to 3.5% in December, for a total of 5.7 million unemployed persons. Between March and December, the unemployment rate stayed between 3.5% to 3.7%.
Eight health system and hospital marketing executives weigh in on what their teams will focus on during the upcoming year.
As we settle into the new year, hospital and health system marketing leaders have hit the ground running with marketing strategies for 2023.
HealthLeaders asked several marketing executives: What marketing trends are you currently following and what will be your main focus to make 2023 a successful year for your marketing department and organization?
While the answers vary, the consumer remains at the center of healthcare marketing, much like during the past year. Read on to see how eight healthcare marketing executives will execute their marketing strategies this year.
Lee Echols, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Northside Hospital
"In 2023, the Georgia-based Northside Hospital system will continue communications that acknowledge patient sentiments, and that are aligned with their health, social, and cultural experiences. As we typically do, we'll try a few new strategies. Our community partnership program is very strong and will broaden into new areas this year. We'll also stay on brand with our very successful 'Look To Northside' campaign, reviving it occasionally with tighter targets in mind."
Jennifer E. Gilkie, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, Dartmouth Health
"Like all healthcare organizations, we are grappling with the increased demand caused by the 'tripledemic,' ongoing workforce challenges, inflation, and supply chain issues that are causing even more economic stress than what we experienced during the first three years of the pandemic. That said, we are optimistic around the opportunity this presents for the strategic impact which marketing can make—now more than ever during these challenging times.
"At Dartmouth Health, we are focused on thoughtfully positioning ourselves through the use of storytelling tools to deliver content through targeted channels, with an emphasis on new digital formats and enhanced use of video to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time. As part of our brand journey, we spent a great deal of time understanding what makes our internal and external audiences passionate about who we are [and] what makes us distinctive in the market. We used this knowledge, along with data and analytics, to build our communications and marketing strategies, including where we need to 'be seen' and deliver what consumers think and want."
Sandra Mackey, Chief Marketing Officer, Bon Secours Mercy Health
"2022 ended with the healthcare industry experiencing turmoil and economic challenges, which we expect to continue throughout this year. As marketers, it is our responsibility to be nimble in an environment of economic uncertainty while providing consumers with the broadest access to high-quality care across our communities. Our pivot from more traditional forms of marketing to those that demonstrate tangible results allow us to optimize in real time. We employ an agile test and learn approach that enables us to lean heavily on digital capabilities, which both creates efficiencies and produces meaningful data that informs our decision-making. Doing so has allowed us to demonstrate how we're driving growth and impacting the bottom line, as well as giving us the opportunity to glean quick insights and rapidly refine our approach as we go. We will continue to implement agile marketing strategies that enable us to leverage consumer insights much like other industries, such as hospitality, have been doing for years."
Nisha Morris, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, City of Hope Orange County
"Major cancer centers understand that the disease we seek to treat and cure is complex, not just as we develop medical breakthroughs but also for care delivery. No organization can do this alone. It takes collaboration with like-minded partners to find solutions and make them equitably accessible.
"Last year, we opened City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center and brought in many partners along the way by developing innovative affiliations with the public and private sectors, as well as forming traditional and non-traditional relationships. This greatly expanded our reach, enhanced innovation, and allowed us to further our vision of democratizing cancer care. From a marketing perspective, it also challenged us to broaden our narrative, reach out to diverse communities, and take advantage of new tech formats to enhance the patient experience.
"In 2023, our marketing team will continue to use data and digital tools to enhance these relationships and ensure we are reaching those needing our services. With one in three Americans receiving a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, we are compelled to come together, be highly effective in our work, and make this the decade of new hope and, eventually, cures."
Nick Ragone, EVP, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Ascension
"We have several marketing priorities for 2023, including social validation and storytelling—making sentiment and reviews available for consumer preference and bringing to life the shareable stories of Ascension's compassionate, personalized care from our associates, our patients, and their families in their own words. [We are also] further aligning our marketing technology stack as a growth function with our digital and operational experience, and creating multi-touch, integrated marketing campaigns that will focus on leading with quality and highlighting the advancements our providers and sites of care are making across Ascension."
Chrisie Scott, SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Virtua Health
"Orienting to the ever-evolving consumer will continue to drive our 2023 marketing strategies. The aftermath of the pandemic, combined with economic uncertainties and the acceleration of digital technologies, will influence how we deploy our brand to new and existing consumers. We recognize that today's consumers place a higher emphasis on authenticity, transparency, and diversity than ever before. They expect relevant and seamless messaging and experiences across all channels—in person and digitally. Being intentional about delivering simple and personalized experiences to various segments will be key to our ability to build trust, inspire engagement, and engender loyalty.
