The rate of hospital CEO turnover in 2022 was 16 percent, the third year in a row with the same rate and the lowest the industry has seen since 2011, according to the American College of Healthcare Executives.
The rate of changes to a hospital's CEO hit a high in 2013 at 20 percent — the highest since ACHE started tracking it in 1981 — and has moved downward since. In 2019, the turnover rate was 17 percent before moving to 16 percent in 2020, 2021 and now 2022.
"As hospitals continue to wrestle with workforce and financial challenges, the value of strong and capable leaders in healthcare has never been more important," Deborah J. Bowen, president and CEO of ACHE, said in the news release. "That makes succession planning such a critical piece to ensuring that healthcare organizations have a pipeline of leaders who are well-prepared to address the challenges of tomorrow."
Outside of hospitals, 2022 also brought a five-year low to CEO movement across industries. Across 29 industries and sectors measured by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the 1,235 CEO exits recorded in 2022 were down 8 percent from the 1,337 CEOs who left their posts in 2021. It is the lowest annual total since 2017.