As president and CEO of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, Trevor Fetter has focused on reestablishing the system's adherence to compliance issues, cutting costs and consolidating Tenet's market by selling more than a dozen hospitals. After a 2002 controversy in which the government accused Tenet of taking advantage of Medicare's outlier policy, Mr. Fetter worked to institute a new corporate policy regarding Medicare payments and mend the health system's damaged relationships with its customers, employees and the government.
Mr. Fetter began his career at Merrill Lynch Capital Managements as an investment banking analyst. After working with Jeffrey Barbakow at Merrill Lynch, he decided to follow his colleague to movie and entertainment company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists as senior vice president and later CFO. Many praised his financial savvy for helping reduce the company's debt and increase corporate discipline regarding finances.
By 1995, Mr. Barbakow had moved from MGM to the newly named Tenet Healthcare and again asked Mr. Fetter to join him. After some deliberation, Mr. Fetter agreed to join the system as executive vice president, then CFO. For the next five years, he was responsible for corporate functions in finance, law, information systems and human resources, among others, as well as the health system's acquisitions and ventures.
He left Tenet in 2000 to join materials management company Broadlane and returned in 2002. When he rejoined as president of Tenet, the company had just been accused of taking advantage of Medicare's outlier policy, which allows hospitals to bill Medicare above the cost of care in circumstances that involve severely ill patients. Tackling the public relations crisis — as well as a separate FBI investigation into unnecessary heart surgeries by two Tenet-associated surgeons — was not easy. Mr. Fetter established various corporate policies regarding Medicare payments and took time to strengthen bonds with employees and patients who felt alienated by the system's practices.
Despite his efforts to improve Tenet's processes, Mr. Fetter's nomination to CEO in Sept. 2003 was still questioned by experts, who felt the appointment might continue Tenet's criticized business practices. As CEO, however, Mr. Fetter continued to focus on improving Tenet's reputation. He appointed a senior vice president of clinical quality and launched a system-wide initiative to improve patient care in Tenet hospitals.
In a July 2009 interview with Smart Business, Mr. Tenet attributed his success in part to the people on his team. "In a crisis, the best thing to do is assess who you have in the company already. Who's very dedicated? Whose heart is in the right place? And who has the skills and knowledge and continuity? Those people are incredibly key in any sort of turnaround."
Mr. Fetter received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
-Hospital Leader to Know: Nancy Ann DeParle, Head of the White House Office of Health Reform
-Hospital Leader to Know: Kathleen Kinslow, New CEO of Philadelphia's Aria Health
Mr. Fetter began his career at Merrill Lynch Capital Managements as an investment banking analyst. After working with Jeffrey Barbakow at Merrill Lynch, he decided to follow his colleague to movie and entertainment company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists as senior vice president and later CFO. Many praised his financial savvy for helping reduce the company's debt and increase corporate discipline regarding finances.
By 1995, Mr. Barbakow had moved from MGM to the newly named Tenet Healthcare and again asked Mr. Fetter to join him. After some deliberation, Mr. Fetter agreed to join the system as executive vice president, then CFO. For the next five years, he was responsible for corporate functions in finance, law, information systems and human resources, among others, as well as the health system's acquisitions and ventures.
He left Tenet in 2000 to join materials management company Broadlane and returned in 2002. When he rejoined as president of Tenet, the company had just been accused of taking advantage of Medicare's outlier policy, which allows hospitals to bill Medicare above the cost of care in circumstances that involve severely ill patients. Tackling the public relations crisis — as well as a separate FBI investigation into unnecessary heart surgeries by two Tenet-associated surgeons — was not easy. Mr. Fetter established various corporate policies regarding Medicare payments and took time to strengthen bonds with employees and patients who felt alienated by the system's practices.
Despite his efforts to improve Tenet's processes, Mr. Fetter's nomination to CEO in Sept. 2003 was still questioned by experts, who felt the appointment might continue Tenet's criticized business practices. As CEO, however, Mr. Fetter continued to focus on improving Tenet's reputation. He appointed a senior vice president of clinical quality and launched a system-wide initiative to improve patient care in Tenet hospitals.
In a July 2009 interview with Smart Business, Mr. Tenet attributed his success in part to the people on his team. "In a crisis, the best thing to do is assess who you have in the company already. Who's very dedicated? Whose heart is in the right place? And who has the skills and knowledge and continuity? Those people are incredibly key in any sort of turnaround."
Mr. Fetter received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
-Hospital Leader to Know: Nancy Ann DeParle, Head of the White House Office of Health Reform
-Hospital Leader to Know: Kathleen Kinslow, New CEO of Philadelphia's Aria Health