"Our initiatives around creating ideal experiences in 2023 for 'everybody, always' will include marketing's influence on the experiences we extend to one-another within our workforce. Virtua Health has prioritized investing in well-being practices, and personal and professional skill development as a strategic imperative to nurturing an inclusive, caring culture."
Ramon Soto, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Northwell Health
"Northwell Health is focused on ensuring we deliver better health for all the communities we serve. One way we do that is by taking a deep look into what consumers' attitudes are regarding healthcare at both an individual and societal level.
"Regarding consumers, coming out of the pandemic, individuals are much more aware of the value of good health and the status of their own health. It leads to an opportunity to have a very different conversation about how we take the healthcare journey with an individual and how we can partner with them for better health.
"On the social health front, guns have become the leading cause of death for children in the US, as reported by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. [It's] an absurd place for this nation to be. Gun violence is a top concern for society. Northwell has moved forward with a gun safety campaign that has the potential to create great social good, save children, and address an important healthcare concern."
Eric Steinberger, Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Health System
"As hospitals and health systems complete a challenging finish to 2022, I am looking forward to a 2023 that will bring further opportunity for connecting with consumers in more personalized ways. By focusing on the end-to-end consumer experience Atlantic Health System recognizes that customers expect convenient digital tools and enhanced personalization to make the process of receiving healthcare in line with the evolution of their experiences across other industries, such as retail and financial services.
"The year ahead will be defined not just in how we reach consumers, but by the information we share with them. We are focused on creating consumer-first content. Because consumers are as proactive as ever about managing their health, we need to create content that is relevant to them and distribute in formats and channels that are convenient and fit into their lifestyle. As an organization we remain focused on creating health equity and reaching underserved populations. Marketing is a critical partner in helping ensure we are continuing to build trust in all of the communities we serve."
The senior vice president of Allina Health's operations and acute care services shares what initiatives she has championed and supported during 2022 and discusses what she will be focusing on in the new year.
Editor's note: This conversation is a transcript from an episode of the HealthLeaders Podcast. Audio of the full interview can be found here and below.
Sara Criger has more than two decades of experience leading as a hospital president. Ten years ago she joined Allina Health, a nonprofit health system based in Minneapolis, which serves patients in Minnesota and western Wisconsin through 11 hospitals and more than 90 clinics.
In April 2022, she was promoted from senior vice president of operations to SVP of operations and acute care services for the health system, which includes offering executive leadership and support to 11 hospitals and key clinical service lines for the system, including the Allina Health emergency medical services, Allina's mental health and addiction services, and cardiovascular clinical service lines.
In a recent podcast interview with HealthLeaders, Criger details the important initiatives she has championed and supported during 2022 and shares what she will be focusing on this year.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HealthLeaders: What drew you to work in healthcare?
Sara Criger: My personal background is part of what drew me into healthcare. I grew up one of five children in Michigan. My parents were committed community members and in professions that they loved. In fact, my dad was a superintendent of a construction company, and [when I] probably was 11 or 12, I remember he was in charge of building a hospital in Michigan, and we used to go check on the job when I was a kid. The irony is, 10 years ago, I joined Alina and was running Mercy Hospital. We were doing construction and I found a pamphlet from my dad's work and that hospital that he built was Mercy Hospital.
My mom also influenced me growing up. She was a pediatric nurse and got into leadership later in her career, running a homecare agency, and [she] worked for the Red Cross. I thought I was going to be a nurse and decided I would pursue that in my adult years. I worked while I went to school so while I went to school to be a nurse and got trained to be a clinic medical assistant and worked with a private practice on the East Coast.
While I went to college, I realized a couple of things. Nurses have to do a lot in the science area, and science was not a strength for me. But, also, in the private practice that I worked for, I started to get engaged in not only doing the work, but how could I help us as a clinic be better overall. The leaders in the practice saw that interest and said, "Hey, you'd be good at leadership, can we give you a caveat leadership role?" So I moved up and decided at that point to switch my curriculum to a business major with [a focus in] healthcare and human resources.
Between my family history—I have one sister who died of diabetes and whose sons also have diabetes, [and] another family member who struggled with mental illness—healthcare is very personal, and it's very real. It's a calling. We come into healthcare, many of us having had experiences that give us a strong passion for what we do and make a personal commitment to make a difference, and to help the system be better for our community.
