They may oversee teams of varying sizes and scopes, and serve patients in different markets, but one thing more than 100 healthcare executives shared in 2022 was taking the time to share their thoughts on leadership and healthcare strategy with Becker's Hospital Review.
Below, find a sampling of executive interviews, thought leadership and op-eds from leaders throughout the past year.
1. The year began with encouragement from Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling, who encouraged leaders to bolster cultures of civility and decency in their organizations in highly divisive times. "As we turn the calendar to 2022, let's use it as an opportunity to tone down the rhetoric, reopen dialogue with each other and mend wounds caused by the worst pandemic of our lifetime and years of racial, ethnic and political divide that have worn away at the fabric of our society," Mr. Dowling said.
2. Becker's asked 48 healthcare executives and physicians to share the smartest decision they made in the past year. Staffing solutions, culture changes and personal wellness were among their areas of focus.
3. Two hospital and health system CEOs — Robert Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, and Kevin Slavin, president and CEO of St. Joseph's Health — expressed solidarity this spring with nurses and healthcare workers who were troubled by the conviction of a nurse in Tennessee in the death of a 75-year-old patient due to a drug error. "Advancing safety begins with policies that protect team members for reporting mishaps and depends on our collective ability to learn from mistakes — whether human, technical or system-induced errors," the CEOs said.
4. Becker's asked eight hospital and health system leaders to identify the characteristics and attributes that separate great leaders from good leaders. Among the characteristics and attributes were "game changers" and the ability to quickly confront new realities.
5. In honor of International Women's Day, Becker's asked women in the healthcare industry to share their insights on leadership. Nearly 30 women offered words of advice for healthcare leaders.
6. Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, shared his thoughts on the "lost art of compromise" in a June piece for Becker's. Mr. Dowling discussed recent conflicts in Congress and the Supreme Court, then offered conflict resolution strategies to other healthcare leaders.
7. From Alabama to Wyoming, Becker's asked a healthcare leader in the most populous city in every state to name the most pressing health concern facing their patients. Then we asked what they were doing about it.
8. Steve Edwards retired in 2022 from his role as CEO of Springfield, Mo.-based CoxHealth. But before he did, he discussed his leadership style with Becker's, which changed during the pandemic. He said his style shifted from "being very diplomatic to becoming more flat-footed to tell the hard truth, to manipulate nothing, to distort nothing."
9. Marc Boom, MD, served as CEO of Houston Methodist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system was the first in the country to mandate vaccination for its workforce. Dr. Boom explained this decision, and others that kept the health system afloat during COVID-19, in a January interview with Becker's.
10. Plan of care visits, which brought nurses and physicians together at a patient's bedside, were a 'total disruptor' to how Cleveland Clinic does business, Judith Welsh, MD, the health system's enterprise associate chief experience officer told Becker's. In a September interview, Dr. Welsh explained how this new format of patient visits became so successful that the system did away with other experience scores.