The opportunities I was given to tap into that kind of commitment and passion [were] a gift. I had some time in the academic medical school setting, and then eventually did pivot over to more hospital leadership. Doors open when you love what you do, and you work with and for people who give you those opportunities to learn and grow.
HL: What innovative work have you led so far in your position as VP of Allina Health operations and acute care services?
Criger: The opportunity to step into the broader role has been an honor and a privilege for me to support the hospitals and to step into this having had such recent experience in a hospital setting.
At my level, I get to see and help champion a lot of what the frontline caregivers and the clinical program leaders are driving for the organization and help advance them, so I am not sure I can take credit for what innovative work I've led.
Coming through the pandemic, especially the last year, we've experienced extreme pressures on the system. People are coming back for care, many people delayed or postponed care during the pandemic, and they're sicker or they waited longer, and now they need us more than ever. This past fall, we've experienced a lot with the influenza season and RSV on top of COVID.
But access to care has been where we've had to be most creative and innovative. I'm proud of how the teams have done a lot to extend virtual care and telehealth. Our mental health and addiction services team has been able to not only protect the community and patients through the pandemic by offering virtual or telehealth care, but they've also been able to use that even as we've lifted our social distancing requirements to get access to care to people in rural communities or who live far away. Our ability to expand telehealth visits, consultations, even intensive partial hospitalization day programs virtually have been exciting to support and see take off and be able to address at a time when we have a crisis around mental health and addiction.
We're doing a lot in Allina to keep patients at home. So, in addition to telehealth and virtual care, we've been working to promote hospital at home as a mechanism for helping patients get discharged from the hospital sooner, or to avoid a hospital admission with a higher level of care in the home environment.
HL: What initiatives are you looking forward to championing in 2023? Are there any pain points you're specifically looking to address?
Criger: Access to care issues are not going to resolve quickly; that's going to continue to be a challenge for us. Behind the access challenges are the workforce challenges. Recruitment and retention remain top priority, no question about it. Our goal is to make sure we are focused on the retention and the well-being of our workforce that's in place, and then continue to think about how to be creative in the recruitment space. How do we attract kids in high school into healthcare and get them thinking about what is available to them? How do we think about creating, in some cases with the schools, programs for training so that we have adequately trained and skilled people coming out to such a variety of job skills and opportunities?
One choke point right now with as many people having retired or left the field, is we have a lot more people that we're getting trained. We've got to expand [the size of our programs] with our academic and technical program partners and get more people through that. And then, addressing this changing workforce: What is the workforce of the future looking for?
One of the things that the pandemic and workforce has provided as another incentive is to change healthcare. The transformation of the healthcare system is something that many of us know needs to happen. We are a costly healthcare system in the United States, we don't necessarily get the outcomes we should for the cost we pay. And a lot of that is because we've had a reimbursement system that has focused on when people are sick or injured, versus how do we keep people healthy and promote wellness. [How do we] keep patients out of the hospital, out of the operating rooms, and the EDs?
We're excited about the opening of a mental health and addiction specialty center, a future state specialty center that brings a lot of our community partners in with our caregivers. Mental health and addiction services generally requires a partnership through many community-based services as well as healthcare services. In the Fridley, Minnesota community, we're going to be bringing together many teams to provide a whole different level of care with a mental health and addiction ambulatory specialty center, which is going to be innovative. I'm looking forward to the outcomes they're going to be getting with our partners.
HL: What has been your experience working and leading as a woman in healthcare?
Criger: I've been blessed over the years to have great leaders who allowed me to step up and try things. They saw my commitment, my passion, my potential, and gave me opportunities.
I have to admit, I didn't think much about it, as it relates to gender differences. One of the things that I've noticed, though, is early in my career, while healthcare was, as far as numbers goes, mostly females in staff roles, the positions of physicians, and oftentimes leadership roles, were held more predominantly by males. One of the things I would observe is that has shifted quite a bit through my career. It's easier to see the benefit of the gender balance. We need other diversity balance as well. We'll continue to work on that.
One of my favorite books is Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In." [Women] think about strategically how to position ourselves a little bit more. We have such a tendency for inclusion, and that is such an asset. We also tend to be a little more reluctant to believe in ourselves and see ourselves being capable of doing something that maybe our male counterparts might go in and may not think twice about it. It's important to understand that and question ourselves about that, because awareness helps us think about things differently. We should recognize those traits and be there and help others. We have an obligation to do for others what has been done to support us.
Healthcare marketing execs kept consumers top of mind this year while implementing strategies to engage with and meet consumer expectations.
It's no secret that to be successful in healthcare marketing initiatives, hospitals and health systems need to keep patients and consumers front and center. This is due to competition not only from other hospitals and health systems, but also from retail companies, drugstores, and on-demand virtual care companies that have come into the mix.
To create brand loyalty and meet patients where they are, healthcare marketers need to listen to patients and consumers and have a clear, consumer-focused strategy.
Below are six articles about how healthcare marketing events have successfully kept consumer engagement top of mind this year.
Consumers are calling the shots, now more than ever, in healthcare. To keep up, healthcare marketers should focus on implementing consumer-led and consumer-focused strategies to retain current patients while also bringing new patients to the organization.
Virtua Health, a nonprofit health system serving communities in southern New Jersey and the Philadelphia area through five hospitals and over 270 care locations, is doing just that.
As the chief marketing officer of Virtua Health, Chrisie Scott, MBA, oversees the organization's marketing, communications, public relations, and human experience departments. She also oversees the consumer access center, which is available for patients to call 24/7 to get questions answered and get connected to care.
The evolution of healthcare marketing is driven by the creative innovations that marketing teams adopt to keep up with the ever-changing demands of consumers. Those same factors and innovations come into play when addressing workforce shortages.
Hospitals and health systems are experiencing what's being called the Great Resignation, and they're facing new competition in recruiting needed staff. While clinical care staff has been in short demand, the marketing departments have also experienced turnover.
During the HealthLeaders Healthcare Workforce of the Future roundtable event this past summer, chief marketing executives— Sandra Mackey, the chief marketing officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health and William "Skip" Hidlay, the chief communications and marketing officer for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center—had a candid discussion about the creative innovations their organizations have created to address workforce issues
Today's healthcare consumer is more tech-savvy and connected than ever before. They want to be involved in how their care is delivered. They want more than a simple transactional relationship with their primary care physician. They want options and they want to be in the know.
To keep up with their patients, health systems are developing new strategies that focus on the connected consumer. This includes developing patient portals and digital health apps that connects patient to provider at any time and place.
Kathy Azeez-Narain, who serves as vice president and chief digital officer for Hoag, a regional health system in Orange County, California, helped develop Hoag Compass as part of their consumer-centric strategy. The application and services provided help connect their patients to their health and strengthen the relationship between patients and physicians.
Marketing plays a significant role for Northside Hospital, a nonprofit health system headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The five-hospital health system has focused on a few marketing campaigns in recent years, with a focus on more than just driving consumers to their locations.
Lee Echols, VP of marketing and communications for Northside, led marketing campaigns including "Healers, Helpers, Heroes," "Look to Northside," and "#TalkAboutIt," which were shaped by the impact of the pandemic, but looked deeper into what messaging the community needed at the time.
Echols, who joined the health system in 2014, heads the organization's advertising, marketing, media relations, social and digital media, employee communications, direct marketing, community partnership, and issues management.
Marketing to communicate with and meet the needs of consumers transcends industries, and learnings from other industries can be applied to the healthcare sector.
Eric Steinberger, who has experience in building brands and meeting consumer expectations in the finance, media, and retail industries, is proving just that in his new role as chief marketing officer for Atlantic Health System.
He joined the nonprofit health system, based in Morristown, New Jersey, in November, and has completed his onboarding, part of which happened during the COVID-19 omicron surge in December.
Consumers know what they want. And if you listen, they will tell you.
Alexandra Morehouse, who has served as chief marketing officer of Banner Health since 2015, uses this philosophy in the organization's marketing strategy along with a strong utilization of technology.
The health system, which has hospitals, urgent care, and emergency care locations, home care and telehealth programs, and imaging practices across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming, operates with a mission that Morehouse created: making healthcare easier, so life can be better.
In an interview with HealthLeaders, Morehouse shares how Banner Health utilizes technology and active listening to successfully cater to the organization's consumers and to make healthcare easier.
Health system leaders made addressing gun violence as a health issue a top priority this year.
There was a big focus shift onto social determinants of health (SDOH) during the pandemic, with hospitals and health systems focusing on non-medical factors that affect patients' health. And that work has kept going.
The focus widened and numerous hospital and health system leaders were vocal this year about how gun violence also affects a person's overall health. Below are four articles that showcase the strategies that health systems have taken to screen patients, address the negative effects of, and create ways to make it easier to speak about gun violence as a public health issue.
This year, a group of more than 550 CEOs and leaders of organizations from different sectors around the country signed a letter sent to the U.S. Senate, demanding action on gun violence. Among the signees were several healthcare executives, including Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider.
Dowling is a strong voice on gun violence prevention and advocacy and has been for quite some time. In the past, he has spoken about how healthcare providers need to rally and mobilize for gun control. He has also shared his thoughts on gun violence as a public health issue through media sources and Northwell Health's blog.
Earlier this year, Dowling spoke to HealthLeaders about the current gun violence climate, including how gun violence affects the health of the community and how Northwell is addressing gun violence prevention, and he is urging other healthcare leaders to step up and treat gun violence as a health issue.
Earlier this year, a group of more than 550 CEOs and leaders of organizations from different sectors around the country signed a letter sent to the Senate demanding action on gun violence.
Among the signees were several healthcare executives, including Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York; Thomas W. Scott, president and CEO of CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, New Jersey; and Neil M Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health in Baltimore.
Scott and Meltzer connected with HealthLeaders via email about the letter, and also addressed the impact that gun violence has on the health of communities and how their organizations are addressing gun violence and prevention measures.
Meghan Walsh, MD, MPH, FACP, serves as the chief academic officer for Hennepin Healthcare, a Level I adult trauma center, Level I pediatric trauma center, and acute care hospital in the heart of Minneapolis.
Over the past two decades, Walsh has witnessed a lot of change and challenges, and with that, solutions and innovations were created to benefit the community, both inside and outside the walls of the organization.
One of the challenges is the increase in gun violence and its lasting effects. In a previous HealthLeaders Podcast episode, Walsh spoke about the gun violence epidemic and how Hennepin is addressing community violence both inside and outside the organization's walls, and she offers leadership insights.
Launched in September and supported by more than one thousand hospitals across the country, the American Hospital Association, the Children's Hospital Association, and the Catholic Health Association of America, the first national gun violence awareness campaign urges parents to ask, "is there an unlocked gun in the house," when dropping off their kids at someone else's home.
The campaign's media channels include print ads— with an ad in the New York Times—15-second national and New York-based television spots, billboards, social media posts, online video, radio public service announcements, a coalition website, and a website for the awareness campaign.
Chethan Sathya, MD, Director of Northwell's Center for Gun Violence Prevention and pediatric trauma surgeon, recently spoke with HealthLeaders about the campaign and Northwell's continued work against gun violence.
Listen to and read about six healthcare leaders who are making a difference in the sector.
Every month, HealthLeaders sits down with notable and inspiring women who serve in the C-suite of hospitals and health systems and releases those interviews on the HealthLeaders Podcast.
Interview topics include workforce safety and well-being, leadership advice, the evolution of human resources,
Here are six HealthLeaders Podcast episodes from the last half of this year, that highlight women leaders who spoke about their areas of expertise and shared leadership advice for other women who are aspiring healthcare leaders.
Meghan Walsh, MD, MPH, FACP, serves as the chief academic officer for Hennepin Healthcare, a Level I adult trauma center, Level I pediatric trauma center, and acute care hospital in the heart of Minneapolis.
Walsh joined Hennepin in 2001 where she started as an intern, then made the climb to the C-suite in 2012, where she has been the longest-serving C-suite executive for the health system.
In a HealthLeaders Podcast episode, Walsh spoke about the gun violence epidemic and how Hennepin is addressing community violence both inside and outside the organization's walls, and she offers leadership insights.
Patricia Gabow, MD, MACP, has had a medical career spanning over 50 years, and she's still working to improve healthcare during her retirement.
Gabow was an academic nephrologist, a physician leader, and clinician, worked as a contributor to national healthcare policy, and served as health system CEO of Denver Health and Hospital Authority for 20 years. She's also professor emerita for the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
In a HealthLeaders podcast episode, Gabow talks about her amazing career journey and her book Time's Now For Women Healthcare Leaders: A Guide for the Journey, and she shares advice for women who want to break through barriers and become leaders in healthcare.
Rhonda Jordan, SHRM-SCP, hasn't always worked in healthcare or in human resources, but it's certainly where she feels at home.
Her passion is reflected in the many leadership accolades she has received over the years, including several just in 2022. She was recently named one of Savoy Magazine's 2022 most influential black executives in corporate America, and in November she received the Human Resources Lifetime Achievement Award from the HR Department of the Year Awards.
During a HealthLeaders podcast episode, Jordan spoke about how the HR department evolved during that time. She also talked about Virtua's many DEI workforce initiatives and the power of teamwork, and she shared advice for future leaders.
Alexandra Morehouse joined Banner Health, a nonprofit health system headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, as chief marketing officer in 2015.
Since then, she has not only secured a half-billion-dollar digital transformation investment from the Banner Health board of directors, she implemented Banner's first AI and machine learning platforms.
In a HealthLeaders podcast episode, Morehouse gives insights into the evolution of data and marketing in healthcare, shares digital transformation strategies, and offers advice for aspiring leaders.
The first American to be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine was Sandra Lindsay, RN, MBA, DHSc, a nurse leader at Northwell Health in New York. In recognition of that decision, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Lindsay continues to be a vaccine advocate, and recently became the health system's vice president of public health advocacy, where she will help the organization educate underserved populations to better understand health.
In a recent podcast interview, Lindsay shared her experiences during the pandemic, and gives insights into how her personal background has played a role in her professional life and what she aims to accomplish in her new role.
Mass General Brigham, an integrated health system based in Boston is a world-recognized leader in research that serves 1.5 million patients annually.
Anne Klibanski, MD, serves as president and CEO of the health system, a role she took in 2019 following a seven-year tenure as the system's chief academic officer. Prior to joining the system's executive team, she served as chief of the neuroendocrine unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
During a recent HealthLeaders podcast interview, Klibanski talks about the health system's successful 2022 initiatives and looks ahead to the future, discussing what care models are needed for a successful patient-centric healthcare system.
David Klein, MD, MBA, details the California health system's strategic successes and talks about his plans for the organization's future.
Editor's note:This article appears in the March 2023 edition of HealthLeaders magazine.
MarinHealth, an independent health system based in Northern California's Marin County, recently celebrated its 70-year anniversary. Although the organization has gone through numerous membership models over the years, MarinHealth Medical Center, the MarinHealth Medical Network, and the organization's ancillary services remains an independent organization.
CEO David Klein, MD, MBA, has led MarinHealth since September 2020. He describes the hospital as a true, independent, community hospital. In today's landscape, independent healthcare entities may be seen as ready to fail or just looking for a larger organization to swallow them up, but MarinHealth is different.
In a recent interview with HealthLeaders, Klein details the independent organization's strategic successes and looks ahead to the future.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
HealthLeaders:You've had experience as CEO of independent hospitals as well as hospitals that are part of a larger health system. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of being an independent hospital?
David Klein: I have had the opportunity to be in very large organizations, both on the nonprofit and the for-profit side, and also to lead an independent system. One of the real values of being an independent system is that we truly can focus on the needs of the community that we serve.
As the larger corporations determine how they deal out precious resources, sometimes you have to stand in line to get the things that you need. [Here,] healthcare is local; we focus on the needs of our community in the North Bay and are able to meet those needs.
The second thing that is exciting for me is the opportunity to be nimble. I don't have to go through multiple levels for decisions; that allows us to react to a changing marketplace quickly. If we perceive a need to add a service line, or reduce a service line, or expand into an area, or bring in a subspecialty, we can do that promptly and rapidly. The ability from the time a decision is made into executing a growth strategy is much quicker than what I experienced in the larger companies, where you usually need multiple levels of approval, and it needs to fit into the global strategy for the larger organization.
People recognize you as their hospital; they develop loyalties. That can certainly occur in the bigger systems which provide needed healthcare, but as a local hospital, there's a certain amount of comfort that our patients receive in knowing that we're here caring for them.
HL: What key strategies have you implemented as CEO so that MarinHealth can thrive as an independent hospital?
Klein: One of the biggest ones is that we shored up our operations; we made sure that we function with operational efficiency.
We have done a broad geographic expansion. Marina as a county is not growing rapidly, and it's an aging county. It's also quite healthy. We saw the need to expand our footprint into the North Bay, up into the communities to the north of us such as Petaluma, and even over into Napa.
We developed destination clinical programs where we focused on certain key areas that we thought were important, like cardiovascular and orthopedics.
We've done a lot of ambulatory growth and development with ancillaries and looking to move more into the ambulatory market as you see a shift in healthcare from in-hospital to outpatient.
We've improved our digital platform to make it easier for patients to access care. In fact, we just converted the hospital over to Epic after a number of years on an antiquated system.
We've created more of an enterprise approach so that we have synergies between our inpatient network and our outpatient network, where we share good processes and personnel so that we're not duplicating efforts.
We focused on our line partnerships. We have a core competency in how we seek partnerships and also diversification of our strategies. It's pivotal that we work closely with our partners; the most prominent is UCSF. We have an affiliation agreement, and they assist us greatly in recruiting top-notch specialists in tertiary and quaternary areas who probably wouldn't come to MarinHealth if it wasn't for that affiliation. Our ability to recruit the best and the brightest with that affiliation has been amazing. You have to be agile and scale what we invest in, and just in this industry, it's important for us to know who and how to partner with.
We've also done an amazing job at stemming out migration. A lot of people have historically left MarinHealth to get care in the city; we're just across the Golden Gate Bridge. But we've been able to consistently develop and expand our reputation, build on a culture where people feel much more confident in the care that we're providing, and know that they can get world-class care closer to home. That has made a big difference; we've seen it in our volumes and we've talked to patients who have historically gone into the city for care who now stay here. By expanding into some of the areas like Petaluma and the North Bay, we're driving that care down to Marin where we can take good care of those patients.
HL: What percentage is MarinHealth's patient mix and how does this affect you as an independent health system?
Klein: They're predominantly governmental payers: MediCal and Medicare, because it's an elderly community. We do still have a moderate amount of commercial [payers]. Like everybody else, we, from a financial standpoint, typically don't break even on the governmental payers.
Part of our expansion strategy has been to go into those communities that are growing and are younger, that have a higher percentage commercialized [insurance]. When we looked at the out-migration, one of the things that we noticed is the largest portion of people who migrated out of the area to other care providers typically were commercially insured patients, so by stemming out-migration that's helped us to shift our payer mix to maintain good financial strength.
We have positive operating margins and positive earnings and I'm pleased with our financial position currently.
HL:Looking back over your tenure as CEO, what are some of your top successes and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Klein: There was a lot of stuff that occurred during the pandemic. What I noticed about Marin is that we, as an independent, didn't have as ready access to PPE and some of the equipment that we needed. We worked closely with our county health departments to make sure that we could meet the needs of our community. The partnerships that we developed with our county health support apparatus and our fellow hospitals in the area, including some larger systems, was unbelievable.
The second thing that struck me was the resiliency, and I know it's overused, but the bravery of our team, moving forward without a playbook, not knowing what to expect, but putting all that aside and caring for our patients in an exemplary way. It was nothing short of miraculous to see how amazing our staff performed in an environment that was, frankly, scary. We learned how to work together, how to collaborate, how to make the best out of the resources that we had.
We worked on sustaining our already strong culture, which is a culture of caring in our community. We were out in the community, we provided needed support to our nursing homes. We were there when everybody was testing; we have mobile vans that were going out to the areas where people couldn't get to the hospital, including some of our areas that had healthcare disparities. When the vaccines were available, we sent our teams out to help vaccinate in conjunction with our county officials.
We had one of the lowest rates of COVID but also the highest vaccination rate in the country. And so that certainly helped us, but one of the negative consequences of that was that we didn't have a hospital full of patients. With all of our services curtailed and not having any patients to care for, it created some financial strain on the organization. I'm happy to report that we're completely out of that over the last couple of years.
This organization has been here for 70 years. It's going to be here for many more years in the future. It started as a true community hospital, [and] it's a true community hospital today.
HL: Looking ahead, what initiatives are you excited about leading and what pain points are you looking forward to addressing in 2023?
Klein: We are going to continue our growth trajectory, focusing on replenishing our short supply of primary care doctors. We're working on easier access to our organization, meeting the needs of the new profile patients—millennials and Gen Z are seeking healthcare differently. We're trying to have a great digital front door and a digital footprint, working on consumers and being the easiest organization to come to, and one that's familiar and reproducible.
We have a great strategic plan that we launched about a year and a half ago. We've already seen great results and they include, as I mentioned, ambulatory growth and clinical efficiency. We've got evolving payment models and we have economic and payer pressures. We have, like everybody else, labor and staffing shortages that we need to be creative [to address]. We want to be a place that everybody wants to work for, where the culture is good, and just be in a position where we can respond to the economics of the changing market and prepare the organization for whatever the future might bring.
We can't bury our heads in the sand, we need to be prepared for the future, and a lot of it is going to be helping patients seek healthcare with a strong move away from the hospital.
Then internally, making sure we have a strong organization, that we have our positions filled, that we are financially secure to withstand the pressures, that we're innovative and technologically advanced, and all that will prepare us for whatever the future brings.
And then lastly, having a great product that differentiates us from everybody else. You've got to know your business. There's no single strategy for the future, but with the skills of our employees and compassion, we deliver the care that defines who we are. I always say put the patient at the center of everything we do, and do the right thing for the right reason, and we're going to be just fine.
The New Jersey-based academic health system named a new CFO, SVP of community health, and several other role transitions as part of the announcement.
In a move to reflect the academic health system's ongoing growth strategies and commitment to the community, RWJBarnabas Health announced several executive and senior leadership hires and transitions on Tuesday.
The system named a new CFO and SVP of community health, and other leaders transitioned to the roles of CIO, chief pharmacy officer, and chief of staff to Mark Manigan, the system's president.
The system named Mark Manigan, who previously led as chief strategy and business development officer, as system president in March. At the end of the year, he will succeed the current retiring CEO, Barry Ostrowsky.
"This is an exciting and pivotal time for RWJBarnabas Health, as each executive brings significant experience and fresh perspectives to their roles," Manigan said in a statement. "At a time when we are making substantial investments in new programs and facilities, as well as deepening our relationships in the communities we serve, it is critical to convene a team that possesses the expertise and passion necessary to achieve our ambitious goals."
The following leadership appointments were announced on Tuesday.
Frank Pipas was named the system's new EVP, chief financial officer, where he will lead key financial and operational functions. He joins from Hackensack Meridian Health, where he most recently served as EVP of finance, a role he's had since 2018.
Balpreet Grewal-Virk, PhD, was named the system's new SVP, community health, a new role for the system. In her role, she will design and execute the system's pilot program grant in Newark, where she will lead the strategy behind the development of an academic health system and Federally Qualified Health Center partnership. Grewal-Virk also joins from Hackensack Meridian Health, where she most recently served as vice president, community outreach and engagement for the system's northern region.
Indu Lew, PharmD, transitioned to her new role of chief of staff to Manigan, the system's president and future CEO. She will partner with Manigan to drive strategic priorities, steamline organization initiatives and functionality, and will be actively involved in the implementation of the system's new operating model and "One System, One Family," philosophy. Lew has held multiple leadership positions over the past 20 years with the system, including chief pharmacy officer, VP of corporate pharmacy, director of education and research, and Vice President of IDEAS, a Barnabas Health Medical Communications Company.
Robert T. Adamson, PharmD, FASHP, transitioned to his new role of EVP and CIO, where he will lead strategic planning, technology leadership, and vision for the health system. He also serves as the operational leader for the Epic electronic health record implementation. He most recently served as SVP and chief pharmacy officer for the system.
Robert Pellechio, RPh, MBA, transitioned to his new role as SVP and chief pharmacy officer, where he will provide strategic leadership for 25 divisions of the system's pharmacy enterprise. He joined RWJBarnabas Health in 2005 as corporate director of pharmacy and most recently served as corporate vice president of pharmacy integrated services since 2015. Additionally, he serves on the national committee for Health Trust Pharmacy Advisory Board.
"We are incredibly proud of the caliber of talent our system continues to recruit and retain," John Doll, COO of the system. "For RWJBarnabas Health to remain a regional leader in care delivery, it is critical that we both create opportunities for advancement for talented leaders throughout the system and externally recruit. I am thrilled that we continue to do both for these important roles."
RWJBarnabas had its last senior executive strategic realignment in 2021, where numerous senior members were promoted to EVP roles, including Indu Lew, PharmD, who assumed the role of EVP, chief pharmacy officer at that time.
November data shows a jump in CEO exits not only for hospitals but across all US sectors.
The CEO turnover slowdown didn't last long, according to a new Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO Turnover Report.
Hospitals and healthcare companies were among the leading sectors in CEO turnover in but numbers slowed in September and October. November numbers are showing a jump in CEO exits not only for hospitals but across all US sectors.
In November, 12 hospital CEOs made role changes, including leaving to serve in new positions or to retire. This is a big jump from the 3 CEOs that made role changes in October.
Year to date, 97 hospital CEOs made reported role changes. In 2021, 104 CEOs left their posts during the same time period.
The number of CEO changes across US sectors surged during the month of November, which saw the most retiring CEOs since January 2020.
"We may begin to see large numbers of CEO changes as we enter 2023 amid an economic downturn. Companies are shoring up succession plans to enter the storm," Andrew Challenger, SVP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., said in a statement.
According to the report, the number of CEO changes at all US companies increased by 34% between October and November. October saw 71 changes and November saw 95 changes. While there has been a surge in exits, CEO exits are still down 3% from the 98 CEOs who left their posts in November 2021.